X-Message-Number: 18665
Subject: Re: science/religion
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 10:08:19 -0800 (PST)
From:  (Peter C. McCluskey)

  (Charles Platt) writes:
>Message #18624
>What saddens me is that scientists are so much less adept at PR than the
>antiscience contingent.

 When was the last time you heard someone question the value of spending
money on typical scientific research? It sure looks to me like scientists
have been about as successful at convincing the public that giving them money
is important as churches have been. The trend over the past few years
may look uncertain, but over a period of a generation or more scientists
have clearly been increasingly successful.
 Scientists have been much less successful at promoting freedom, because
freedom is a public good whose benefits to scientists as a class are
somewhat mixed. Scientists need some freedom from religion, and have
gotten enough respect for 90% of what they do that religions wouldn't dare
criticise more than a small fraction of proposed new research projects.
But too much freedom (e.g. freedom from taxation) would leave many scientists
without a secure salary.

> One example: The word "zygote" should always be
>used to make a clear distinction between a clump of undifferentiated cells
>and a fetus. The pro-choice people had a golden opportunity here.
>Educate the public by using just ONE WORD, and draw a line that is far
>clearer than any arbitrary arguments about precisely when a fetus becomes
>"viable." But this opportunity has been lost, like so many others. I've

 It sure isn't obvious to me how a clear line could be drawn between
undifferentiated cells and a fetus, and if such a line is possible it
would be at an earlier stage of development than pro-choice people want.

>met many scientists, and only a tiny minority have any clue about
>presenting their work to the public.

 I've met many theists, and only a tiny minority have any clue about
converting people to their religion.
 Most of the scientists I can think of who were successful at attracting
sizeable grants were also fairly successful at presenting their research
in ways that made it sound interesting to the average person.
 The fraction of such salesmen seems about the same among scientists
as it does within religions, businesses, labor unions, etc.
-- 
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Peter McCluskey          | Free Jon Johansen!
http://www.rahul.net/pcm | 

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