The Problem of Communicating Beyond Human Scale

Human beings can only experience a thin ribbon of reality constrained by the biological limits of our perceptual systems. Yet, science routinely examines processes and phenomenon outside of human scale and science-related policy requires us to use our conceptions of these toward informed policy making. It often falls to experts to assist non-experts in constructing conceptions beyond human scale. This paper will organize relevant literature from varied fields to introduce the cognitive challenge of comprehending concepts beyond human scale and to suggest what communication techniques experts may find useful to help non-experts arrive at a perception more closely aligned with reality.