• Question: What would you do if you were told that you could never do, think or talk about science again?

    Asked by natasha to Meeks, Pete, Stephen, Steve, Tom on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Stephen Curry

      Stephen Curry answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Hi Natasha,

      A highly original question but that would be a pretty horrible experience for me! I would be quite sad.

      I think it would also be rather difficult since science is a way of life – a way of doing things, of thinking rationally and critically about the world. It’s not just a collection of facts.

      So if I was banned from thinking about science, it might mean that I was banned from thinking at all.

      In which case I would become a politician!

    • Photo: Marieke Navin

      Marieke Navin answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      That’s what it was like in the past, for example when Queen Mary reigned (Henry VIII’s daughter) and you could be burned at the stake for studying science. I would be gutted, I can’t ever imagine life like that without freedom to think/study and say what you believe in.

    • Photo: Tom Hartley

      Tom Hartley answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      If it was just me that was affected, I think I could just about live with it (although I might cheat on the thinking part if no one could check). Freedom of thought is a very important human right. If this kind of rule affected the whole society and was imposed on me by a government, I would think this was really unacceptable, and I hope I would be brave enough to rebel against the state I was living in. Unfortunately, this does happen from time to time in human history, and people have to be very brave and stand up against it. You can bet that any government that doesn’t allow people to think for themselves and look at the evidence (which is really the essence of science) does not have their best interests at heart.

    • Photo: Pete Edwards

      Pete Edwards answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      I have no idea! But I’m not sure I’d like the world half as much as I do now……..

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