Hello world! I’m delighted to be your @realscientists curator this week, tweeting live from South Africa! pic.twitter.com/Kp0K2Y8hG3
— realscientists (@realscientists) October 9, 2016
I was very honoured to be invited to curate the Real Scientists twitter account for a week between Oct 9th-15th. (You can follow them here!) The account is curated by a different expert in a scientific field, from particles to paleontology to pulsars. I went in to talk about my experiences as a science communicator and some of my research in the field. An exhausting, exhilarating week that I would definitely consider doing again (although maybe not next week!)
Highlights of the week included a stimulating discussion about LibGen: who uses this site where you can illegally download textbooks and research papers, its place in the research process and whether we should even pay for journals at all.
@realscientists Publishers should be directly funded by research grants, rather than indirectly by institutions paying subscription fees.
— Alex Massey (@apdmassey) October 11, 2016
@realscientists perhaps “who should profit from publication” is the better question
— Padraig McLoughlin (@PadraigMcL) October 11, 2016
Alongside this this, there was also a day devoted to women in science, outstanding science communication and even a popular science quiz! Of course, even after all of this stimulating discussion and very literary debate, that doesn’t change the my most popular tweet was a gif of a sprinkler gear…
So it’s Freestyle Friday! Here’s a sprinkler gear. Engineering is cool.
(Couldn’t find source, pls reply if you have it) pic.twitter.com/O3ep9F2XQF
— realscientists (@realscientists) October 14, 2016
photo credit: tdlucas5000 Tiny Tough Guy via photopin (license)