When one is deeply engaged in a topic it is often difficult to communicate that topic clearly to others. This is particularly pronounced when people communicate science or technological information. This situation is known as the cognitive gap in communication studies, meaning it is often difficult to explain a topic that one knows well in a way that people without the same level of competence, or even without any prior understanding of that subject, can understand.
Last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Chicago, Alan Alda was the keynote speaker and centered his talk on the importance of communicating science.
