Emily Kalshoven - Talk Nerdy To Me

In the Ted Talk “Talk Nerdy To Me,” Melissa Marshall conveys the idea that scientists, engineers, and other various professionals think and speak in a very distinct way that, at times, may leave individuals of other fields scratching their heads. While the scientists and engineers may not realize they are leaving people behind, it likely poses a problem when they must collaborate with non-scientists. She stresses the idea that scientists and engineers use devices such as analogies, pictures, stories, and examples to keep others on the same page as them. I am familiar with this sort of communication, due to my upbringing. My father attained a degree in Marine Biology in undergrad and taught several Philosophy courses at University of Buffalo while in grad school. As my father is a very intelligent man, I remember growing up having to ask him time after time what on earth he was talking about while he tried to inform me about something I was wondering about or something new that he learned. It didn’t take long for my dad to realize that I used him as a human encyclopedia because of his intellect. However, most of the time, he would lose me in the middle of one of his explanations. He soon realized that I wasn’t a scientist, an engineer, or a philosopher; I clearly wasn’t on the same level as he was, seeing as I was still in single digits in age. Over the course of time, my father learned these very devices and figured out ways that he could explain a multitude of fairly complex principles to his six-year-old daughter or his ten-year-old son. As my brothers and I grew older, he continued to use these devices, but would change the ways in which he used them in order to incite questions and deeper understanding on our parts. I love the idea of communicating with professional scientists and engineers and hearing their ideas, even though I’m neither a scientist nor an engineer. I believe that this sort of inter-communication between different careers and intellectual classes is key to better understanding others and could play a huge role in the improvement of the human race.