Time for scientists to pay their dues
Article Abstract:
Scientists often resent the notion that they should be blamed for the negative consequences of their work, but at the same time take credit for discoveries that have proven to be beneficial. They fail to realize that science and scientists should take responsibility for both its shortcomings and accomplishments. As a consequence, science is becoming more isolated from society and is increasingly pursuing its endeavors for its own sake. It is time that science renewed its contract with society and began working on projects that would benefit not only itself but the lives of people.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Cultural divides, forty years on: A famous lecture given in 1959 still resonates. Although time has eroded many of the cultural fissures that it addressed, current debates about biotechnology highlight continuing problems of mutual incomprehension
Article Abstract:
CP Snow's lecture The Two Cultures, given in 1959 complained of the lack of assimilation of science by the arts. Snow put great faith in an improved balance of education as the way forward, but there is still a low level of knowledge of scientific facts by the public. This has been particularly obvious in debates about the use of genetically modified organisms. Teaching people science will not adequately address the issues, but enhancing public awareness of science could improve the quality of debate.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1999
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Time for voices to be raised: scientists must become more involved in controversial public debates
Article Abstract:
It is important for scientists to participate in public debates about how society uses science and technology. If they fail to do so, there is a danger of science becoming marginalized.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2000
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Natural selection in the corona. Three-dimensional image of the solar corona from white-light observations of the 1991 eclipse
- Abstracts: Storage of X-ray photons in a crystal resonator. Equivalence of the sound velocity in water and ice at mesoscopic wavelengths
- Abstracts: AIDS closer to becoming a treatable disease: antibody-CD4 chimaera in clinical trials; AZT effective in most cases of HIV infection
- Abstracts: Millisecond-timescale motions contribute to the function of the bacterial response regulator protein SpoOF. Relaxation in polymer electrolytes on the nanosecond timescale
- Abstracts: Molecular trees for green chemistry. Green processing using ionic liquids and CO