Voices
PRIYAMVADA
NATARAJAN
HUFFINGTON
06.24.12
Can Science
Be Crowd-Sourced?
NEWS RECENTLY BROKE that
Stockholm University’s Sven Hovmöller had discovered the atomic
structure of complex crystals
known as approximants — a complicated chemistry riddle he spent
eight years pondering. But the real
story behind the story was that
he credited his breakthrough to
insights from his then 10-yearold son, Linus, who knew nothing
about chemistry or crystals, but a
great deal about Sudoku. In short,
Linus perceived a pattern where
his father did not, demonstrating
that sometimes in science knowing too much about a problem can
muddle the path to a solution, and
a fresh, clear view from the outside
makes all the difference.
There is no substitute for the
rigorous training credentialed scientists undergo to tackle our most
challenging problems, but this
heartwarming story gives many
observers the impression that
ILLUSTRATION BY LEONDRO CASTELAO
anyone can “do” science. Indeed,
much attention has been paid
lately to the notion of “citizen science” — members of the general
public participating directly in the
scientific research process. Some
scientists themselves have been
championing the idea as a way to
increase public involvement and
support for science.
But we need to think carefully
Priyamvada
Natarajan is
a professor
of Astronomy
and Physics
at Yale
University