On the question of whether science is fashionable or not...
I would say that science is fasionable, but in a relatively shallow way.
You only have to watch television commercials (particularly for cars), the
odd episode of South Park, the Simpsons etc, or visit the Institute of
Comtemporary Arts to see that science is a real reference point. There is
even a DNA bar and a Nitrogen bar in London's Soho!
Popular science publishing is also taking off, although how much we
actually read these books (as opposed to just buying them) is not clear.
None of this, however, means that science is any better understood or any
more appreciated than it was before. Nor does it mean that young people are
queuing up to study science. There is still a real abmivalence about
science which is apparent in many discussions and debates, including those
which take place on the psci-com list.
I think that even if this fashion for science is only skin deep, however,
it is a good thing. It means that those of us who want to change public
attitudes towards science (in my case human genetics and reproductive
science), so that people are more at ease with it and more sympathetic
towards it, already have a captive audience. It makes my job more easy,
anyway.
Juliet Tizzard
Director
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