Should we really keep Politicians away from Scientists?

Sir Paul Nurse has ‘weight’ when it comes to science. His position is the head of The Royal Society in the United Kingdom and in an address in Melbourne he suggested that we need to keep politicians away from scientists: “It also emphasises the need to keep the science as far as is possible from political, ideological and religious influence,” he said. And I’m wondering whether he is right? Should we really be keeping these areas separate?

Industry Search reported that ‘…Sir Paul told some his peers at the University of Melbourne on Monday that scientific advice should be based on the consensus of scientists who are experts in the area concerned, who are fully aware of conflicting explanations and the evidence on which these divergent views are based. “As a further check this advice needs to be challenged through peer review carried out by other expert scientists to ensure the conclusions reached are reliable and secure,” He says if there is no strong consensus it is important that should be reflected in the advice, homing in on the global warming debate to illustrate his point…’

So I’m wondering if what Sir Paul is really discussing is the difference between interference and involvement? Because laced within Nurse’s suggestion is that Political influence is always a bad thing and that pursuit of science is always ideology free. There’s no doubt that there are plenty of examples where science and politics have been used poorly or erroneously whether deliberately or not. A great example is John Grant’s book ‘Corrupted Science: Fraud, Ideology and Politics in Science’ which provides some great case studies.

Yet Sir Paul’s suggestion raises some questions for me – Isn’t scientific inquiry the process of building knowledge? Isn’t politics the art of societal management? Doesn’t the polity need to be better informed? Doesn’t society benefit from the ongoing improvement in understanding that scientific inquiry almost always leads to?

Arguably the answers to each of those four questions is Yes. Which brings me to the thought bubble – Isn’t the INVERSE of Paul Nurse’s question required? – we need politicians to be CLOSER to science not further away from it. We need our politicians to be more informed, more engaged, more involved. That of course comes with the risk of interference but we have that now anyway. The difference with the current situation is that often the interference occurs through a poorly informed polity and perhaps the reason for that is due to a lack of connection between the areas. So maybe, just maybe, we need these two areas more closely aligned?

So I’m not convinced that the idea of ideology or political ‘influence’ is be default ‘bad’ for science. What we may need is more scientists using politics as a sounding board and more politicians as scientists – a blending not an isolation?

Ten Trends Shaping Government Today

Jan 24, 2013

Futurist Jack Uldrich has posted an item to his website looking at Ten Trends shaping Government today. Although each item is arguable and may be context specific depending on ‘which’ Government you’re looking at, it’s a good overall take suggesting things to do with data, the interenet, crowdsourcing and the like. However I think Jack…

Should we really keep Politicians away from Scientists?

Jan 22, 2013

2013 will be the International Year of Crowdsourcing

Dec 30, 2012

I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to call 2013. After saying 2011 would need to be the International Year of Resilience (much still needed) and 2012 the International Year of Problem Solving I’m thinking now that Crowdsourcing (the idea of seeking assistance beyond your own capabilities from the ‘crowd’ often through social media)…

Five Emergent Ideas for 2013 you won’t find on any ‘Trends for 2013’ list (just yet)

Dec 19, 2012

There’s lots of talk about ‘next big things for 2013’ right now, just as there has been in past years. Rather than join the cadre of prognosticators, trend experts and (not so) disguised salespeople laying claim to knowing about what ‘will’ be for the coming 12 months, I offer an alternative approach – here’s five…

Does the Mayan Calendar recommend opening your Christmas present early?

Dec 16, 2012

Here it comes, the 21st of December 2012 – the last known recorded date on the Mayan Calendar and for years people have wondered why the Mayans never got around to extending beyond 2012. What did the Mayans know that we didn’t and should we be thinking about opening our Christmas presents early this year?…

Five Degrees Hotter? A quick reality check

Dec 9, 2012

As a Strategic Futurist I love a good scenario like the rest of us in the futures community. And where I choose to diverge from many in my field is in the pragmatic applications of futures and foresight thinking. Scenarios left as ‘what ifs…?’ are at best, theoretical. All of my clients and most of…

2013 Trends – fair or fantasy?

Dec 4, 2012

Over at The Australian Strategic Planning Institute an observation has been made about the so called Top Ten Trends for 2013 and whether, with deeper consideration, the trends suggested deserve their place as new, or emerging or whether in fact, by relying upon them you might be chasing a ship that has long since sailed.…

Open, Closed, Free or Fare?

Dec 2, 2012

Creative Commons is an approach that attempts to ensure that information in its various forms, can be shared by others for free. That is my take on it at least. And over time we’ve seen some major organisations shape the idea of ‘free’ to ‘free with conditions’ and ‘free for a fee’. The last one…

The Energy challenge & rising prices

Nov 21, 2012

Some topics are too big to cover in a few minutes on radio. In this brief snapshot, the ABC Darwin’s Vicki Kerrigan and I chat about energy costs, causes and the future ahead for places like Darwin You can download the media file here: Marcus Barber Future of Energy

Cities of the Future: a view from Perth

Nov 19, 2012

What does a City tell you of itself, by how it shows itself? There’s much to be learnt by noting the small yet ‘obvious’ signs of life in any city you visit, that reveal to a certain extent, it’s ‘true self’. I’ll mention a few cities here but will focus on my most recent visit…

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