What we write: Heidi Mendoza

Science and poetry: Why and for whom

“We need to communicate science to people.”

We have heard this for at least once, and we begin to think, “Yes, indeed, we need to communicate science to people.” But what part of science do we communicate? Specifically to whom? And why do we need to do this?

Heidi, a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam – Institute of Environmental Studies, explores and communicates the dilemma of science and moral decision through poetry. Her poems are directed towards other researchers and serve as an invitation to question the ways we think about and do science. Poems do not seek to provide answers, but they can be small or big entry doors to even more prompts, and more questions. While we read poems, we find ourselves in a journey of finding out – what does this mean? How does this end? Where does this lead?

Perhaps, in an increasingly complex world, we need to take a break from finding certainty. Perhaps, we need to be invited to imagine, and to ask – what might happen if this poem comes to life?

This June, she published a poem (Makina) in Consilience Journal (a journal that provides spaces where science meets arts). You can read the poem here.

Image description: Sinta, a Filipina female cyborg/makina