As other books in the Understanding Life series, the present book highlights misconceptions, preconceptions, misunderstandings, and stereotypes that some of us bring to understanding life science visuals.
Unlike other books in the series, the present book probably needs to first address the question of “why bother?” Other books in the series tackle topics that instantly appear complicated and, for the lack of a better word, “scientific”: genes, DNA, intelligence, cancer. By virtue of being highly scientific, it makes sense that they would invite misconceptions or misunderstandings and thus warrant a book. “Visuals,” by contrast, seem the easy part. I mean, they are simply the things that we see, aren’t they? Those of us who are not formally trained in life sciences may not understand scientific jargon or complicated theories, but surely we can see a picture and get that.
Well, that notion, my friend, is itself a misconception. Or, more precisely, it represents a series of related misconceptions about science visuals: that visuals are easy, that they represent the reality, that they require no special training (or less training) to understand, and that all it takes is for us to open our eyes and see.
It is understandable that we should see scientific visuals this way, as something easy, or easier than scientific writing. Language, especially written language, requires diligent learning to master. By contrast, visuals seem something that children can naturally pick up and start creating without purposeful instruction. And before they can read “real” books, children as young as two years of age can enjoy picture books.
Similarly, in college education, which is the context I work in, we often require science students to take one and sometimes multiple writing classes to hone their language skills. In science writing classes, students learn to define scientific jargon, articulate scientific theories, and present scientific evidence. In all of my years in higher education, I have yet to teach (or even know of) an undergraduate class that focuses specifically on science visuals. The only way to teach visuals is to teach them as an “add on” in writing classes, as sort of a visual section. This educational structure, then, fosters the perception that visuals come naturally to scientists, that they are easy.
Our general life experiences help to foster this perception. It goes without saying that ours is a visually dominated world. From 4K videos to animated cinema, vibrant color displays to stunning special effects, we are used to seeing spectacular, complex visuals. By pure familiarity and exposure, we have come to think that we understand or should understand them.
It is the argument of this book that all of the above are misconceptions. Life science visuals are far from being simple or easy. They are complex rhetorical devices – as complex as language. They are not easy to create – if we want them done right. They are not easy to understand – especially for a nonspecialist audience. Throughout this book, I use specific life science visuals to demonstrate these points.
Hopefully, by doing so, by broaching the misunderstandings and misconceptions surrounding life science visuals, the book can inspire visual creators – be it scientists or science communicators – to be more conscious in creating useful visuals for the public. At the same time, a nonspecialist audience may gain a deeper and more sophisticated appreciation of life science visuals, may feel more empowered as they approach these visuals, and may be more willing to engage with and question these visuals.
But first, I need to narrow down the scope of this book. When we speak of science communication, that “communication” is not just one type of communication. Depending on the parties involved and the purpose of the communication, there are multiple types of science communication.
There is communication between fellow scientists and specialists, such as one biologist writing a research paper published in an academic journal to be perused by fellow biologists working on related research topics. Think of this as professional science communication. There is also communication between trained scientists and scientists in training, such as a biologist writing a biology textbook for college students. Think of this as classroom science communication. Then there is communication between scientists/science writers and the general public, such as Physiology/Medicine Nobel Prize winner Stanley Prusiner writing a book about the discovery of prion diseases. Think of this as popular science communication.
Given the public-facing nature of the Understanding Life series, the focus of this book will be visuals used in popular science communication. When relevant, the other kinds of science communication and visuals used in those contexts will be discussed, with the primary goal of illuminating visuals used in popular life science communication.
