Obsession with health and safety is killing science
Posted: 09 Apr 2014, 12:04Obsession with health and safety is killing science, claims James Lovelock
James Lovelock, the pioneering scientist, who first detected CFCs in the atmosphere and proposed the Gaia hypotheses, claims the future of science is being harmed by health and safety
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent
3:15PM BST 08 Apr 2014
The ‘religious’ obsession with health and safety is putting off a generation of children from science because they are banned from taking part in experiments, one of Britain’s leading scientists has claimed.
James Lovelock, 94, who first detected CFCs in the atmosphere and proposed the Gaia hypotheses, which suggests the Earth is a self-regulating system, claims education has become a ‘tick box’ exercise which is doing nothing to inspire youngsters.
An exhibition dedicated to Lovelock will open today at The Science Museum in London.
Speaking ahead of the opening yesterday, Lovelock described how he chose a career in science after being fascinated by a chemical experiment he saw at the museum in the 1920s
But he said that experiment has long since been removed because it was deemed too dangerous.
“Health and safety is awful,” he said, “It’s become like a fake religion and it’s having a significant impact on education.
“It is like putting a wall around the top of a mountain in case somebody falls off. Well why would anyone ever climb it
“Too many students are told as long as they know which box to tick that’s all that matters.
“They are not being inspired in the same way that I was. Health and safety has infected nearly everything.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10752454/Obsession-with-health-and-safety-is-killing-science-claims-James-Lovelock.html
James Lovelock, the pioneering scientist, who first detected CFCs in the atmosphere and proposed the Gaia hypotheses, claims the future of science is being harmed by health and safety
By Sarah Knapton, Science Correspondent
3:15PM BST 08 Apr 2014
The ‘religious’ obsession with health and safety is putting off a generation of children from science because they are banned from taking part in experiments, one of Britain’s leading scientists has claimed.
James Lovelock, 94, who first detected CFCs in the atmosphere and proposed the Gaia hypotheses, which suggests the Earth is a self-regulating system, claims education has become a ‘tick box’ exercise which is doing nothing to inspire youngsters.
An exhibition dedicated to Lovelock will open today at The Science Museum in London.
Speaking ahead of the opening yesterday, Lovelock described how he chose a career in science after being fascinated by a chemical experiment he saw at the museum in the 1920s
But he said that experiment has long since been removed because it was deemed too dangerous.
“Health and safety is awful,” he said, “It’s become like a fake religion and it’s having a significant impact on education.
“It is like putting a wall around the top of a mountain in case somebody falls off. Well why would anyone ever climb it
“Too many students are told as long as they know which box to tick that’s all that matters.
“They are not being inspired in the same way that I was. Health and safety has infected nearly everything.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10752454/Obsession-with-health-and-safety-is-killing-science-claims-James-Lovelock.html