Nobel Minds

Stumbled across a first rate BBC radio forum at 3 a.m. this morning, called Nobel Minds. A moderator sat down with 8 new Nobel winners in the sciences to discuss issues about the role of science, and the scientists themselves soon enough extended the discussion to education and media. I especially liked their criticism of the media for creating the appearance of controversy when there is none. For example, 99.9% of scientists agree about X but the media finds the .1% who disagrees -- and then gives the sides equal time! .1% of the opinion gets 50% of the exposure, suggesting controversy where there is none at all. The media are guilty of this all the time, a point made by Susan Jacoby in The Age of American Unreason.

The education issue is clear enough: by and large, we have a science-illiterate culture. In my experience, scientists are much more knowledgeable about literature and the humanities than the other way around. Indeed, my humanities courses at Cal Tech as a freshman and sophomore were as high powered as anything I took later at UCLA on the English Honors program (!) and the students were brighter. In my survey of World Drama class, for example, one student, a junior physics major, read every play in the original language. The prof was always asking him about the translation. I mean, the guy read German, Russian, French, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Greek ... it was surreal. Worse, he was good looking and a decent jock and had a beautiful girl friend. I spent the term trying to find something wrong with the guy ha ha. Finally I learned that I played better guitar than he did! Cal Tech could be a wee bit traumatic.

Alas, the radio show is not available on the net. Not many heard it here at 3 a.m.