Why science needs progressive voices more than ever
By Alice Bell,
The Guardian
| 07. 06. 2016
Brexit has thrown British science into a mess. During this period of political upheaval, it might be tempting to duck the challenge of picking sides, and instead play the card of scientific neutrality. But ignoring the politics behind the EU referendum result – and those at work in how we organise, run and fund research – will mean that the science community aligns itself with more powerful political interests.
It might be hard to hear (and it doesn’t apply to all researchers) but the way we do modern science and engineering sits at the heart of some of the inequalities that underline the divisions behind Brexit.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about “post-truth” politics, alongside concern about swathes of the public turning against experts. A lot of this relates to people talking about economics – or spuriously adopting the trappings of expertise. When people say they hate experts they don’t necessary mean natural scientists who - unless there has been a massive shift in public attitudes recently - remain popular and trusted by...
Related Articles
By Ali Breland, The Atlantic | 08.20.2024
“Joining us now is Steve Sailer, who I find to be incredibly interesting, and one of the most talented noticers,” Charlie Kirk said on his internet show in October. Kirk, the 30-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing...
By Annalee Armstrong, BioSpace | 09.11.2024
Complex gene therapies are starting to hit the market but all have faced the same reality: a tepid reception from the healthcare system and a cloudy path to profitability.
It can take about a year for a patient to go...
By Sarah Kliff, The New York Times | 09.09.2024
Image by Stephen Andrews from Unsplash
Yale agreed on Monday to pay dozens of patients who had filed lawsuits claiming that they had endured excruciatingly painful egg retrieval procedures after a nurse at its fertility clinic secretly swapped their anesthesia...
By Megan Agnew, The Times | 09.15.2024
Faith Hartley always wanted two girls — a blonde and a redhead. “I thought, I’ll have one that looks like me,” says Hartley, 35, smoothing her golden hair in the Los Angeles valley home she shares with her husband, Neil...