Carlson received his inspiration to become a scientist as well as his first lessons in how to do science from his grandfather, George Donald Graham. Carlson describes his grandfather as "a free-spirited wild man, a person with incredible scientific creativity. But he was one of those personalities who couldn't go through the standard course of instruction. So he pursued his passion for mathematics and geology and biology on his own and he would frequently write really interesting papers that he couldn't get published because he didn't have 'Ph.D.' after his name."
While an undergraduate, Carlson carried out what is widely regarded to be the most comprehensive test of astrologer's abilities to extract information about their clients from the apparent positions of celestial objects as seen from the places and times of their clients' births. Carlson's experiment involved twenty-eight astrologers who were held in high esteem by their peers. They agreed to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles that were generated by the California Psychological Inventory, a standard and well accepted personality test, which the astrologers themselves identified as the scientific instrument that was best aligned with type of information they believed they could divine from their art. The astrologers agreed that the experimental protocol provided a "fair test" of astrology prior to taking part in it. The participating astrologers were nominated by the National Council for Geocosmic Research, which acted as the astrological advisors to ensure that the test was fair. NCGR chose 26 of the 28 astrologers, the other two being interested astrologers who were vetted by NCGR after they heard about the experiment. The astrologers came from Europe and the United States. The astrologers also identified the central proposition of natal astrology to be tested. To avoid possible bias from either the scientist performing the study or the participating astrologers, the experiment was performed double-blind. The results were published in the highly prestigious journal Nature on December 5, 1985. The study found that astrologers were unable to match natal charts to their corresponding personality tests better than chance. Moreover, astrologers were no more likely to be correct even when they had high confidence that they had made a match correctly. Carlson concluded that the result "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".
Inspired by his grandfather's example, Carlson left academia in 1994 and became a founder of the modern citizen science movement when he created the Society for Amateur Scientists. Readers enjoyed his monthly column "The Amateur Scientist" in Scientific American from 1995 to 2001. He was also one of the first columnists for Make magazine.
Starting in 2002, Carlson began turning his attention away from creating opportunities for adults to participate in authentic science projects to focus on, "inspiring the next generation to love learning about science and technology." After years of development which involved thousands of students online and hundreds of students in various pilot studies, in 2010 Carlson applied for and was granted non-profit status from the IRS to found a new organization known as the LabRats Science Education Project. According to the organization's website, LabRats is largely inspired by the Boy Scout model. The program features weekly meetings, a rank-based system of advancement, and a strong focus on ethics and community service. Carlson is currently the organization's Executive Director.
Engagement Education
In 2013, Carlson introduced "Engagement Education", a new system of teaching STEM. The goal of Engagement Education is to create strong positive emotional connections between the learner and what is being learned, their peers, and their adult caregivers, to "inspire young people to love learning about science and technology". According to the LabRats website, Engagement Education is the foundation of the LabRats system of instruction.
