Countdown to the 2014 Chemistry World science communication competition - Royal Society of Chemistry (blog)

Quentin Cooper, science journalist and one of the judges for the upcoming Chemistry World science communication competition writes about how in every scientist there is a bit of an artist.

I've been asked to write 300 words on the topic of science and art. No problem. Although I can sum it up in one: scientists.

The term 'scientist' was only coined about 180 years ago to overcome a problem caused by the then newly formed British Association for the Advancement of Science, more recently known as the BA and more recently still as the British Science Association. These days it is celebrated as one of the oldest and most prestigious public-facing scientific bodies in the world, making science more comprehensible and accountable, and encouraging engagement across society and between disciplines. But back in the early 1830s, their meetings attracted a ragtag group of biologists, geologists, naturalists and others across the sciences, and nobody knew quite what to collectively call them.

One of the founders of the BA, William Whewell, writing anonymously in the Quarterly Review in 1834 offered a solution: 'this difficulty was felt very oppressively by the members of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at their meetings... some ingenious gentleman proposed that, by analogy with artist, they might form scientist.'

The 'ingenious gentleman' was, of course, Whewell himself. Although it took a few years to catch on, what's usually overlooked is that strictly speaking if you mimic the way practitioners of arts are called artists, then practitioners of sciences should be called 'sciencists'. With two Cs. Instead, because of Whewell's analogy, the 't' in scientist is on permanent loan from the arts meaning there is a bit of artist in every scientist.

I don't think that's just a quirk of etymology: that 't' is not vestigial. Creativity and imagination abound across the sciences, no more so than in chemistry. Which is one of many reasons I'm looking forward to judging this year's Chemistry World competition.

Quentin Cooper hosts a diverse range of events in Britain and beyond as well as appearing regularly on radio, TV and in print. He's one of the most familiar and popular voices of science in the UK, writing and presenting many hundreds of programmes - including fronting Britain's most listened to science radio show, Material world. He also holds several honorary science doctorates and is an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

If you are passionate about science and science communication, the 2014 Chemistry World science communication competition on the topic of chemistry and art offers a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate your skill, win £500 and be published in Chemistry World.

Entities 0 Name: Whewell Count: 2 1 Name: BA Count: 2 2 Name: British Association for the Advancement of Science Count: 2 3 Name: Britain Count: 2 4 Name: Quentin Cooper Count: 2 5 Name: William Whewell Count: 1 6 Name: British Science Association Count: 1 7 Name: Royal Society of Chemistry Count: 1 8 Name: Chemistry World Count: 1 9 Name: UK Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1vYYQpP Title: 20 Must-Try Winter Science Experiments for Kids - Lemon Lime Adventures Description: It's almost WINTER ! Dropping temperatures, holidays, and changes in the weather mean there are lots of opportunities to explore some new and exciting science experiments. If you are a regular here, you know just how much we love science.