• Question: if someone told you that they would give you all the riches in the world, if you gave up science,what would you do?

    Asked by hazar to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 12 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by sinr1.
    • Photo: Kevin Lomasney

      Kevin Lomasney answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Ha ha! Very good question! I don’t think I would. If you really give up science (I mean completely) you are giving up a way of life, a way of thinking, seeing and questioning the world. This is what makes me happy. I think without science I would find the world a very boring and repetitive place. Great, I would have all the money I could want and i could even travel all over the world but without that sense of curiosity and questioning, which to me is the very essence of science (therefore I would have to give it up to give up science), then travelling the world would become much less exciting! I would see amazing things and not really care, where is the fun in that? Money is important (unfortunately) but its not what makes you happy, what are your passions? Would you give them up??

    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      Hmmm, do you mean give up being a scientist or give up using science? For one thing if I did have all the riches in the world, I’d use them to fund scientific research! I could give up being a scientist, I think I’d become a photographer or artist and instead of trying to understand the world I would try to capture it’s beauty and wonder to share with others (I wouldn’t lose my fascination).

      But I, nor anyone else for that matter, could not give up science. It is so vital, so central to your lives. Every single thing in our lives is effected by science from the moment we are conceived, to our childhood vaccinations, to medicines that have virtually eliminated childhood mortality, to the plastic making our toy, the books we read, the tv we watch, the computers and the internet, our cars, homes, food everything is there thanks to science. Something like agriculture which we may regard as ancient and basic actually has a lot of science to it as well.

      Short of becoming a scavenger, wearing hides and living in a cave we cannot give up science.

      I have, of course, dreamed of winning the euromillions (if you’re going to dream, dream big). I would finish my PhD but then I would give up being a scientist and instead work on obtaining funding for research and scientific institutions……while in my spare time being a photographer 😀

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