GIGO

University Affiliations

Be cautious of the company you keep -- Mother's old adage is equally applicable to institutions as it is to individuals.

More and more we are seeing university affiliations being regarded as a mark of credibility, if not enthusiastic support for questionable ideas. When I think of Harvard these days, I think of John Mack and his alien abduction "research" or of Transcendental Meditation proponent John Hagelin and his bouncing "yogic flyers".

But we can't be too complacent here -- our own educational institutions are also apparently under pressure to endorse activities that would once have been beyond the pale. A reader brings up one example in this issue [see Retorts]; others may recall the outcry against Aoraki Polytechnic's attempt to promote a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in naturopathy.

How do we judge what is appropriate and what isn't, when we're deluged day after day with all manner of things claiming scientific support and academic credibility?

One way is to have some understanding of just what makes something scientific. It's more than jargon, it's more than simply collecting facts, it's more than getting the "right" answer. But few people have the opportunity to reflect on the nature of science, even at those institutions which teach our scientists. So we have physicists who believe that if you meditate enough you can levitate; health professionals who think that radio frequencies can be used to kill cancers.

I was, thus, very pleased to hear that Canterbury University is working on developing a multi-faculty Centre for the History and Philosophy of Science. It is, apparently, to be the first of its kind in the country, and aims eventually to offer courses to graduate level.

What would be nice would be to see a little of this creep into the school curriculum, so that people understand the powers -- and limitations -- of science and how to recognise it (even in bad company).

That would be a valuable lesson for anyone, whether they be a politician or a physicist.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.