Don't Be Such a Scientist - Randy Olson (2009)

Randy Olson received his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University.  He then served as a tenured professor of marine biology at the University of New Hampshire.  At the age of 38, Olsen gave up his professorship and went to the University of Southern California School of Cinema where he earned an M.F.A.

Olson's experiences as a film major at USC led him to examine the failure of scientists to effectively communicate the most urgent information to the non-scientific community.  Olson recognized this failure in himself when a world-famous acting instructor yelled at him, "You cannot, I repeat cannot, come into this classroom and have no feelings....That is what intellectuals do.  They intellectualize the world.  They suck the life out of life."

Olson observed how scientists communicate with each other and with the general population.  He found that there was little difference.  Yet, he noted that while the communication style was effective and welcome in the scientific community, it was not only ineffective with the general population, but was actually viewed with contempt at times.

Olson developed a theory, which he called the "Four Organ Theory for Connecting with the Mass Audience."   The theory contends that a message tends to reach a broader and broader audience as it moves lower in the body. 

The mind - A message that appeals only to the mind can hope to appeal to a very small group of intellectuals.  These messages tend to be fact-laden, impersonal and cautious.
The heart - Messages from the heart tend to be full of passion. 
The gut - Messages from the gut are generally laced with humor and intuition.  These are more basic in nature and prone to appeal to a wide audience.
Sex Appeal - Not all messages can be sexy, but those that are tend to appeal to just about everyone. 

As teachers and educators, I wonder how much thought we give to targeting our message.  In many cases, we share the propensity of scientists to appeal only to the mind without much concern for the other organs that constitute the humans before us.  Yet, we know that the greatest learning takes place when we include passion and humor.

Like scientists, educators are often maligned these days.  Unfortunately, also like scientists, educators are not the most adept at communicating their message to the non-educator audience.  As we explain the value of public education to policy makers, parents and tax payers, it would behoove us to keep Olson's Four Organ Theory in mind.