To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never before been called ‘cool’. Lots of other things, yes: ‘mad’, ‘arrogant’, ‘crazy but in a nice sort of way’, ‘illegally sexy’, ‘public nuisance’ and ‘dangerous air cargo’ among other things; but not ‘cool’.
The Elder Pawn vouchsafed to me the other day that her classmates thought that I don’t ‘look like a scientist’. Apparently, all it took to earn the epithet ‘cool’ was to collect the F1s from school, with my bicycle and wearing sunglasses. The sunnies are cheap polarizing Cancer Council ones from K-Mart, and while the bike is very nice, thankyouverymuch, I didn’t think schoolkids appreciated such things (maybe I do them a disservice. Maybe it was the lack of a cycle helmet).
Not looking like a scientist, earlier today
And the Younger Pawn, who is at the same school, has been coming across the same thing. Scientists supposedly look like nerds, with glasses, poor dress sense and pens sticking out of various orifices pockets.
None of this is news, naturally. But what struck me is that the stereotype is already embedded in the minds of children before they are 12 years old: before high school. What’s more, the Pawns go to a school where about 90% of the children are from Asian immigrant families. Having read Alom Shaha’s wonderful essay, I was somewhat surprised. It is a cross-cultural stereotype.
And I want to know where it comes from.
Because I’m not convinced, really, that the representation of scientists in entertainment is all bad. I think that news bulletins tend to find the most stereotypical scientists, but don’t these kids watch CSI, or the X-Files (_probably not, Richard—Ed_), or even Jimmy Neutron or Dexter’s Laboratory? Are we born with this perception?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Could I say Richard, genuinely, how much better you look with a beard. Keep it! Join the real men.
Stereotypes are certainly deeply embedded. When I was interviewed on TV on my research I was asked to wear a white lab coat to demonstrate that I was really a scientist. However, are the stereotypes all bad? It may not be cool to look like a scientist but is it cool to look like a lawyer or an accountant? I suspect it is not but there is no shortage of people queuing up to join these professions. Appearance is not everything, could Wayne Rooney ever look cool?
I think there is still a popular respect for science/scientists althouigh tempered with fear concerning fictional stereotypes such as Jeckyll and Hyde, Dr. Moreau etc. Einstein may not be cool but he is respected. Science has heroes too, even female ones such as Marie Curie.
The problem with the public perception of science is a complex one. The recent global news story concerning the LHC is a good example. The story generated enormous interest and it was covered extensively throughout the media all across the world. However, the story that was told was something like: Big expensive machine will unlock the secrets of the universe, but some people (never explained who they were) believe it might cause the end of the world. This reinforces the view that science is secret/impenetrable/dangerous.
I have never been involved in science popularisation through the media, but whenever there is something on the TV that I know something about, I find the presentation normally simplified beyond true comprehension. The media is scared of talking down to its audience so it ends up by talking at them and concentrating on presentation rather than content.
I have rambled way off the thread here. The reason I know scientists get respect comes from a comment between boys at my kid’s junior school 3 or 4 years back: “X (my kid) must be cleverer than Y because X’s Dad is a scientist while Y’s Dad is only a Doctor”. However, I suspect our salary packets have an order that is reversed.
That’s an incredible anecdote in your last para, Brian (#2).
Brian (#1), unfortunately under the terms of the contract I have to have a mo, not a beard, by the end of the month. A little bit of a shame, one feels; I’d rather look like Commander Riker than a 70s porn star. But I’ll see how I feel about the fuzz after that. I think it was at its most rugged-looking about 3 days ago: now I’m starting to look like a geography teacher. shudder
I’m with Brian C. You look much cooler with the beard. Getting that ZZ Top look by the end of November might be a stretch, though.
Hormones, Henry.
Can you get done for drug-assisted beard-growing?
Only if you’re a woman.
The beard definitely suits you, Richard.
However, the “I don’t fit the scientist stereotype” meme is done to death in the science blogosphere, IMHO. Stereotyping, in all its forms, needs to go bye-bye, permanently, from human behavior and sociology. If you have any doubts about the pervasive and destructive nature of stereotyping, read Ewen and Ewen’s Typecasting, which is a fascinating (some might say “exhaustive”) study of racial, ethnic, genetic, and disability prejudice.
Of course I’ve heard the arguments that the human brain evolved to recognize patterns, to distinguish “us” from “them”, etc. etc. On the other hand, a substantial chunk of our cerebral cortex is devoted to recognizing other humans as individuals, and absence or loss of this ability is called prosopagnosia. And this is just visual recognition; we also have the abilities (perhaps not as well-developed in sighted individuals) to distinguish others on the basis of voice and smell.
I don’t think the topic is overdone. It’s not like talking about Sarah Palin and the stupid fruit flies, which was just one instance. It’s different kids still thinking of scientists in a certain way, despite all the attempts at changing it. But I think that this one instance of kids suddenly realizing “Hey, he doesn’t look like what I expected” is enough to permanently change the minds of at least those kids.
Young kids are less likely to be watching CSI and more likely to be watching this
accurate depictionstereotypeAw, for glaven out loud
To me, the interesting topic or question is not “how I am different from stereotypical scientists”; rather, it is why, in the 21st century, we continue to cling to stereotypes, and how (whether?) we can move beyond this attitude. There are plenty of ridiculous physician stereotypes, for example, and MDs even stereotype among themselves, according to specialty. Why do we continue this, in so many different aspects of our lives?
But that’s just my individual opinion, of course. đŸ˜‰
I offer David Berreby’s excellent book Us and Them as a splendid treatise on how and why we cling to stereotypes.
Henry, any chance of a quick summary? The amateur sociologist inside me wants to suggest that stereotyping is a useful way of summarising our information about the world, which allows us to prepare appropriate behavioural responses to a variety of situations.
A lot of stereotypes are negative, but I guess there are also positive ones that make our lives easier. e.g., I’m Scottish (stereotype = financially astute…), so there’s nae point asking if you can borrow money off me. I’m happy that I don’t have to say no if you ask, and you’re happy that you’re not being rejected.
Coming at it from a technical (and heavily guarded industry) angle, in the nuclear biz our public speakers report people commenting they were surprised the speaker seemed like a normal person. I think this has actually gotten better with the popularity of The Simpsons and its portrayal of nuclear types as relatively normal (if brain-challenged). To quote Jerry Lewis, “The world is wacky.”
I think it’s harder to ‘just let go’ of stereotypes than we want to believe. We utilize them for a reason – it’s a way of simplifying a world that is much more complex. We don’t have time to know everything about everyone, so we take a shortcut. It’s also a form of learning from others – we take them at their word. It’s great if the stereotype is “all snakes are harmful” so you avoid snakes while hiking. How to we ‘let go’ of something we’re hard-wired to do?
These are all good points, but Kristi and Christie are nailing my question:
Why do stereotypes persist? –across different cultures. And how (begging the question for a minute of whether we actually want to. Maybe I’ll talk more about that later) do we change it?
You’ve some way to go yet, mate!
Rats. May as well just shave it all off now.
I think the stereotypes have actually been changing quite a bit in my lifetime. It’s very conspicuous in films, actually. My friend Sidney Perkowitz has written a great book on this topic after watching basically every film ever made with a scientist in it. Starting about 15-20 years ago, movie scientists started getting really sexy and good-looking. I am convinced this is going to filter down into the next generation — it will just take time.
What’s the mechanism by which particularly young children pick up the stereotype? I mean, it’s not genetic, is it?
Or is it…?
Newsflash RPG- Dexter and Jimmy ARE nerdy (but loveable).
They see it on TV and in adverts, on the box illustrations of chemistry sets, in comics and cartoons. I know I did. There is still a lot of boffin iconography out there.
Hmmm, I just wrote about boffin iconography about a week ago ….
You think the stereotype is bad as a bloke. Trying being a chick ‘who doesn’t look like a scientist’! I’ve been interrogated at customs check points when traveling for work.
“But you don’t look like a scientist!” they exclaim.
I think that people need to know that every now and then scientists wear skirts, knee high boots and leather jackets!
beta gal, yeah , they’re nerdy, but they’re the heroes.
You see Jenny, that’s the thing. The chemistry set we got YP didn’t have that iconography, and I’m not sure I’m seeing it elsewhere. Maybe I don’t watch enough TV!
Bloody hell Meagan. I mean, customs officers? Haven’t they seen everything?
Bloody hell Meagan. I mean, customs officers? Haven’t they seen everything?
Yeesh. That’s pretty scummy, really.
Just t’other day, I read a quote from a computational chemist who was asked to don a white labcoat for a TV segment…
Thanks for the back link to my item on stereotypes by the way.