I am a huge believer in doing those things that will help me improve physically, socially/emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And as such, continuous improvement is a pillar of a successful career. As Stephen Covey once wrote, “Renewal is the principle—and the process—that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement. “
Continuous Improvement
Being bent on learning new stuff, I read voraciously and take as many courses as I can fit into my free time. I love to take good courses, regardless of what field of study they are in, and apply those to my personal career choice.
And quite frankly, if you’re a subscriber of MasterClass and haven’t taken the Neil deGrasse Tyson Teaches Scientific Thinking and Communication, online course, you’re missing out on a gem!
Neil deGrasse Tyson
But, before I jump into it, you may have never heard of Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is possibly the most recognizable living scientist on the earth! Dr. Tyson is an American astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and science communicator. He was born and raised in New York City and attended public schools in the Bronx. He graduated from Harvard College with a BA in Physics and did his postgraduate studies at the University of Texas and Columbia University. He obtained his PHD in Astrophysics from Columbia.
Dr. Tyson has a way of taking complex information and delivering it to his audience in an easy to understand, relaxed – and sometimes humorous – way. In his Masterclass, “Scientific Thinking and Communication”, he introduces us to a way of approaching the unknown from the mindset of a scientist – or as he puts it, “The methods and tools of science that enable us to go from ignorance of what is going on to an understanding of what is going on, and ultimately leading to an established objective truth.”
Scientific Thinking and Communication Lesson Plan
The lesson plan is pretty straightforward:
- What You Know Is Not as Important as How You Think – Meet your new instructor: world-renowned astrophysicist, Emmy-nominated host, author, and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson. Neil welcomes you and discusses the importance of scientific thinking and communication.
- The Frontier of Science – The frontier of science is a messy place. Neil takes you through the process of understanding the frontier’s landscape and explains the roles of hypothesis and theory in determining objective truths.
- The Scientific Method – When we use the scientific method in the quest for objective truths, nature is the judge and jury. Neil shares some remarkable astrophysical examples of how this method plays out in real life and in our vast universe.
- Be a Skeptic: Ask Questions – Asking questions is a tried-and-true component of scientific thinking. Neil talks about the processes behind informed skepticism as well as how to evaluate incoming scientific data.
- Cognitive Bias – If you are human, then you are susceptible to cognitive bias. Neil defines some of the most common cognitive biases and reveals how our need to feel special may be getting in the way of our search for objective truths
- Beware of Cultural Bias – Cultural biases and assumptions affect how we treat one another, but they may be harder to spot than we think. Neil provides examples of conscious and unconscious cultural biases and explains how to avoid them.
- Our Systems of Belief – Every personal system of belief contains identifiable biases that impact the ability to think scientifically. Neil talks about two of these biases and how inner beliefs can have a significant societal and scientific impact.
- Scientific Measurement: Calculating the Incalculable – Neil explores one of his favorite subjects: scientific measurement. He distinguishes precision from accuracy and offers examples to illuminate the approximations that are inherent in any measurement.
- Communication: It’s Not Enough to Be Right – Communicating objective truths convincingly is just as important as using methods of scientific thinking to find them. Neil shares his personal reason for this belief and some of his favorite tools of communication.
- Preparing for Your Audience – To properly prepare for an audience, you need to get detailed information about whom you’re speaking to. Neil discusses how to consider demographics and how that influences his message.
- Communication Tactics – Knowing what drives your audience can set you up for communication success. Neil reviews some of the key “tool belt items” he uses when speaking to groups.
- Inspire Curiosity in Your Audience – Stoking curiosity is an essential component of effective communication. Neil demonstrates how to make the strategic delivery of information a powerful tool in your communication arsenal.
- The Future of Our World
Wide Scale Applicability!
So, why did I like the course so much? Because it applies to what I do! Even though it is written and delivered by a scientist, I found myself grabbing onto each concept and exploring ways in which I could use the information in a business setting.
I have spent the larger portion of my career in sales. Topics that deal with measurements, communications, knowing your audience, inspiring curiosity and communication tactics are all critical skills that a salesperson can use to get her buyer to say “yes”. And the bonus here was actually being able to step outside of my wheelhouse and learn how good scientists, with curious minds, do their thing!
A Great Investment of Your Time!
The course was fascinating. The time that I invested going through the MasterClass was time well spent. While I don’t use rating systems and other such nonsense for any type of product reviews, I can unabashedly tell you if I like something or not. If it doesn’t help in some way, either through helping me become more effective in my job/career, and personal life, or entertaining in a way that gets me excited to learn more and expand my universe of knowledge, then I don’t have much use for it. “Neil deGrasse Tyson Teaches Scientific Thinking and Communication,” checked off all the necessary boxes. I believe that it will for you as well. If you don’t have a subscription to Masterclass, you may want to invest in one because they offer some really powerful courses, taught by some very prominent instructors, all geared toward helping you become a better you!
