The Two Cultures at New York Academy of Sciences

It's been 50 years since British novelist, government official, and scientist C.P. Snow gave his famous Rede lecture on "The Two Cultures." To mark the occasion the New York Academy of Sciences held a conference to consider the place of science in today's society. E.O. Wilson revisited his book "Consilience," a panel of historians explored the long history of discussions about science's place and demonstrated that it's a much richer and more complex subject than one would gather from Snow's essay, a panel of journalists discussed science in the media, and several of the organizers of Science Debate 2008 looked at science in the political process. I was on a panel about education. NYAS will be posting a video of the conference in a few weeks, and it's well worth a visit.

There is no doubt that the science community is far more engaged in reaching the public and policymakers than it was 50 years ago, and many members of the general public are eager to know more about science. The danger for scientists is to believe that communication means teaching the public more about science. It must also include listening to the insights of other intellectual disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, respecting journalists' efforts to translate science for a broad audience, appreciating the insights of artists, and engaging in real conversations. Science has much to contribute, but it is not the only way to view the world, and it does not have all the answers to the world's questions and needs.