I was reading an opinion article about the Two Cultures separation and was struck by the idea that big issues required scientists to “come out of their bunkers” and engage with society. Now the two cultures debate itself has been discussed on other forums but what has always intrigued me about this debate is the perceived difficulty to engage with a different and completely new discipline.

Communication appears to be key when working between different specialised scientific disciplines, but are there extra difficulties when interacting with social sciences, the humanities and society in general? Is it just a fear of the unknown or a worry about the authenticity of one’s wider knowledge that hinders the mainstream population of science from communicating with and engaging with society? Or is it something completely different altogether?