Perhaps I was three, maybe four, sitting in a tub, soaking in bath water. The first memory I have of my existence is one where I am sitting surrounded in bubbly splendor, holding tiny little tubes filled with color. My already large eyes grow in the reflection of the glass bottles as I hold them closer, observing the color and viscosity changes as the contents drip, drop, drip, drop. I remember it so well; the photographic evidence taken by my parents has likely helped. I\u2019ll spare you the sight of seeing baby me\u2014in my birthday suit. Feeling like something between a magician and a cook, it was then that I realized\u2014sitting and mixing little hotel shampoo bottles\u2014that I was going to become a scientist. Now that I\u2019ve lived enough to have strong and informed opinions, I hate people thinking of science as magic. All I want is to write about how science\u2014completely un-magical\u2014can solve all our problems and shape the world we live in for the better.<\/strong><\/p>\n A few months ago when President Trump was asked about climate change after the California wild-fires he stated comfortably: \u201cIt\u2019ll start getting cooler, you just watch.\u201d The corresponding officer responded, \u201cI wish science would agree with you\u201d to which Trump replied, \u201cI don\u2019t think science knows, actually.\u201d The group of experts laughed, tittering nervously. What can you do when the President of the United States\u2014one of the few people in the world who has the power to dramatically alleviate the world\u2019s climate change problems\u2014doesn\u2019t trust science? The urgency of the situation has become crystal clear, even Pope Francis gave a TED talk, calling for action on climate change.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not an environmental scientist, nor am I an expert in geology nor climate change research. However, by virtue of scientific training, I have seen firsthand the rigour of the scientific process and can trust in its findings.<\/strong> I can say that I\u2019m a biochemist and biologist having studied biochemistry as an undergrad and in pursuing a master’s in biology. But you don\u2019t need to believe in science to feel something about the dark auburn skies that collapsed over the west coast just a few months ago. Still\u2014when I close my eyes\u2014I can\u2019t forget the images I saw as I scrolled down my Instagram feed, California choking in orange soot. And unless you blame the deceptive nature of photos on Instagram, you must be feeling similarly.<\/p>\n Amongst the disparities by which we are surrounded, there is one in particular that damages us all. That is scientific illiteracy. When science can be the solution to our contemporary problems, our lack of trust and misunderstanding of the subject makes us deficient in solving our most prominent concerns. We dismiss it because we don\u2019t understand it. Or we belittle it, labeling it as \u2018magic\u2019 because we need to simplify the complexities of our reality.<\/p>\n In the era of technology, there are so many voices, loud and quiet. They echo, they leave victims behind in the form of scorched trees, species on the verge of extinction, and loved ones lost to coronavirus. Despite these costs, this loud and ringing noise of the world never grows silent. It\u2019s hard to step back and separate what is right from what is wrong. And we find excitement\u2014and surprisingly\u2014comfort in believing in conspiracies. Coronavirus is a Chinese attack. No, it\u2019s a hoax. Climate change is a lie. Teenagers play with fire all the time, they must be the reason for the California wild-fires. So what, who cares if Polar Bears go extinct?<\/em> And so, during times of global crisis, science often becomes an afterthought, second to emotion and rhetoric.<\/p>\n According to Jon Miller, a professor of Investigative Studies at Michigan State University, 70 percent of Americans do not comprehend the science section of the New York Times, Science Times. Is this because we\u2019ve made science look so difficult? Or is it because people are naturally disinterested? This is a problem that impacts our society and policy making. So, why do I write, when nobody seems to be listening? Because amongst all the opinions and the loud noises, there is always one constant that pushes ahead\u2014science.<\/p>\n Science has been the explanation for everything since the beginning of time and it will be the explanation until the end of time. The apple will always hit whoever is sitting under the tree. And all of our \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cbad\u201d behaviors will have psychological and psychiatric explanations. And despite their bad rap, vaccinations will continue to have the life-saving potential to prevent disease.<\/p>\n Tik. Tok. Tik. Tok. We\u2019re running out of time.<\/em><\/p>\n They\u2019ve repurposed the clock installed on a building looming over Union Square in New York City, to remind us of the time remaining to act on climate change before it becomes an irreversible burden. Sadly, that\u2019s all it is. A reminder<\/em>. And unfortunately, climate change will continue so long as we remain distracted by louder voices.<\/p>\n Despite being the natural reality of our existence, science will only have an impact if we extend the conversation to the general public and politicians. So, let\u2019s write, read, and advocate for science!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Edited by Eliza Neidhart<\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/nerdist.com\/article\/union-square-metronome-climate-disaster-clock\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alara Tuncer Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.\u00a0 Perhaps I was three, maybe four, sitting in a tub, soaking in bath water. The first memory I have of my existence is one where I am sitting surrounded in bubbly splendor, holding tiny little tubes filled with color. My already large eyes grow in the reflection of the… Continue reading Why do I write as a scientist?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3719,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions\/3719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/montclare.poly.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"..\/Desktop\/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-03%20at%206.08.37%20PM.png\"](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/LgSOr97Is5QjQlb6S9yj5j1-3n4eTCshzdkDQQqeXB14mqlaEw2Uat2XsfihgAfgjs8yOZFHTUysutgCYEP7EUs3t4SfSmeRVMLs-n-8XYtBzU-yixJJt-wzJAdDAojUIzFK3E0\")