Ep. 134: Science: Do We Need It?
Guest: Scott Sampson, Science World
"We use science every day for everything."
That is according to Scott Sampson, PhD, of Science World on the role of science in our lives and our economy, and the opportunity British Columbia has to be a global leader in research and development.
He points out just how much we need science. "It's all around us, whether it's understanding the atmosphere or the iPhones in our pockets or the medical care we receive or the cars we drive or whatever it is. It's all based on science, but not many people think about that. They just sort of go through their lives using the things that are around them, not really realizing that there's a series of basic research, which then moves to technology, which then moves to the marketplace."
Sampson's biggest concern is we've literally driven children's sense of wonder away – wonder that is needed if we're going to cultivate the scientists of the future. He says there are three components of modern life that are inhibiting children from asking how everything works: "There's the fear factor. There's the over-scheduling factor; we schedule kids to the nth degree [and] they don't have time for free play. And there's the tech factor. And I think that we rob kids, especially young kids, of their childhood by not letting them have that free unstructured playtime."
