So politicians are free to impose their values upon us but scientists must be like Spock minus morals? The Vancouver Sun should just change its name to The Fraser Institute Daily ...scientists like myself who are in the role of advising governments must act as knowledge brokers between the scientific community and the public policy and political community. It’s a very fine line. But it can be problematic when scientists trained as experts act as ... advocates and it can undermine trust in the science. Q: How can scientists in an advisory role gain the ear of leaders who may have been elected on the basis of fiscal, social or even religious values? A: You’ve got to have the trust of the politicians, policy-makers and the public. To do that you’ve got to be as values-free as is possible and be honest about what the science says, the limits of science and what the inferential gap is between what the science suggests may be true and any conclusions you might reach. You’ve got to accept that once you have informed the policy, process politicians are then going to make decisions that are values-based, because that is what they’re elected to do. --Sir Peter Gluckman, chief science adviser to the prime minister of New Zealand, Vancouver, June 2014 vancouversun/technology/Peter+Gluckman+Scientists+should+stick+facts/9901244/story.html
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 00:07:51 +0000
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