Nano what?
At the “EKKA” or Brisbane show, a quick and dirty survey to get an idea of the public’s knowledge about nanotech is being conducted with visitors to our interactive display. The data isn’t completely a surprise, though with all the mention of nanotech in the media, Hollywood movies and the hoard of blood-splattered, shoot ‘em up Playstation games, it was interesting that about a quarter of people had never even heard of the term nanotechnology. As anecdotal as this survey is, it may have implications for nano communication activities.
EKKA is Brisbane’s equivalent of the Royal Show. The GNTIS is involved in running a public information display in the event’s Science Week pavilion along with a bunch of other scientific institutions including CSIRO, Uni of Queensland and Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Our stand focused on future energy technologies, but we used it as a platform to discuss nanotechnology in general. We shared our space with the Sugar CRC and the Australian Government’s, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research.
The survey
There are still 5 days of the show remaining and so this data is preliminary. Each person had to select one of four categories that best fit their awareness of nanotechnology. The numbers so far are as follows:
§ I have not heard of nanotech 28
§ I have heard of nanotech but don’t know what it is 35
§ I have heard of nanotech and know what it is, but don’t know how it works 28
§ I know what nanotech is and how it works 11
If one were to dangerously extrapolate this data to the Australian public in general, then one might argue this suggests we need to focus communication activities simply on what are nanotechnologies and what does this mean for society. That is, before we rush into trying to debate and engage about the issues that have been in the media recently (nano sunscreens, carbon nanotubes and asbestos, nanosilver and microbial slaughter) we need to first engage with the public about the basics because most people aren’t even aware there is nano stuff, let alone that there are issues associated with it.
Actually, the above data is a bit skewed because we didn’t survey children under about mid-teens and a surprising number of those younger than this had at least heard of nanotech through school or more likely via Hollywood (I Robot, Star Trek) and their Playstation/X-Box games (their names escape my generational-gapped mind). Parents were more likely to be clueless.
And before anyone jumps into me and says this is a cheap and nasty, poorly conducted survey that would never stand up to scrutiny. Yes, you are right. In isolation, it is not worth much, but in conjunction with in-depth discussions we have had and other more robust survey data done by DIISR, it is still useful. And, this is not a survey we will use in any official way. It is purely for our own internal purposes to get a feel for where we should be putting our efforts.
Jason Major