Citizen Science Comes of Age
Science writer Chandra Shekhar has written
a nicely crafted article about citizen science for the Santa
Cruz Sentinel. In "Citizen
science comes of age" (4 December 2006), Shekhar
begins by asking, "Who says you need a Ph.D. to do science?"
He then cites the widespread participation of citizen scientists
in environmental monitoring, astronomy and serious bird watching.
In December 2005, Shekhar reports, some 43,000 Americans participated
in the Audubon Society's 105th Christmas bird count. They
reported nearly 62 million birds!
Shawn Carlson, founder and Executive Director
of the Society for Amateur Scientists and a MacArthur genius
award winner, is quoted in the article. "Most of the cute,
clever inventions these days are not being made by professionals,"
Shawn is quoted as saying. "It is a very exciting time
for citizen science."
Shekkar notes that Shawn Carlson believes
virtually anyone with interest and passion can contribute
to science, including amateur scientists, volunteer data collectors,
and science fair students.
George Musser Jr., a staff editor at Scientific
American has another view. Shekhar's article quotes Musser
as saying, "Participation in research is limited to an
elite group of dedicated, quasi-professional amateurs....The
average person in his or her backyard is unlikely to contribute."
Musser's view of amateur science is completely
off the mark. But keep in mind that Musser writes for the
magazine that abandoned "The Amateur Scientist,"
one of the most popular and longest running columns in the
history of US magazine publishing. Perhaps Musser and his
colleagues at Scientific American should view birders
at work during the Christmas Bird Count and observe amateur
astronomers measuring variable stars, photographing meteor
trails and discovering comets. Maybe they should visit some
science competitions and interview some of the very bright
student scientists who really are making discoveries in their
own backyards, including this reporter's daughter, Sarah Anna
Mims (see here
and here
or search on google).
The contributions to original research by these hundreds of
thousands of student and citizen scientists completely contradict
Musser's negative outlook.
For more about Shekhar's findings about citizen
scientists, read his article "Citizen
science comes of age."
Forrest M. Mims III 
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