I thought now might be a good time to introduce myself, and to tell you a little bit about where I’m coming from. I’ve always been curious about the world – I was one of those annoying "why" children – beloved of teachers and hated by just about everybody else, mainly because I forced people to have to think. So naturally I became a scientist.
Until four years ago I was a lab rat. White coat, clipboard, the works. Even when I was working as a scientific editor, I was still toeing the party line. It wasn’t until I signed up to an MSc in Science Communication (to preach the good word to the masses) that I had the shock of my life. I had the rug ripped violently from under my feet and I landed on my arse. The offending party was the Philosophy of Science, which at its core seemed to be saying that “Uh well we know that the foundations of science work – we’ve put man on the moon didn’tchoo know – but, ah well, the foundations are built on kinda shaky ground”. Huh?
While nobody can argue that science doesn’t do its bit for humankind, its claim to intellectual hegemony was on the ropes. In essence, I had stumbled on the arguments for the grounds of validity of scientific reasoning and my inner “why” child was going nuts. I could go on about this – it was enough to give me sleepless nights for months – but the point is that once science was denied dominion over theoretical knowledge, all it was left with was logic and reasoning and, well, you can apply that to anything.
So today, I have come to terms with this revelation. I have a little more respect for the Renaissance men (and women - they just had quieter voices) of history and I have broadened my own horizons accordingly. Science still plays its part in my life, but now I make it work for a living and it is the science of the everyday. My science lives in the soap pot, the dye vat and the pestle and mortar and it rubs along quite comfortably with the other Arts I cultivate.
