Okay everyone, SEED magazine, my mothership (well, of sorts), is having a science writing contest that you all should know about. The best news about this contest is that first prize is $2500 and second prize is $1000. What do you have to do to win this tidy sum of cash?

You have to write the best 1200-word essay (yep, just like in school) on the following questions:

What does it mean to be scientifically literate in the 21st century? How do we measure the scientific literacy of a society? How do we boost it? What is the value of this literacy? Who is responsible for fostering it?

Unfortunately, since I write for Scienceblogs, I am ineligible to enter this contest, even though I sure could use the dough to pay for much of my living expenses. But no matter, here’s what I want you to do; write your essay in response to these questions and then, because you are a reader of mine, you can split the prize money with me, okay?

Oops, just joking about the “splitting the prize money” part. Actually, I would love it if one of my readers won one of the prizes, it would give me bragging rights, sort of the same way that a successful student allows me to brag about their successes (as if I had anything at all to do with it!), and I am even going to ask all of my readers for their insights into these questions, so they can help you write this essay — how about that?

The submission deadline is July 1, which is only one month away! Yipes!

Okay, so dear readers, I ask you these questions, just to get you all started thinking and commenting about these topics;

What does it mean to be scientifically literate in the 21st century? How do we measure the scientific literacy of a society? How do we boost it? What is the value of this literacy? Who is responsible for fostering it?