The Citizen Scientist

The scientific community has suffered a great loss with the passing of Steve Irwin, and I have lost a kindred spirit. In many ways Steve was to wildlife what Isaac Asimov was to science. Although trained as a biochemist, Asimov is best remembered for popularizing science by his many excellent fiction and non-fiction books and articles. So it is with Steve Irwin, for he will be remembered for his antics with crocodilians and other wildlife, rather than for his scientific contributions.

There was no better ambassador of good will for nature than Steve Irwin. He and Asimov before him have done much to shape public opinion about science and to make it more appealing to the masses all over the world. Without a doubt countless young people will go into science because of his influence. For that we must remember and appreciate the work he accomplished in his short 44 years.

Figure 1. A rare public image of Steve Irwin without a nearby animal. Creative commons photograph by and courtesy of Richard Giles.

Let me share two personal stories to make my point. Many years ago I was invited as keynote speaker to a major international radio telemetry conference at Oxford University in England. Needless to say this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this western Oklahoma country boy.

While at the meeting, people I did not know came up and said, "Are you THE Dr. Smith who works with alligators?" Shocked, I asked how they knew me. It seems a few weeks before the conference a BBC TV documentary, A smile for the Crocodile, had been aired, and I had been interviewed several months before about the filming of that program.

In some ways it is not science but exposure that counts. So it is with Steve Irwin. He will be remembered for his exposure and popularization of wildlife more than for the depth of his scientific contributions.

Few things capture the public imagination more than black holes and dinosaurs. This is especially true for young people interested in science. So it is with crocodilians. It seems many people have a love-hate relation with these beautiful creatures. They fear and are repulsed by them, yet they want to know more about them.

Again, a personal example illustrates this point. For five years I ran an electronics educational program in a nearby federal prison. I was literally locked in with about 70 inmates six hours a day five days a week. I got to know many of them quite well. Most teachers quickly recognize the handful of students in each class that seem to hang on our every word...the students over which we have a great deal of influence. I was surprised to sense that the majority of the inmates seemed to like me.

This was surprising because I knew nothing of their world or even life on the streets. I have never been angry enough at another person to want to harm them. Yet, these inmates seemed to be eating out of my hand; they respected and even liked me. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I asked an inmate I had gotten to know about the reason for my apparent popularity. I will never forget his response when I asked why I had such influence over these hardened criminals. He said simply, "Doc, the second day you were in here, you showed a photo of you sitting on a 250-pound alligator. You're the MAN." I had never thought of my alligator work as macho, but these street fighters did. Later, I learned that most of them would have been frightened to approach a large wild alligator.

Figure 2. The photo that won over the prison inmates: Dr. E. Norbert "Doc Gater" Smith wrestles with a friend.

So it was with Steve Irwin. To many outside zoology, he no doubt seemed brave, courageous, even macho. I feel he was instead simply sharing his love for nature and all things wild. We can ALL respect that.

There is another reason we should respect the work Steve did in popularizing modern outdoor science. Many of us realized early on that when we write a technical paper for a leading peer reviewed journal we can often expect fewer than ten people around the entire world to read it with understanding. Science by its nature is highly specialized. Upon entering graduate school, many of us heard the old cliche, "A scientist strives to learn more and more about less until finally they know everything about nothing. In contrast a journalist tries to learn less and less about more and more until they know absolutely nothing about everything."

There is certainly an element of truth to this.The greatest legacy of Steve Irwin was the popularization of science. We all profited immensely from his work and will miss him.

Zoologist Norbert Smith is the author of more than 100 technical papers and many articles in popular electronic and children's magazines. His alligator research was featured in Science News and a BBC TV documentary, "A smile for the Crocodile." His work with woodchucks and squirrels earned him an appearance on the Today TV show. Recently retired, he lives on the family farm in western Oklahoma and enjoys, gardening, writing and travel. Dr. Smith's latest book, "Passive Fear: Alternative to Fight or Flight" is described here. Editor.