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“I have a friend who's an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don't agree with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree. Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he's kind of nutty ... I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it's not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there's also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes ... All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts.”

That's a quote from the physicist Richard Feynman, and I suspect many scientifically-inclined people would find it relatable. I don't actually have any friends who are artists, although I do have one friend who is scared that microwave ovens will turn her food radioactive*.    

It's sad when simple scientific illiteracy deprives someone of the joys of microwaveable macaroni and cheese, and I don't want that to happen to you. I know you might think science is dull, or clinical, or just generally irrelevant, and you're not necessarily wrong - scientists are notoriously bad communicators, especially compared to the snake-oil salesmen and microwave-fearers we sometimes find ourselves at odds with. But you don't have to spend time in a chemistry lab or read dense scientific journals to learn more about science. Why, you can start right here on this website, where I'll be breaking it down into delicious chunks of creamy science goodness!

When it comes to science, knowing just a little bit more is always useful. It will save you money when someone tries to sell you pretend medicine or a rubbish diet supplement. It will come in handy during pub trivia when they start asking for the symbols of oddly-named elements (so, if you take one thing away from this blog, it might as well be that K is the symbol for potassium). If you're really lucky, you might even get to be That Guy who points out mistakes in Breaking Bad episodes, and we all know how popular That Guy is.

So, back to the Feynman quote I started with: it only adds. Understanding a bit more about science will only add to your life. There is no downside, apart from developing a nervous twitch every time you see the phrase "chemical-free" used to advertise a cleaning product. And the next time someone confesses their fear of microwaves to you, you can grasp them firmly by the shoulder, gaze into their eyes and say, forebodingly, "You're right. Now give me all your macaroni."

*My friend is wrong, by the way. If you'd like to harm somebody with a microwave, you'll have better luck throwing it at them. Science!