Comments on: Donald Braben on Scientific Freedom http://duncan.hull.name/2009/01/20/donald-braben-on-scientific-freedom/ A personal laboratory notebook Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:12:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: anonymous jim http://duncan.hull.name/2009/01/20/donald-braben-on-scientific-freedom/#comment-3162 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:38:12 +0000 http://duncan.hull.name/?p=1359#comment-3162 I agree science is more institutionalised, but I suspect it’s less to do with caution than the physical requirements of such research. Amazing projects like the search for Higgs Boson are always going to require massive backing and will inevitably be institutionalised to some extent. I suspect that there is passionate idealism at the core of projects like this too. Is thise science being turned into a commodity, I don’t think so.

The noble ideals still exist, maybe the game has changed slightly, economics simply has to play a part in any major research nowadays.

]]> By: manuelcorpas http://duncan.hull.name/2009/01/20/donald-braben-on-scientific-freedom/#comment-2351 Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:15:26 +0000 http://duncan.hull.name/?p=1359#comment-2351 I think that part of the blame for this lack of freedom is the institutionalisation of science. Now every major serious government HAS to be scientifically developed; science is not a hobby, but a quest for power and money in many cases. It seems that idealistic values that inspired people like Darwin or Newton are passe and relegated to a few. I suppose this is in part the price to pay to comoditise science for the masses.

It is not clear yet what the place for science should be in relation to our society. Some people think it is going to become more important with time. In any case, those of us scientists should not forget its humble beginnings and noble ideals, and to do all we can to keep them and pass on to the next generation of scientists.

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