[ExI] Explaining technical matters

[Kelly Anderson]

On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 6:18 AM, Mike Dougherty <msd001 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 6:25 AM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I don't know how to express non-linear equations to where the masses
>> (or even technically astute people) are going to appreciate the
>> difference in performance between laser heated water and laser heated
>> hydrogen without looking into the "rocket science" of the situation.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>
> Probably no.  I imagine Joe six-pack would have as difficult a time
> convincing you of the "fun" of his Friday night too.
>
> My wife asked a very astute question:  Why has landing on Mars gotten
> so much more attention than the confirmation of the Higgs boson?  I
> suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that people can imagine the
> rover being "like a car" that went all the way to another planet while
> fundamental particles in a pantheon of science is too abstract for
> most.

Perhaps it is also politically motivated on the part of journalists.
One news item I heard indicated that NASA was about to lose funding,
and that this could be just the boost in the arm they need to get
funding back on track... Just a thought. If you are a journalist,
would you rather write about Higgs, or Mars? I would vote for mars if
I were a journalist. Thank Zeus I am not!

Your thoughts are equally good.

-Kelly