Unbeliever

According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Martin Rees says, in his new book Our Final Hour, that science is so dangerous that specific areas of research should be restricted.

If that link doesn't work, try this one, and click on Slow the research

Considering the gross scientific illiteracy of the "general public", I can see bad times ahead for the scientific community.

Jinto

Clearly, this guy does not realize that a "doomsday event" has already happened - the entire planet has been infested with utter morons.:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Majestyk

That was pretty good.

Ab_Normal

Martin Rees is British. Maybe their general science education is a lot better than what we suffer through here in the US.

(Ouch. I think I just strained something.)

Late_Cretaceous

Wonderful, have the scientifically illiterate dictate what scientitsts may or may not study.

Reminds me of how a politician here in Canada commented that scientists are not qualified to make ethical decisions (supposedly only politicians are) - he was talking about cloning technology.
:banghead:

Can somebody stop this planet, I wanna get the hell off!

Ab_Normal

Better yet, let's get those dangerous scientists to build us some dangerous spaceships. Those who don't want to take the risk can stay home...

pz

I rather agree with him. Science is incredibly dangerous -- it's probably the second most dangerous activity humans do.

First place goes to not doing science.

Marduk

He’s probably right, considering where the funding for most science comes from, DoD and corporations that want huge returns on their investment. Politicians and Industrialists are the last people on Earth I would trust with anything. Once the $ are at stake no one is going to listen to the poor scientist who sent out a memo warning about this or that. (space shuttle hearings anyone?)
As Oppenheimer said after completing the Bomb “I have become death, the destroyer of worlds”

American Agnostic

:banghead:
It's a little late to stop all reseach projects with a chance of destroying the world. Two words: Manhatten Project.

I do think that some reearch should never be done of have been doe (like the Manhatten Project) but im mostly talking about thing related to warfare. cloning is unlike to destroy as is stem cell research. Besides, how do you expect the American public (half of whom, according to a recent NSF survey, don't know that the Earth goes around the Sun and takes a year to do so) to make wise choices on such issues? What's really needed is for scientists to consider the moral implications of their research.

Unbeliever

I figure the dangerous science will always get done by someone, whether sanctioned or not. Restricting things like cloning, etc.(not that cloning is dangerous), will just mean that whichever country does the restricting will be left behind the countries that don't restrict it.

Some kind of global enforcement method would have to be used to make sure the restrictions were obeyed, and I just don't see that happening soon.

Sorry, this was supposed to be in the "How Dangerous is Science" thread. OOPS!