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SILICON
SILIC
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
Greg Swain, B.Sc. (Hons.)
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Technical Staff
Ross Tester
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc
Nicholas Vinen
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Phone (02) 9939 3295
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ISSN 1030-2662
Publisher’s Letter
Australians’ knowledge of science
is abysmal
For a long time now, we have been very concerned
about the standard of teaching science in Australia and
indeed, the low priority it appears to get in Australian
secondary schools. Never mind the fact that Australian scientists like Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and
Elizabeth Blackburn have recently won Nobel prizes for
their work because the average Australian’s knowledge
of science is abysmal. In fact, if you asked the average
Australian who these three scientific giants were, you would get a blank stare.
Sure, Australians love technology but very few have more than a superficial
understanding of how it works. I was reminded of this recently when I watched
a program on Stephen Fry’s “100 Greatest Gadgets”. Stephen Fry is no mean
intellect himself but he still managed to trivialise the whole 2-part program
and ended by naming the top “gadget” as the cigarette lighter! As he waded
through the list, which seemed to have no increasing significance in scientific
development, it occurred to me that neither he or most of the (likely limited)
audience would have much ability to explain how any of them worked. How
depressing!
But even more depressing is an article in The Australian newspaper on
Tuesday, July 10th, on the new syllabus for physics, chemistry and biology for
Years 11 and 12. Just read this quote from a statement introducing the syllabus:
“Science is a social and cultural activity through which explanations of
natural phenomena are generated.”
“Explanations of natural phenomena may be viewed as mental constructions
based on personal experiences and result from a range of activities including
observation, experimentation, imagination and discussion.
“Accepted scientific concepts, theories and models may be viewed as shared
understandings that the scientific community perceive as viable in light of
current available evidence.”
Well, what a lot of meaningless, mealy-mouthed, politically correct drivel!
In fact, it is just drivel. If that is how the syllabus authors regard science,
then heaven help us. They clearly have no concept of what science is about
or how it has developed over centuries. It is just this sort of thinking which
is so prevalent in the so-called consensus on global warming, being that the
“science is settled”. It isn’t and it probably never will be.
Thankfully, this vacuous view of science outlined by the Queensland Studies Authority was rubbished by the Australian Council of Deans of Science,
representing the heads of science faculties in Australia’s universities. Their
language was not as strong as mine but at least it was along the same lines. We
need a much more realistic view of the importance of science and its teaching.
My attitude to science is this: if you don’t understand basic science, you
cannot have any understanding of the environment around you. If you do not
understand science, you cannot understand how any of today’s technology
works. If you don’t understand science, you are utterly reliant on other more
educated individuals to ensure your survival in the modern world.
If you don’t understand basic science, you might just as well be living in the
middle ages! But with the wonderful resources of the internet, not understanding basic science is not a matter of lack of intelligence – it is laziness.
Leo Simpson
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