Science language barriers

As I return to school and get bombarded by 

"How was break?"

"What did you do?" 

Which are now accompanied by 

"Wow. You look so tan!" 

I try not to stifle my grin as I start to explain that I spent the last three weeks in Costa Rica.  Surfing. For college credit. 

As the pale Guilfordian gawks. Realizing they missed an opportunity of a lifetime.. I begin to explain that despite being a "Cali girl" and having this surf intensive experience I am by no means an excellent (or even good for that matter) surfer. 

When a look of confusion crosses their face.. I try and justify myself. 

There is so much more to surfing. Kelly Slater makes it look easy.. but in reality, nothing could be harder (for this 20 year old, at least).  

I start my general spiel about watching the waves, and judging which ones are more suitable for riding (at my level) and where I need to be in order to catch the wave, how fast I need to paddle.. ect.

By this point I've lost most of my listeners, which is understandable. I don’t think I'd be able to understand the difference between a good wave or a close out without seeing hundreds of them.

This is a good wave-

Photo by Bruindude wunderground.com

This is a closeout- 

Photo by Stu Gibson Surfline.com

So what I've noticed recently is: how we communicate dictates whether the information will be accessible to the audience.

Scarfe, Elwany, Mead and Black in the Science of Surfing Waves and Surfing Breaks, indentify that policy makers and coastal engineers need to develop a common language with surfers- a language that marries surfers' slang and technical/scientific jargon. The authors of the paper are trying to create a basis for this language- and thus smoother relations between the two parties.

Another unfortunate example: My Spanish professor assigned an article, "What works what doesn’t?"  from Scientific American Mind about the benefits and downfalls of various forms of studying. The article claims that cognitive and educational psychologists have been studying effective study methods for over a century- yet this information and findings aren’t making to the students and teachers that would benefit the most. The authors reason that the amount of research is overwhelming (probably due to language).  Many teachers aren’t encouraging or providing these tools to their students because even educators cant get through the research papers to understand what they need.

Most of the scientific information, primary journals and research, is not easy to grasp. When professors assign articles for classes- it often takes me many rereads and google searches to gain any sort of understanding (not all papers, I'm generalizing).

As a future scientist this is particularly disturbing to me. I don’t want only a small number of my colleagues to understand or appreciate my research. I understand there are difficult biological processes that may not be conceivable to explain to the common person but I believe simplifying is always possible.   

How can I make the information I'm gathering and care deeply about accessible to a general audience?

How will we, as a society, make positive change without all having a general understanding of new advances in a variety of fields? Maybe thats asking too much. Yo soy optimista. 

Playa Juanillo

As I float back and forth, in and out with the energy of the crashing waves my eyes dart along the bottom of playa Juanillo. Rainbow colored fish hide in the rock crevices, exploring for new bits of algae to nibble at. There is no coral- it sits on the beach bleached and ready to be pocketed.

When Jeffery, the manager of Safari Surf, offered to take us snorkeling at the nearby beach I was overjoyed. I relish the opportunity to submerge my face in clear blue water for long periods of time. The life underwater interests me in a way no terrestrial environment can. The ocean is a being, a mysterious and dynamic provider of life. 
But why do I feel this way? What is happening in my brain as I paddle into a greenwave and splash around in the whitewater? 

As I nibble around for academic support for my aquatic driven feelings, I find Wallace J Nicholes.

Nicholes is a marine environmentalist interested in understanding humans relationship to the sea and how this provide momentum and reason for ocean conservation. He found this method of conservation effective during encounters with sea turtle poachers in Mexico. But the success Nicholes experienced was relatively rare, most of his colleagues were trying to fight environmental battles with economics.  

So he developed a conference, and invited all of his neurobiology friends and expressed his concern that there was little research on the oceans impact on us, psychologically speaking. He called the conference Blue Mind Summit. He hopes the conferences will inspire a future generation of scientists to study our psychological relationship to the largest feature of our planet. 

What they understand is that humans are naturally drawn to the sea (we are 2/3 salt water? ), and being at the ocean makes us happy. But Blue Minds is trying to uncover why? 

Understanding why is especially important to ocean conservation. Finding out why those crashing waves and ocean front property are so highly prized will hopefully be the first step in developing a psychological approach to ocean conservation.

Anti-"babe"

How is the surf industry's depiction of women hindering the potential for girl localism?

This question arose from my class' viewing of The Women and the Waves. 

The movie portrayed a homogenous image of women surfers that I believe is inaccurate.  The women interviewed for the film were all white, attractive (despite some tanned skin and graying hair), presumably high socio-economic status due to the relative accessibility of waves, and lack environmental and political activism. Many of these "girl surfers" were explicitly identified as mothers and wives, Krista Comer in Surfer Girls in the New World Order would identify these women as third waves feminists.  

Interestingly, I have yet to hear a male surfer comment on their partner or family life in any of the surfing films we've seen (but maybe I wasn’t listening for it. What does that say about gender roles?).

Comer addresses this homogenous portrayal of surfer girls in the male dominated industry. Enter: Lisa Anderson, sixteen and homeless with dreams of becoming a pro surfer, would have physically fit the surfer girl look but was too independent and rogue for the industry. It wasn’t until after Lisa's daughter was born did she commit to her surfing career- winning the world championship title four times (and all the fame and publicity that accompanies it.)

Comer writes, "Would she be as attractive a figure if she had continued as a hard-edged, uncooperative rebel girls and not become a responsible career mother? Would Quiksilver or Roxy tolerate a product spokesperson who was unrepentantly 'bad'? Would Anderson be as prolifically photographed were she not blonde, blue-eyed, and so classically 'babe'? Likely not."

Despite what industry indicates through commercials, there isn’t a world of blonde babes surfing the waves.

There are women who are defying these industrially perpetuated norms (of race, interests, sexuality, and non-surf related careers).  Cori Schumacher, the three time women longboard champion (who was the first professional surfer to come out as gay) and Sofia Silva Sanchez, a well regarded chef and surfer (who is a woman of color and entrepreneur) are only a few. These women, and many of their "anti-gidget" counterparts, for different personal reasons, ride without corporate sponsorships.

The homogenous image of the (blonde, cali) "surfer girl" doesnt allow alternative narratives and perspectives about the reality of female surfers, who are diverse in appearance as well as interests and backgrounds. 

Counterkelsey

I am an athlete. I claim that title. I do however try not to let the stereotypes of Guilford (or collegiate) athlete define who I am. Athletics can provide a number of things for a young girl- an outlet to be active, friends, and an introduction to group/team dynamics among other things. Sports can however develop a harsh mindset, of criticism and comparison. In attempting to better ones game by improving your jump serve or jump shot.

The many years of athletic participation have shaped my psyche. I don’t remember if I was competitive or self-critical before my three sport high school career but it's now muscle memory. In choosing to participate in collegiate sports I decided to continue this seemingly positive practice.

Lets bring this into perspective here: my first few days of surf lessons were fun on a surface level. There's a learning curve in any new sport- Have patience Kels. But as the week progressed and we moved into the green waves- the fun began to wear off, and beneath it I found a deep seeded hunger for self-improvement.

In a moment of frustration I confided in Maia. Big mistake (warning for anyone considering this, don’t. She'll tell you some stomach churning truth that makes you feel absolutely absurd for having even thought the complaint in the first place).

Her truth was something like:

Its apparent you haven’t tried to do anything completely new recently.

Looking down at my sandy toes as the second gallon of salt water was emptied out of my nose- I felt small.

I replied she was right, I had not taken up something new that was challenging me in the way surfing is.

I got a bit worked up about this totally accurate accusation for the rest of the night- trying to decide why I was feeling so terrible about surfing but also more importantly why I have actively avoided picking up new hobbies with fervor.

Competition. I blame my competitive nature. I like being good at things, I'm sure many can identify with that joy- but in my situation obtaining that level of satisfaction is almost impossible and never enough. This can unfortunately take a lot of enjoyment out of activities and right now- surfing is that activity.

Maia shared the below article with me- and I found it addressed my situation.

http://www.surfermag.com/features/progression-in-surfing/

The progression and advancing technologies in surfing that Justin addresses mirrors my desire for improvement. 

"I'd bet my entire quiver of ever-more-refined short boards that worrying about individual levels of progression saps more of the fun out of surfing than anything else."

So now Maia and Justin from Surfer have told me it's not about being a good surfer. So how do I challenge this desire to improve- I have yet to figure it out completely. I try and open my eyes, take in more than the on coming waves. If I miss a wave because I'm talking with my surf instructor about fish- if I get pummeled because I focus on the pelicans path overhead or if I get caught in a close out. It's Okay.

Krista Comer in Surfer Girls in the New World Order relates this hypercompetivite nature to Lisa Anderson's attitude as a young surfer girl "who will not settle, who will purse, in and out of sport, a no-matter-what philosophy of life."

But instead of this attitude forming a counterfeminist movement, I'm 
working on a counterkelsey initiative.

The infamous Maia 

Late Night Carrot Caking

Localism

"Maybe I was just a woman in love with a surfboard" She has won the battle to establish a female presence in very male social spaces on terms that concern her physical and mental abilities not how she looks in a bikini. Girl localism is taking root" -Comer

As I read the intro to Comer to my parents in the car as we sped up the California coast (past many a surf break) just hours before leaving for Costa Rica one of the largest things that separated me from understanding her lengthy academic discourse was the term "local/global" and "girl localism."  

In the past hours these concepts begun to unfold: this is my understanding thus far

As the surfer girls become more prevalent and vocal, women are speaking up for their local surf break in matters both political and environmental (become representative riders). This localism is partnered with increased interest and awareness in the ocean and breaks across the world. This interest coupled with passion for surfing and seeking out new waves leads to increased travel and conscientious groups of travelers- increasing the awareness and critical thinking of the greater surf culture 

These feelings of loacalism are a platform for which girl empowerment or individual empowerment springs from.

Comer in another paper "Local/Global Surf Subcultures, Neoliberal Girlhood, the "War on Terror" writes:  

"Merging theories about transnational girlhood under neoliberalism (unregulated economy) with those related to the local/global dialectic in global studies, girl localism argues that girls and women surfers have brought critical perspective not just to norms of femininity but to understandings of the material places (oceans, beaches) in which counterfemininities are enacted." (I want to explore this counterfeminity and the ways in which its expressed in myself and peers)

There are many ways that the concept of local/global interests me. Although, I have never surfed I grew up in a community that viewed outdoor recreation as a top past time because of the immediate accessibility to high peaks, white water rafting and backcountry wilderness. My small town is therefore the destination for many travelers and nature seekers (a similar inland phenomenon to the popular California coast). Because of the large influx of tourist particularly during summer months there is a possessive local culture that holds distain towards non-locals who crowd the river spots. I have witnessed examples of physical appearance and racially influenced judgments as factors in determining who is "local" and therefore allowed at particular river spots.

This example of localism in my immediate life serves as a point of comparison and interest for my analysis in Comer's concept of "girl localism." I hope to reflect further on my participation in this subculture and how it serves to help me understand surf subculture.  

California Coast

As the departure time nears, I make my way to the coast.

My first day on the coast includes a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (a long time favorite of mine) where I am reminded of our fascination with life underwater.

One of the many quotes in the aquarium that reminds us of our interconnectedness with the ocean. 

I choose to prepare for my trip by staying up watching surf videos, of girl surfers, surf competitions, and big wave pipeline action. 

This morning as we packed up the car to head up the coast to San Francisco I spotted a group of surfers on the horizon. 

We walked down to the beach and got a closer look at the line up and breaks. It's not pipeline but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, which Maia will remind me for the next few weeks is what matters most. 

Ready to get in the water and experience the wave of the winter!