One of the strangest and most shocking questions I have ever been asked is: “ Why should I care about science when it has almost no real presence in my day to day life? ”. I found this question particularly shocking as, quite frankly, it just is not true. In Britain at least, almost all of us are surrounded by science, technology and innovation on a near permanent basis and to a greater degree than any other generation previously. Televisions, smart phones, dishwashers and turbocharged vibrators, we now rely on technology to a greater degree than ever before, meaning that a basic understanding of all of this technology will not only allow you to interact with the world around you more effectively but will also improve your job prospects, and, I’m sure, be a truly liberating experience. At the risk of turning this website’s first ever post into a bile filled rant I feel a need to clarify just what I found so shocking about this question.
Not long ago in the presence of a reasonably intelligent 14 year old relative and her friends I overheard a surprising conversation that saw her ask: “Is the moon a star?”. The thing that made me particularly unhappy about hearing this is the fact that it suggests that we live in a society where it is seen as perfectly acceptable for a 14 year old, or even a fully grown adult, to not know the answers to questions such as this. As I have already said the girl in question is not by any means stupid and is in fact most probably of average intelligence for someone her age; In my mind at least the blame for this lack of scientific understanding lies not only on the shoulders of governments (Scotland has its own education system separate from the rest of mainland Britain) that make some form of religious education mandatory for all pupils under the age of 18 who are still in the school system whilst allowing pupils to opt out of all science lessons, but also on the public as a whole for simply accepting the levels of scientific proficiency and continuing to buy media such as newspapers in which the latest scientific discoveries and innovations are given little to no coverage and leading scientists are labeled as “boffins”.