Peter Atkins rocks the RI

Peter Atkins answers questions after his talk on the limits of science at the Royal Institution on Tuesday 22nd March 2011

The famous horseshoe-shaped lecture theatre of the Royal Institution was almost full for Oxford Chemist Peter Atkins to address the issue of the limits of science. But instead of giving a talk, he simply read passages from his new book, On Being, including most the prologue and selections from various chapters.

Atkins, whose ex-wife is ex-director of the RI, was introduced by Ian Douglas from The Telegraph. The take-home message was that there are no limits to science. In principle, science can address all the 'big questions' once ring-fenced by religion i.e. the origin of the universe, of life, of morality, of consciousness, and of spiritual experience. He then faced some hostile questions from a philosopher, a creationist, a Christian Scientist, etc and others who are skeptical about Atkins' hard-core scientism stance. Each brief exchange brought a muttering or approval or disapproval from the audience depending on their allegiances. Atkins is known as a brave straight-talking atheist that doesn't disguise his sentiments in politically-correct language, flowery sophistry, or accommodationalist qualifications. It's not just religious thinking that Atkins has no patience for, it's all the hand-waving in academic philosophy which he believes has an intrinsic pessimism that undermines the case for science.


As an audience event, however, it was a somewhat disappointing evening. No matter what one's opinions on the content, sixty minutes of reading from a book is inexcusable in this age of modern science communication. There is a world of difference in the quality of engagement between written prose and speaking to an audience. 

See Peter Atkins discuss his book On Being here

The Science Network

Here's a recommended series of videos from Roger Bingham's TSN (The Science Network) recorded on February 12th (Darwin's birthday) 2011 discussing the origin of life. On the panel are Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, Craig Venter, Paul Davies, Sidney Altman, Lee Hartwell, and Chris McKay.

The panel discussion that includes all of them is below...

Roger Bingham's Science Network specialises in extended discussions rather than sound bites. While it's great that scientists appear on popular shows such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, all too often these discussions are brief, whimsical and dominated by the hosts' gags. The pairing of scientist and comedian is rarely satisfying if you want to learn. Even popular science documentaries such as PBS Nova and the BBC's Horizon never let the scientists' speak for longer than a sentence. And even if there is a protracted conversation with a scientist (e.g. Charlie Rose Show), the host is not science-literate and therefore the conversation never gets beyond the superficial.

By contrast, within The Science Network, scientists are interviewed by a science-literate host (Bingham is UCL-educated in neuroscience) for discussions that typically last longer than an hour. Regular guests on The Science Studio include Neil deGrasse Tyson and Steven Pinker. Bingham is also keen to discuss the role of science education, science in the media, and the tension between science and religion. His website also hosts several symposia where scientists discuss cutting edge topics among themselves. Videos can  be downloaded and there are also audio mp3 versions and transcript documents.

In summary, The Science Network compensates for the mainstream media's continuing descent into banality, sensationalising, celebrity gossip, and blowhard ranting. By hooking a computer to your TV, you can treat the Science Network as a proper ad-free science channel.