Harris/Decima conducted a poll of almost 1200 English-speaking Canadian adults on behalf of Reader's Digest [The Canadians You Trust. Each respondent was given a list of 100 names and photos of prominent Canadians and they were asked to choose the person they trusted the most. Here's the top ten. The number one most trusted Canadian is a scientist! The rest of the list is pretty impressive. I would probably have picked some of them myself, especially Rick Hillier and Stephen Lewis. I would not have picked #8.
I had to look up #9—she's the Auditor General of Canada.
- David Suzuki
- The Queen, Elizabeth II
- Gen. Rick Hillier (Ret'd)
- Stephen Lewis
- Michael J. Fox
- Lloyd Robertson
- Peter Mansbridge
- Stehpen Harper
- Sheila Fraser
- Rick Mercer
Dudley Do-Right didn't make the list?
ReplyDeleteWhilst David Suzuki is respected for his former scientific contributions, I'm not sure that I'd trust his 'science' after having read The Sacred Balance. The Nature of Things IS the reason I became a biologist though, so he deserves a lot of my respect. The Queen though, that one I don't get. I guess the question I have is 'Trust in regards to what?'
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carlo re: David Suzuki. Some of the things that I've heard him say about the responsibilities of scientists (i.e. scientists are responsible for the societal outcomes of their work), are deeply troubling.
ReplyDeleteHe's raised awareness for environmental issues, which is great, but he's not perfect.
Suzuki's organization used to buy advertising space in the Toronto subway. It would take about ten seconds to spot various misleading statistics and/or outright errors. Free propaganda for the skeptics.
ReplyDeleteHis heart may be in the right place, but he (or his organization) will lie to you to get you to do the "right" thing.
As to "The Nature of Things", it was a much better show under Lister Sinclair.
I used to respect scientists, until I started reading guys like Moran, PZ, and Coyne. Their public persona has little to do with science (can PZ show me some of his best discoveries or papers?), and more to do with bashing religion. That's their real career, and they do everything they can to promote it. They're journalists, not real scientists. What new discoveries do they make? Do they contribute anything new to our understanding of the world? Not much...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous says,
ReplyDeleteThey're journalists, not real scientists.
Oh dear, now you've pissed off the journalists as well.