> I'd be interested to hear list members' views on Tony Blair's statements.
> Is it simply an anti-science fashion?
>
> David King
>
>
No - it's not as fickle as the catwalk! and arguably deeper rooted.
The last ECSITE Directors Forum (ie European-level meeting of Directors of
science centres and museums Europe wide, held in Lisbon, March 02), was
addressed by Nayla Farouki (Editor of "Les Progres de la Peur" publ Sept
2001 - Editions Le Pommier - France) who described French research with
18-25 year olds. The students (all non-science students) had debated nuclear
power, cloning, ICT, and global warming with scientific experts. And the
more they learnt about each issue, the greater grew their perception of its
risk to society. Solid evidence didn't quell their fears, and they made
value judgements without distinguishing between rational and irrational
arguments. 'This is bad news,' concluded Farouki, 'if these are the
perceptions of university students, we must address the education of
youngsters, so that they gain understanding before fear. And we must use
psychological tools in this education - make science fun, appealing, and
part of life.'
(I am not aware of equivalent research in the UK, and would be v interested
if list members know of any.)
Making science appealing is, in a nutshell, the mission of science and
discovery centres. I emailed the Times to that effect yesterday, and will be
interested to see if the letter's published!
Dr Melanie Quin
ECSITE-UK: the Science and Discovery Centre Network
the BA
23 Savile Row
London W1S 2EZ
T +44 (0)20 7973 3179
E [log in to unmask]
http://www.ecsite-uk.net
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