Popularizing Antarctic science: impact factors and penguins

Science is the primary way by which we can know the truth about the world in which we live. Yet, as much as we need science, the public has become overwhelmed by it and, paradoxically, excluded from it too. 2. Even scientists cannot cope with the volume of science being produced and, further, the method we use to communicate among ourselves is hopelessly inadequate—indeed, a barrier—for promoting understanding outside our specialty areas. Yet, the use of impact factors and the like, used to assess and reward performance, lock us into communicating principally through the poorly accessed window of peer-reviewed journals. 3. We need means of making science easily digestible while still maintaining its precision. These are, of course, not issues peculiar to Antarctic science, however, as Antarctic scientists the responsibility for popularizing our research falls more squarely on our shoulders given the limited access others have to the Antarctic. This paper sets out what we must do in order to engage the public and popularize science: it is not just what we say, but the way we say it that is important. 4. An example of science from research on penguins is used to demonstrate the various ways it may be popularized. While the need for science communication has never been more pressing, the means at our disposal for communicating Antarctic science have never been more varied or more cost effective.