2
O
viedo
| C
ampoamor
T
heatre
| 21
st
O
ctober
1989
Knowledge and techniques can’t just be forgotten. Nor can one prevent further advances in the
future. Even if all government money for research were cut off, the force of competition between
companies, would still bring about advances in technology. And one cannot stop enquiring minds
thinking about basic sciences, even if they are not paid for it. The only way to prevent further
developments, would be a global totalitarian state, that suppressed anything new. But human
initiative and ingenuity is such, that it wouldn’t succeed. All that it would do, is slow down the rate
of change.
If we accept that we cannot prevent science and technology, from changing our world, we
can at least try to ensure that the changes are in the right directions. In a democratic society, this
means that the public needs to have a basic understanding of science, so that it can make informed
decisions, and not be left in the hands of experts. At the moment, the public has a rather ambivalent
attitude to science. It has come to expect the steady increase in the standard of living that new
developments in science and technology have brought. But it also distrusts science, because it
doesn’t understand it. This distrust is shown in the cartoon character of the mad scientist, working
in his laboratory to produce a Frankenstein. It is also an important element behind support for
Green parties. But the public also has a great interest in science, particularly astronomy, as is
shown by the large audiences for television series such as
Cosmos
, and for science fiction.
What can be done to harness his interest, and give the public the scientific background it needs
to make informed decisions on subjects like acid rain, the greenhouse effect, nuclear weapons or
genetic engineering? Clearly, the basis must be what is taught in schools. But science in schools is
often presented in a dry and uninteresting manner. Children learn it by rote to pass examinations.
But they don’t see its relevance to the world around them. And science is often taught in term of
equations. Although equations are a concise and accurate way of describing mathematical ideas,
they frighten most people. When I wrote a popular book recently, I was advised that each equation
I included would half the sales. I include one equation, Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2. Maybe,
I would have sold twice as many copies without it.
Stephen Hawking
—
Prince of Asturias Award
for Concord
1989
Excerpt from the speech given on
the occasion of receiving the Prince
of Asturias Award for Concord on
21/10/1989.
