David Boerner, Director General of the Geological Survey of Canada [right, GSC field work] offered a provocative view of science, based in part on work done by Daniel Sarewitz's Consortium for Science Policy and Outcomes at ASU. David described five 'myths:'
Myth of infinite benefits - that more science and technology automatically leads to more public good.
Myth of unfettered research - that any line of research is as good as any other in offering societal benefits.
Myth of accountability - that peer review and reproducibility are adequate controls on science.
Myth of authoritativeness - that scientific information is an objective basis for resolving political disputes.
Myth of endless frontier - that new knowledge at the scientific frontier is autonomous from moral and practical consequences to society.
David went into a brief rationale for each declaration but clearly all of them could generate an ongoing discussion/debate about the nature of science and its place as a human endeavor.
We could probably debate and argue over each of these for hours (days, weeks?). I hope he writes this presentation up with more explanation and wider distribution to foster wider dialogue in the community.
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