Scientific and Lay Knowledge 1 Scientific and Lay Knowledge: The ...

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Scientific and Lay Knowledge 2 Abstract Our modern world is defined by science and technology. Scientific knowledge, the peer- reviewed information acquired through systematic experimentation or pseudo-experimentation and analysis, alone cannot give a complete picture of our earth. Non-scientific lay knowledge, everyday knowledge acquired by all people outside of the methodology of science, also contributes to our understanding of the world around us. Despite the obvious merits of both scientific and non-scientific lay knowledge, scientific knowledge has come to be equated with expert knowledge, and the public has lost trust in science, strengthening the boundary between the two ways of knowing. Culture plays an important role in defining the differences between scientific and lay knowledge and perpetuating the boundary between the two. This paper discusses the scientific-lay boundary phenomenon, why the boundary needs to be broken, and how this can be done. Integrating scientific and lay knowledge can make knowledge truly universal, and higher education facilitates this process by creating individuals who can communicate on both sides of the divide and find the common goals of scientific and lay communities as well as society as a whole.
Scientific and Lay Knowledge 3 Scientific and Lay Knowledge: The Need for Communication and Integration Our modern world is defined by science and technology. Behind every household appliance, every pill in our medicine cabinet, every modified gene in our food, and even the management of our waste, there is a scientist working under scrutinized conditions to improve society. And yet, society was not always like this. In fact, there still remain some people who live in communities in which the scientific method is not applied to everyday life—and some argue cannot be (Harry, 2011). Even within our own fast-paced, technocratic culture lay knowledge is prevalent and pertinent. This is because scientific knowledge, the information acquired through systematic experimentation or pseudo-experimentation and analysis that is peer-reviewed by other trained scientists, does not give a complete picture of our earth. Non- scientific knowledge, everyday knowledge acquired by all people outside of the methodology of science, also contributes to our understanding of the world around us. Scientific knowledge aids in the globalization process by giving people an ability to participate in the world economy. Of the five reasons to promote school science education listed by the National Research Council, the dependence of economic competitiveness on scientific capacity was one (Liu, 2008, p. 304). According to health researcher Peter Harvey (2009), scientific knowledge is significant because it is open, verifiable and refutable through a methodology that requires review (Harvey, 2009, p.629). Science is an evolving process, and contrary to common belief, scientific knowledge is created to be changed. Non-scientific lay knowledge is important because it is oftentimes well-adapted to local conditions and people. Teresa Johnson (2010) found through her fisheries management study that fishermen had a substantial amount of knowledge about the local fisheries that scientists did not possess, including information about sea depth and ecosystem interactions (Johnson, 2010).
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