What you say depends a lot on who you say it to. I’m not a scientist but as a citizen I need to make decisions about policy so I can vote for candidates who consult science and use reason to make decisions.
You could pump all the data you want at me and I’d have to break for lunch, or my family or my business- I’m comfortable knowing the data is there and I’m trusting scientists to have the best understanding of the issue at hand. I do expect comprehensible explanations that not only tell me what I need to know about an issue but also help me to see the bigger scientific picture and how it impacts my life.
Why should scientists be concerned with communicating effectively to non-scientists? Because we all need to make very important decisions based on the best available understanding. Unfortunately, Neil DeGrasse-Tysons are rare jewels and because scientists don’t, as a group, make it part of their duties to communicate with the rest of us, you end up with what we have now: kids graduating high school not only without critical thinking skills but not a clue what they are or why they need them.
Informed citizens can elect people who understand and are likely to fund research instead of the anti-science right wing nut jobs who are intentionally de-funding it and intentionally dumbing down the citizenry.
