Uncertainty is pervasive... --- Thanks Ryan for bringing up the comfort levels of scientists vs. policymakers with uncertainty. This has been playing out for all of us with the ongoing pandemic w.r.t. whether to wear masks or not, indoors or outdoors, and what type; new virus variants and their rates of infectivity and severity of disease they're likely to cause; whether the virus spreads via physical/surface contact or airborne, and therefore what might be a safe distance; one or two or booster doses of vaccines, and for what ages, and how to prioritise. The policy responses varied as the scientific evidence either confirmed or refuted the plausibility (while everything is possible!) of each of the scenarios.

At the cost of using a much cliched word, scientists and policymakers/diplomats have more to benefit from empathy borne out of understanding each others' objectives and cultural milieu. Borrowing from reality shows, perhaps both communities ought to spend at least a day in each other's professional environment! Have a policymaker/diplomat shadow a scientist in their lab/field site, and have a scientist back-bench as an observer in a diplomatic exchange. In my previous avatar as a lab scientist, I observed a disconnect even among scientists - a researcher working on a particular DNA/protein or cellular pathway that might be involved in causing say Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease has rarely if ever seen a patient and their physical and psychological pain and suffering in a clinical setting. Imagine the sense of urgency that might bear upon their research effort when they realise what is at stake. Brings us back to empathy! Now think pandemic, climate change, access to healthcare, sustainable development....neither resources nor time are infinite.

Source author: Vid Nukala Vid.Nukala@gmail.com