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lbonnell's picture

Measuring success

 I think a scientist's success should not only include his/her contribution to science, but also his/her ability to communicate ideas to the general public. I think it would be beneficial to broaden how we think about success in science. I think one valuable way to communicate with the public is through popular science books. Figures like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawkinge can reach a wide range of nonscientists. Maybe books like these are a good way to be make science and scientists part of mainstream culture. Pop culture science books tend to be easy to understand and interesting. Perhaps, scientists should measure success by publishing popular science books, in addition to journal articles. 

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