When I first mentioned writing for the Douglas Blogs, a few friends of mine asked me why, so I thought I’d explain in my first post. I’ve always believed the popularization of science for the benefit of the general public is one of the highest obligations of anyone who works in a scientific field. Although making complex concepts digestible by the public isn’t always easy, it’s absolutely essential to fully realizing the benefits of these discoveries. Here are seven reasons why I believe that educating the public about scientific research is important, with a particular focus on the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry (as in the scope of this blog)