Lord May at the Beehive: Science and Responsibility.

Summary taken from http://www.morst.govt.nz/society/LordMay.html

Scientists must be honest about the uncertainty in their work if they are to gain public approval for new research and scientific advancements. Lord May, President of the Royal Society of London, outlined his thoughts on the way forward for dialogue on science issues in an address to science and government leaders at New Zealand's Parliament on March 15, 2002. Below are highlights from Lord May's address.

The scientific advancements of the last 50 years have given us increasing power over the world in which we live. This brings with it an increase in potential benefit but also an increase in possible risk. The role of the scientist is not to determine which risks are worth taking, or deciding what choices we should take, but the scientist must be involved in indicating what the possible choices, constraints and possibilities are. Science is about exploring and discovering new things rather than deciding how, or even if, these things should be used. It is the role of society as a whole to decide how the new knowledge discovered by science should be used.

In an environment of increasing public scrutiny, it's not going to be good enough to have an expert committee report in confidence to a minister who gets up and says, I have been in confidence advised, and here is the answer'. The way forward is through open and honest public consultation and debate. In order to do this scientists must be upfront about the uncertainty in their work. "Lay it all on the table, uncertainty and all, and let the individual choose," said Lord May.

An example of this approach is the way Sir John Krebs, head of the Food Standards Agency in the UK, handled the question of whether the BSE pryon has got into the sheep population in Britain. His constant response was: "There is no indication that it has, from the knowledge we currently have. But that doesn't rule out the possibility, because we don't know enough and all I can tell you is that the risk level is relatively low- it's not in many sheep, but it could be there - you choose." Lord May noted: "Interestingly, the outcome is people trust him because he seems to be telling the truth and this has had very little impact on the lamb industry."

In contrast, in dealing with the controversy surrounding the MMR vaccine, the UK's Health Ministry has constantly denied there is any risk. In spite of their assurances, there is now widespread discontent about the vaccine. "Nobody believes someone who says there's absolutely no problem when there's one aberrant guy out there saying, 'there is'."

The areas of current contention, (GM, stem cell research, xeno-transplantation), and the areas of contention in the future, are those that are on the fringes of our knowledge, where there is much uncertainty. Scientists must be willing to own up to this uncertainty and to admit that they don't have all the answers.

While Lord May saw this as the only way forward, he admits that this approach is not without its problems. "In place of 'here is what the expert said', you have a babble of voices in the marketplace." This 'babble of voices' involves people with wide ranging ideas, backgrounds and agendas. They will all have different reasons for entering the debate, and some may have reasons unconnected to the central issue, "seeing this", he said, " as a tactical skirmish in some different ideological war"."But that's the risk you take that's how science itself works."

In the end, the debates on scientific matters are not just about science. They involve not just our rational minds but also our emotions and experiences. "We're talking of values and beliefs, we're looking at things that come from the heart," said Lord May.

Widespread debate is needed if these issues are to be resolved with approval from the majority. The role of the science is not to decide between the possibilities but to determine what the possibilities are. In quoting a play about Galileo, Lord May said: "It is not the job of science to throw open the door to infinite wisdom, but only to put a limit to infinite error."

Lord May Exploding the Myths

1. People distrust science more today than in any other time in history.
Throughout history, new ideas have been met with opposition, e.g. Galileo was arrested and recanted. Recent polls in the UK and Europe have found that the overwhelming majority of people think that science has made their lives better.

2. If people understood science more, they wouldn't be so concerned about it.
Studies have found that increased knowledge of science tends to lead to increased concern. "The more you understand about science, the more you understand about the problems of unintended consequences," said Lord May.

3. Europeans are cautious and distrusting of new things while Americans are the brave new world boldly going where no man has gone before. (Especially in GM.) Europe in fact led the way in GM products. It is local events, such as BSE and certain campaigners who have turned the tide. There are no systematic cultural differences.