An August Image
W e note with intercst the remarkable and new-found sensitivity of chemists and other scientists to their relations wit,h the public. The propriety of establishing empat,hetic communica.tions with the rest of the cit,izenry has suddenly emerged as a matter of high priority. Perhaps it is best not to discuss the probable reasons for this change in posture. Suffice it to say there are among us those who welcome this opportunit,y to serve as ambassadors for science. Fortunately therc need not be even the slightest uneasiness over the cogency and di~patchwith which these envoys will carry the message of science to the public, for cert,ainlp any scientist worth his salt has long since mastered the art of diplomacy and the skill of advocacy simply through his dealings with his colleagues. Perhaps the most vivid illustration of the nev public posture of scientists and of its extraordinary sophistication came to us the other day in the form of an interview between a woman reporter and a successful, wellplaced scientist. We are iudebted t,o the reporter for letting us.use this peerless dialogue. R~rponmn: "It has been difficult in the past to arrange int,erviews with prominent scientists. Does your willingness l o talk to us on "on-technical matters signal a change in attitude in t,hescientific commnnity?" SCIENTIST:"A~timlly no. We are, zu you know, very conscious of om own roles as citizens and scientist,^ and very sensitive t,o our responsibilit,y to maintain liaison with the public. Unfortunately, we have been very busy in recent years so it is possible t,hat we have been a bit remiss in keeping up our public relations. However, now t,hat bhings have reached the crisis stage in this country, we feel it appropriate, even essential, that we aswme a more active role in society's affairs." I t ~ : ~ o n ~ r m"What : do you recognize a? the major dimensions of the crisis?" SCIIINTIST:"There are of course many dimensions-t,he \'iet Nam war, problems in t,he cit,ies, inflation, povert,ybut perhaps the most critical dimensions are the decrease in the availability of funds for scienbific research and the diminishingstndent interest in science." Ilrc~on~rsn:"Why do you feel these are major dimensions? Isn't the war. . ." S C I C N T I ~(interrupting): T "Surely it is obvious that seience is the most dependable wellspring of innovation and hope in our society today. After all, hebter things for better living through scientific research is far from a n empty boast. Without adequate sopport this important wellspring could dry up!' I ~ l ~ ~ 0 R ' ~ l "Do i l i : yon really think that scient.ists hold the key to tho resolotion of the great problems of our time?" SC~I.:NTIST: "Well cort,aiinly not d l scient,ists hold the key. But that is another matter. The main point, here is bhat there are scientific solutions t,o popnlation, t,o povert,yand even to discriminet,ion. There is abzahttely no discrimination in science. All men-I mean all scientists-are eqd!' 1 1 : o n ~ n : "I am curions about your s ~ ~ g g a t i othat n perhaps a segment of scientists holds the key to the resoh~-
I editorially I speaking tion of great world problems. Who are those scientists and where me they to be found?" SCIENTIST: "Like all fields of endeavor science has its highly competent component and it,s less competent components. Interestingly t,he highly competent component is located in a handful of universities in this count.ry." R m o m s n : "By what yardstick do yoo measure this competence?" SCIIINTIST:"Perhaps the most reliable is the number of dollt~rsin government grants the scientist is able to acquire. No doubt you know that a scientiit requests support for his work by writing proposals outlining his plan of attack on important scientific problems. These proposals are evaloated by a panel of his peers. Therefore, the scientists who are most successful in attract,ing funds over the years are judged most competent!' RlIponT~n: "Do t,hese highly competent scientists also sit on the panels that judge the proposals of others?" SCIENTIRT:"Yes, of course. How else could we be certain the proposals are judged reliably?" R ~ w o n m n : "Isn't this practice tantamount to making a handful of men both advocates and judges of their own causes, and does it not give them extraordinary control over the machinery by which you judge competence?" SCIENTIBT:"But this is the surest way we know to assme eontimdng qoalit,y and prodwtivity in sci~nce!~ I~IPORTER:"Would you advocate such & practice in the political sphere?" SCII:NTIST: "Certainly not! Our constitution makers wisely built in safeguards against this in the political sphere. I n science the problem is that the money available is so limited that we cannot afford the luxury of distributing i t among theless able." l
