How big of role can citizens without formal scientific training play in real scientific research?
This is a great question, and something I feel very strongly about. To my great annoyance, science is often portrayed as something only the special and initiated can engage in. The brutal fact (and one that practicing scientists discuss all the time) is that much scientific work is routine and ordinary, and many people can play a role. Of course, not everyone can do quantum mechanics or find the cure for cancer. But there are many people who can program computers and work in a machine shop. How can we demystify science and the scientist? The public must realize that scientists are simply human, and that science (or engineering) is simply a useful tool. Far too often, scientists are portrayed as superhuman magicians capable of solving any problem. We are not. Rather, we are experts in a pretty narrow field and have skills that are usually helpful in other contexts. But this is also true of carpenters, lawyers, and historians. In the end, scientists are very similar to everyone else. We
