I always marvel at how some of my heroes remain so calm while pointing out how completely and utterly fubarred we are. And this cartoon, by the fantastic Marc Roberts, says it all…
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I always marvel at how some of my heroes remain so calm while pointing out how completely and utterly fubarred we are. And this cartoon, by the fantastic Marc Roberts, says it all…
All too true – and borne out when I’ve interviewed climate change academics and got to my favourite bit ‘ How do you feel about all this?’ Most seem genuinely surprised by the question, and most again dont seem to connect the reasonable reaction – sheer fear – to the data they present. A necessary function of objective research?
The risk of ‘contamination’ – that emotions betray, mislead etc while you are “doing science” carries over into what you think/feel about the implications of the work. I suppose we saw it best with the so-called nuclear strategists, who seemed to compete for who could keep the most dispassionate voice while talking about millions of crispy corpses (‘megadeaths’). I suppose talking about how distressing it all is puts your ‘brand’ (and future career progression/opportunity to do more of the science you love) under threat. So you keep those feelings far under wraps? Any scientists lurking want to comment (anonymously if needs be?!)