Every so often, I come across a speech that really, really moves me. There was Conan's Harvard Class Day speech. There was David Foster Wallace's Kenyon College speech. And now, I've found Robert Krulwich's CalTech speech.
In a nutshell, it focuses on the communication of scientific ideas to laypersons, and the non-trivial importance of that act. On its face, it seems like Krulwich is asking us to yet again dumb down science, which is apropos in this age of soundbites and in-your-face marketing, but he's not. It's about staying connected. So many elitists are ready to leave behind the chaff if they aren't willing to follow, or at least make an effort. But those who start responses with "Alls I know is..." aren't the enemies. And I think that's reallyt the heart of this speech.
I kind of like that.
I wish that I could find a transcript so that you could read it, but it's not too long and worth listening to.
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