Basingstoke IVC Science Cafe invite you to this free Royal Society talk titled "The Politics of DNA"

SUMMARY

All science is political. Though the scientific methods have been designed over the centuries to free our understanding of reality from the baggage of perceptive and psychological biases, and the grubby world of politics, it's an ideal we strive for, but have never achieved.

All new discoveries exist in the culture in which they are born, and are always susceptible to abuse. In this talk, Dr Adam Rutherford will be exploring how the abuses in his own fields of evolution and genetics - by politicians, ideologues and by scientists themselves - were central to the most heinous crimes of modern history. Adam will be arguing that scientists must know their own histories, and how Darwin's phrase 'ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' should be a mantra for our times. 

SPEAKER

The Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture is awarded annually to an individual for outstanding public engagement with science. The award, open to everyone, recognises high quality public engagement activities. The award is named after the United Kingdom’s best-loved naturalist and broadcaster, and honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, David Attenborough. In 2021, this award was given to Dr Adam Rutherford for his contribution to strengthening public confidence in science through radio, TV, films, talks and books, and in particular, for challenging racist pseudoscience.

This is a livestream only event.

TIMING
The live stream will go live at 6:55pm, and the introduction will begin at 7:00pm. If you register but miss the live stream, the video will be available to you via the same link for up to a week after the event date.

https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2022/09/attenborough-prize-lecture-2021/

Attending the event

• This lecture will take place at the Royal Society (this is an in-person event) on 5 September at 7pm BST. This event will be recorded (including the live Q&A) and the recording will be available on YouTube soon after the event
• The event is free to join
• Live subtitles will be available
• The lecture will be livestreamed onto the above webpage, this does not require any registration. This page will update with a livestream on the day as well as a link to participate in the live Q&A
• For all enquiries, please contact events@royalsociety.org