From ALUN REES
The sentiments expressed by Eric Crew (Letters, 5 January) about it
being absurd to wear a tie or own a Porsche, reinforce my opposition (‘The
wages of science’, Forum, 8 December). If people like Crew say that scientists
should be ‘casual and happy’, what hope is there for science to be a respected
and reasonably well-paid profession? There is no need to be tycoon-like;
parity with other professions is a reasonable goal. And why shouldn’t top
scientists have Porsches?
Crew’s statement that an FRS is worth 100 Porsches and a free life ticket
for Concorde (by my reckoning worth about 5 million Pounds ) is somewhat
over the top. Perhaps we could invite Fellows to put a value on the accolade
– these days everything has a price. With that sort of money it would be
possible to do research independently of grant-awarding bodies.
Alun Rees Rustington West Sussex
