From Adam Nieman, University of the West of England
Bristol
Is anybody safe from the snide carping of the people who write for your Forum
section?
On 21 September (p 56) it was artists, Damien Hirst in particular, who came
under assault. Jeremy Burgess may have had his tongue in his cheek, but the
argument was the same as usual—a denigration of another community based on
a completely garbled conception of what it does, followed by the arrogant
assertion that scientists could do better.
Another example was “The trouble with philosophers” (6 July, p 44). A more
ignorant argument than this would be hard to find, especially the assertion that
it is impossible for a heavier mass to orbit a lighter one.
Advertisement
Other groups who have come under attack include ethnographers and
sociologists. Who is next in line to be “sorted out” by your correspondents?
It is not the ideas themselves that I object to, but the way they are
expressed. They are usually the frenetic expression of an inferiority complex
amongst sections of the scientific community.
I have argued myself that the Arts Council should support science, but the
way Burgess wilfully misunderstands art only detracts from many inspiring
projects which bring science and art together.
More seriously though, misinformed attacks on other groups, even in fun, make
scientists look both arrogant and parochial at a time when they need to be taken
seriously.
