One Reply to “Hear Bob Edwards Weekend from August 2-3, 2014”

  1. While listening to the fascinating interview about the strange but interesting published scientific 'studies', Mr. Edwards asked his guest why scientific articles were so dull. It was surprising that the guest did not have a coherent answer, as if this was some sort of inexplicable stubbornness among scientists. I would like to venture an answer here.

    As a free-lance writer and the wife of a well-published scientist and teacher who has to explain the Scientific Method to students, I have come to understand the necessity and prudence of the scientific way of writing.

    What should take center stage in a scientific paper is the project itself, specific technical information on how it was done, and the significance of the findings in comparison to like studies. The purpose is to give all the essential information for other scientists who wish to repeat the work using the exact same parameters. Hence, a uniform format, 3rd person voicing, and discipline-specific terminology is essential. It helps cut to the quick of the matter at hand in 'steps'…sort of like a cookbook recipe.

Leave a Reply