I assume that followers of PSCI have been avidly watching the torrent of
comments about Baroness Greenfield and the Royal Institution. Surprisingly,
there have been few defenders of the baroness. Indeed, such is the bile that
I find myself coming out in sympathy for her.
But let's not chew over that stuff. I have another question.
Would the PEST community miss the Royal Institution?
The Science Media Centre is a must, of course, and I can think of other fine
activities that should survive. But does the RI have a unique position these
days? And what about other grand old persons of this small world?
Some of the best coverage of what is happening comes from Mark Henderson,
Science Editor of The Times. His latest piece doesn't just question the role
of the RI, it also raises doubts about the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, BA, sorry BSA, make that British Science
Association.
"Like the RI, the BSA is probably trying to do too much, without thinking
very clearly about what it is actually for and how best to achieve it."
http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/01/baroness-greenfield-the-royal
-institution-and-science-communication.html
or
http://bit.ly/7lyqqE
The world has moved on since COPUS tried to combine the Royal Society, Royal
Institution and BA and to turn them into powerhouses of PEST - failing
dismally in the case of the RI. Susan Greenfield may have given the RI a
stay of execution.
There are now squillions of organisations playing the game. Is the time
right for someone to reconvene an offspring of COPUS to create a new
manifesto for PESTs?
MK
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