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2 Vol. XXXII, Issue 2 | Wednesday, September 29, 2010 news It Was a S M*A*S*H of Science “Science is the greatest detective story.” By Steven Licardist He said the end product takes prece - and Erica Mengouchian dence over the process and most of the time scientists are seen as arbitrarily If you were to thumb through any finding things out. Society often only serious scientific journal, you would sees the end result and doesn’t get to ex - more than likely find a collection of es - perience the mistakes, the trials and the says peppered with words that leave failures that led to a particular discov - many ordinary, competent individuals ery. Alda thinks these wrong turns are scratching their heads in confusion. fascinating and believes that mistakes Terms like “qualia,” “comorbidity,” and are scientifically necessary. Greene “presupposition” make it hard for any - agrees, stating that “99 percent of sci - one not familiar with their usage to dis - ence is wrong” and that the journey cover exactly what the authors mean. leading to a result is rarely discussed. It’s Indeed, many college students read not that science can’t make up its mind, through their textbooks or listen to he said, but that we haven’t seen it all their lectures without ever grasping or yet. retaining much of the information. Be - Greene also voiced his frustration cause of this, science remains a shadowy with the over-dramatization of science. entity that permeates nearly every cor - Each new discovery is hailed as rewrit - ner of society, but whose true essence is ing the books, while in reality, most only understood by a select few. only add another chapter. He said the For physicist Brian Greene and idea of declaring something a “new dis - actor/director Alan Alda, this divide be - covery” is counter-productive. In his ex - tween society at large and the scientific perience working on the PBS NOVA community is a problem of communi - series, The Elegant Universe , Greene felt cation, and one that needs solving. On many programs apply arbitrary effects, September 23 in the Staller Center, like drum rolls or flashes of light, Greene and Alda led an informative dis - adding that, “Sophisticated ideas don’t cussion into the relationship between need explosions to be exciting.” Follow - science and communication, sharing ing from this, Alda asked Greene what he feels are the hallmarks of scientific their personal experiences and how Erica Mengouchian they feel the communication process education. Greene adamantly re - Brian Greene (left) and Alan Alda (right) discussing the importance of communicating science. can be improved. sponded that it’s important not to sac - Alda, best known for his role as rifice scientific integrity for the sake of Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” others’ understanding. This can be ac - implemented. That was the beginning very much effort. After setting the glass Pierce on the 1970s television series complished, he said, by incorporating it of Alda’s novel idea, which would later down, Alda asked him to repeat the ex - M*A*S*H , began the discussion by ask - into a story. Greene described the ap - become the Center for Communicating periment, only this time he filled the ing Greene, whose ability to make com - proach he uses in his books, which he Science here at Stony Brook. The center glass to the brim with water and told plex scientific concepts understandable compares to drawing a bridge between is sponsored by Brookhaven National him he could not spill a drop. Schneider is world renowned, why the process of what people know and what they don’t Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor was much more engaged this time communicating science is so important. understand, gently introducing them to Laboratory. around, as was the entire auditorium. Greene’s response took three parts, new ideas as they go along. It is set up to More than just a commercial plug That kind of concentration and partici - the first two of which, he maintains, are make abstract ideas more comfortable; for the Center, the conversation be - pation, Alda said, is what himself, obvious. First, we live in a nation where he makes people feel and reason as the tween Greene and Alda illustrated how Greene and everyone working at the science is a prominent part of society scientist does. Alda agreed, stating, “We the relationship between science and Center for Communicating Science are and that one cannot have a democracy are not trying to dumb it down, but to communication can be improved for trying to draw from the public. unless a broad community understands clarify it.” the better of mankind. At the very end In a society that emphasizes the im - what is going on within it. Alda talked about his experience of the presentation, an illustration of portance of science, it is the public’s His second response was a practical working on the program Scientific Alda’s passion and natural gravitation right to understand and share in that one. Because scientific research is often American Frontiers , which also ap - toward science came in the form of a experience. What Alan Alda and Brian funded by taxpayers, people should peared on PBS. When interviewing sci - simple experiment. To help answer an Greene are striving toward are solutions know what their money is going to - entists and experts behind the scenes, audience member’s question, Alda to challenges that many college students ward. He felt his third and final point he discovered that their concepts and asked Howard Schneider, Dean of the directly face in every reading and every was the most important. For some, the ideas were much easier to understand School of Journalism and Co-chair of lecture they encounter. Beautiful and experience of science as a listener or ob - when they were presented in a more the Center for Communicating Science, abstract concepts, often lost beneath server is vague and unattractive. Yet conversational manner. It was as if once to stand across the stage with an empty technical jargon and intoxicating ver - when led to understand and experience the cameras were turned on the scien - glass in his hand and then instructed bosity, once grasped, can fill any human science as the scientist does, they “light tists went into what Alda called “lecture him to walk over and place the glass on being with awe, wonder and excitement, up,” as Greene put it. mode.” It got Alda thinking about how the table between himself and Greene. and that excitement should not be re - Alda built upon this by saying that, a different approach to science could be Bewildered, Schneider did so without served solely for a select few. The Stony Brook Press News 3 Salary Shuﬄe at SUNY Central $325,000 per year; Hayden’s position on the SUNY Global Center and the Vice security officer at SUNY, testified at the By Colleen Harrington the board is unpaid. Chancellor for Global International Af - hearing. He said he and his team were To quell concerns, Zimpher and fairs, and I felt that I was asking this trained emergency responders and now, Rimai announced at the hearing they person to do more than one job,” Zim - in their absence, the staff they used to Bowing to public and legislative would give up their yearly housing al - pher said. She felt that his numerous re - protect could be vulnerable in the event scrutiny, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zim - lowances of $90,000 and $60,000, re - sponsibilities warranted a $30,000 raise, of a situation requiring first aid, or even pher announced she and her top deputy spectively, and those savings would be bringing Lavallee’s new salary to to invasions by protesters. would no longer pay themselves hous - used to fund the $90,000 in raises $315,000. Records indicate that Lavallee The committee demanded that ing allowances totaling $150,000 per awarded this month to three top SUNY had been receiving a $60,000 annual SUNY officials provide several docu - year, at a hearing before the State Sen - officials. The pay raises, recommended housing allowance since 2009, which ments to back up their testimony, to be ate Committee on Higher Education. by Zimpher and approved on Septem - Zimpher said would be revoked. reviewed in coming weeks. Zimpher refused to withdraw raises re - ber 15 by the SUNY Board of Trustees, But SUNY already pays a Vice News of SUNY central’s spending cently awarded to three senior SUNY were awarded to John J. O’Connor, Jo - Chancellor for Global Affairs $180,000 decisions drew harsh criticism from leg - officials totaling $30,000 each, but an - hanna Duncan-Poitier and David a year, plus a $54,000 annual housing al - islators around the state, including here nounced she would rescind an offer for Lavallee. The three officials, along with lowance. Records indicate that Mitch on Long Island. two of the officials to receive housing al - Rimai, make up Zimpher’s Executive Leventhal was appointed to the post in “If you want to know why people lowances, which would have amounted Committee. September 2009 and came from the are so upset with their government and to $99,000 per year. Duncan-Poitier began at SUNY less University of Cincinnati, along with why they have lost faith in so many of “As the Rolling Stones say, you can’t than one year ago in October 2009. She Zimpher and her top deputy Rimai. their institutions, you don’t have to look always get what you want,” Zimpher was formerly a senior deputy commis - SUNY officials did not respond to much further than this recent episode said at the hearing.

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