Have you ever heard of the Sagan Effect? 🤔

It relates to how some scientists think about science communication.

The Sagan Effect is named after Carl Sagan, an American astronomer who, over the years, became quite prolific in the science communications space about, well...space back in the 1960s until his death in 1996.

He wrote popular science books (popular as in, written for the everyday person. They were also popular!). He appeared on TV shows, had his own TV series, and appeared in numerous magazines and news publications. He also strayed into areas of science in which he had no research experience.

Today, many people look back on him fondly, and it's not uncommon to find a scientist working on one aspect of space or another who was inspired to work in the field because of him.

This is not the Sagan Effect.

While Carl was busy educating and inspiring, his reputation among his scientific peers was not doing so well. Some said his science was not all that great. Some said his science - and duties as a university researcher - took a back seat. In 1992, he was refused a fellowship into the preeminent National Academy of Sciences. Some say it was on the grounds that he hadn't done enough significant research, others that it was due to the quite substantial amount of time spent on TV.

There are plenty of scientists who aren't publishing significant research. Science is incremental, after all. Not everything will have major significance. There are also plenty of scientists who don't publish much for varying reasons. Had Sagan not become a celebrity, nothing really would have been said.

But he did, and that drew negative attention and gave rise to the fear that science communication work with the public will damage a scientist's reputation among their peers.

That is the Sagan Effect.