The World Needs Wicked Scientists
By Mark Moritz, Nicholas C. Kawa
How can we train the next generation of researchers to tackle society's most vexing problems?
This Article From Issue
July-August 2022
Volume 110, Number 4
Page 212
Many problems facing humanity are so daunting they seem impossible to solve. Among these problems are global climate change, food insecurity, growing socioeconomic inequality, systemic racism, and emerging infectious diseases. Yet it is precisely these problems—identified by a growing number of scholars as “wicked problems”—that society most urgently needs to address. How, then, can our expanding scientific understanding of wicked problems help us find better approaches? And what specific skills, attitudes, and knowledge do scientists need in order to effectively tackle them?
QUICK TAKE
- The term wicked problems has been used to describe a wide range of social and cultural issues that seem difficult or even impossible to solve.
- There is an urgent need for programs that bring together transdisciplinary teams specifically trained to consider both the complexity and the political nature of wicked problems.
- Those trained as wicked scientists will be better positioned and prepared to intervene on such grand challenges in ways that can yield more equitable outcomes.
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