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Intolerance: retain healthy scepticism
The UK government's chief scientist, John Beddington, has done much to promote the potential of science to address pressing global imperatives. But in a straight-talking speech last month, he urged his audience of 300 government scientists to be “grossly intolerant” of “pernicious” and “fatuous” “pseudoscience”. In this he included: scepticism of genetic modification technology; “illegitimate” advocacy of environmental precaution in response to unknowns; and suggestions that science is subject to morality. This approach is a rejection not just of irrational denial but of entirely reasonable social scepticism concerning science itself.
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- Published
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NatureISSN
0028-0836Publisher
Nature Publishing GroupExternal DOI
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305Volume
471Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
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- No
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- Yes
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2012-07-13Usage metrics
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