Dear colleagues, I just launched a mass science communication campaign, centered on my new YouTube series "Confessions of a Marine Biologist" <http://www.youtube.com/sciallorg>. In my videos, I use humor and storytelling (of *real*, sometimes ridiculous, events from the field) to humanize science and show a diverse audience that science is vital, enthralling and *accessible* to all. If you think my efforts are worth while, please share my videos with students, colleagues, and friends and subscribe to my channel -- maybe, together, we can inspire some people.
*My story:* I hated science as a kid--I found the scientific facts that I was forced to regurgitate in school both boring and unrelatable. Growing up in a suburb outside of Houston, Texas, I was removed from the real world of science. But then, by chance, I found myself living on Lizard Island, Australia, spending my summer studying the ecology of coral reefs. I thought "*this *is science?!". I've been doing science for 10 years now, and I just completed my PhD at the University of Florida, studying the impacts of human activities on coral reefs. I want my work, and environmental science in general, to influence the actions of the public, to lead to a sustainable future. *But* I've come to the realization that science is not enough -- many people, like those in my conservative hometown (and like myself, previously), feel indifferent or even negative toward science. These are the same people that love wild animals but have not been exposed to the connection that science facilitates conservation of these animals. Perhaps it is due to the countless dollars devoted by lobbyists to undermine environmental science, or it is due to the countless number of distractions every person now faces in the golden age of social media, but in my estimation the process of science, in all of its utility and objective glory, is kept secret from the public. It's time to get the secret out... Thus, we need *mass* *science communication *through art and entertainment to show the 'non-choir' that science is not only non-political and immensely useful (i.e., vital to our future), but it is awesome and accessible to anyone, from any background. Help me build appreciation for science by sharing my videos <https://youtu.be/s1ICH0oe9H4> and subscribing to my YouTube channel <http://www.youtube.com/sciallorg>. Read more about my efforts at my campaign website: http://SciAll.org <http://sciall.org/>. All the best, Mike Gil, PhD Department of Biology University of Florida Tel: (832) 377-MGIL (6445) Email: [email protected] Website (professional): http://mikegil.com/ <http://michaelgil.wordpress.com/> Website (outreach): http://sciall.org Instagram: @sciallorg <https://instagram.com/sciallorg/> Twitter: @sciallorg <https://twitter.com/sciallorg/> YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sciallorg "...And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." -T.S. Eliot
