"To act on the side" meaning

[Eslam Elbyaly]

Hi,
what is the meaning of "To act on the side" in the following sentence?
"[FONT=&quot]Our political leaders need at least a modest degree of scientific[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]literacy, which most badly lack today —[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]no applause, please.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]It will be better for all[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]if they prepare before entering office rather than learning on the job.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Therefore you will do well to act on the side,[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]no matter how far into the laboratory[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]you may go"[/FONT]

 

[Barb_D]

This doesn't mean anything to me.

Can you please provide the source of this quotation so we can see broader context?

 

[andrewg927]

Hi,
what is the meaning of "To act on the side" in the following sentence?
"Our political leaders need at least a modest degree of scientific literacy, which most badly lack today —no applause, please. It will be better for all if they prepare before entering office rather than learning on the job. Therefore you will do well to act on the side, no matter how far into the laboratory you may go"

Looks like you copy and pasted this passage from somewhere. Make sure to check the passage to avoid awkward spacing.

 

[Eslam Elbyaly]

https://www.ted.com/talks/e_o_wilson_advice_to_young_scientists/transcript?language=en

 

[GoesStation]

From reading the transcript, I think the speaker lost the thread of what he was saying. He was going to say something like "to act on the side of education" but changed tack.

 

[andrewg927]

Here is the full context: "Our political leaders need at least a modest degree of scientific literacy, which most badly lack today —no applause, please. It will be better for all if they prepare before entering office rather than learning on the job. Therefore you will do well to act on the side, no matter how far into the laboratory you may go, to serve as teachers during the span of your career."

It seems he was talking about scientists taking a side job as teachers for our political leaders. Our student left out a very important phrase at the end of the passage.

 

[andrewg927]

From reading the transcript, I think the speaker lost the thread of what he was saying. He was going to say something like "to act on the side of education" but changed tack.

Do you mean "changed tact"?

 

[andrewg927]

Change tact = change tactic. I don't think I have seen "change tack" before.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't speak for AmE, but in BrE, the phrase is "to change tack". I think it comes from sailing terminology.

I have never heard of "tact" used as any sort of abbreviated form of "tactic".

 

[andrewg927]

I think you might be right. I just googled it. It should be "change tack." "[FONT=&quot]When ships tack, they change course relative to the direction of the wind -[/FONT][FONT=&quot] zig-zagging against the wind to move forward.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]"

[/FONT]It's so weird. So many people say it and write it like that, at least in the US.

 

[andrewg927]

I always hear it as tact. I have never seen it as tack until now. I guess in America we just invent words. There are words that we use that just don't happen to be in dictionaries. LOL.

 

[GoesStation]

Change tact = change tactic. I don't think I have seen "change tack" before.

No. Tact is the art of clearly stating something your interlocutor may not want to hear, without causing offense. Changing tack ​is drawn from sailing terminology; it means changing your immediate direction while still aiming at a goal.

 

[probus]

I can't speak for AmE, but in BrE, the phrase is "to change tack". I think it comes from sailing terminology.

I have never heard of "tact" used as any sort of abbreviated form of "tactic".

It is the same in AmE.

 

[Eslam Elbyaly]

Thanks to all of you, I think it was my fault I didn't hear the talk and only read the script.