Richard Dawkins - Break the Science Barrier, Part 2 (2/2)

SCIENCE is useful but that is not all it is. Science can be uplifting, thrilling, life-enhancing. Originally broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 in 1996, Break the Science Barrier follows the Oxford Biologist Richard Dawkins as he meets with people who have experienced the wonders of science first-hand. We meet the astronomer who first discovered pulsars, the geneticist who invented DNA fingerprinting, a scientist who discovered a protein that causes cancer, and others. Dawkins interviews famous admirers of science such as Douglas Adams and David Attenborough, and asks them why science means so much to them. We also see how dangerous ignorance of science can be in classrooms, courts, and beyond.

With so many expressing paranormal beliefs and ignorance of science, Dawkins encourages viewers to contrast these ancient superstitions with the power and beauty of our scientific achievements and understanding.

Credit:
The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
http://richarddawkins.net/

If you are interested in purchasing a high-quality DVD of this presentation, you can find it here:
http://richarddawkins.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Richard
• Dawkins
• Break
• the
• Science
• Barrier
• Evolution
• Creationism
• Education

[selearemus]

243 ppl believe the earth is flat.

[WARSUG]

"Kevin was not an educated man, but he began to teach himself - Neuropathology"

That Kevin guy is a legend.

[azman5998]

@selearemus 245 now, lol

[tpuemats]

i wish my high school teachers had shown documentaries as powerful as richard's when they were out sick...

[brchful]

@wearestarstuffsagan -- touche - I assumed that you meant (like Dawkins) that science is moral in and of itself. You're right with the fetus example.

[wearestarstuffsagan]

@brchful i think science can help with morality such as abortion, it can tell us when the fetus would gain the ability to sense pain or if someone who is in a vegitative state is still conscious and can also fill pain but i know that it cant tell us what is moral, nothing can, morality is subjective, there is no absolute right or wrong. also, i didnt say anything about that, i was talking (clearly) about assholes who are against science like creationists and homeopaths

[brchful]

@wearestarstuffsagan -- Science is great for creating material prosperity, understanding the physical world, and can be very exhilarating. It is not moral, and it's not enough for understanding humanity. There is an aspect of human experience that is not rational/empirical.

That's all some of us are saying...

[wearestarstuffsagan]

anti-science people disgust me, ALL of them are hypocrites in the extreme, they denie science yet use microwaves, computers, medicine etc. they use the benefits of science but denie it when their childish beleifs are contradicted by cold hard facts

[47f0]

4 years? Shucks, in the U.S., we'd have simply fried him - and got it wrong. But the lack of science in the courtroom is hardly unique. My ex-wife, a reporter who had the court beat, watched an innocent man convicted of bank robbery by a jury and an incompetent public defender because they didn't understand simple geometry. Given the height of the security cameras, and where the robber was standing, the defendant would have to have been a full 6" shorter - but hey, they got a black guy.

[a1mint]

Too many people suffer from a disorder where beliefs push evidence out of the way.

[Be4TinGyoU]

That's awesome that guy got himself out of jail, if he had just accepted that his life was over he would have never have gotten out.