Bright ideas not always for the best, says science expert

SCIENTISTS NEED to become better at emphasising the downsides of technological development, the noted British scientist Prof Robert Winston has said.

Prof Winston told an audience at the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin last night there were downsides to any technology that are never recognised when it is first introduced.

The well-known author and broadcaster, who is a world expert on human fertility, has written a book entitled Bad Ideas, which demonstrates the downside to many of mankind's greatest technological advances, from the hand axe to the internet.

Prof Winston, professor of science and society and emeritus professor of fertility studies at Imperial College, London, believes science does not have a credibility problem, but scientists need to get better at communicating ideas.

“I would not have written this book if I didn’t think there was a problem with communication. We are not so good at it but we are getting better,” he said.

He cited the example of the internet as demonstrating how technological advances can be used for good or ill. It has led to the democratisation of information, but also acts as a catalyst for extremists to gather together, he said.