![\"Montage](\"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/mindthegap\/files\/2026\/03\/Science-is-Vital-Montage-2.png\")
From the archives: Science is Vital rally, London 2010 (RIP Colin Blakemore, being interviewed with me in the lower left panel) Most photos by Joe Dunckley<\/em><\/p><\/div>Today in the United States, researchers are marching in Washington DC and across the country in a Stand Up for Science National Day of Action<\/a>. Their problems are admittedly a lot heavier than ours here in the UK, although a friend emailed yesterday musing whether something like Science Is Vital<\/a>, the street rally and affiliated political activities I co-founded back in 2010, might be needed to protest the recent clumsy funding pause enacted by the UK Research Councils<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sometimes I’m surprised people even remember Science Vital. But scientists marching in the streets, so commonplace now, was actually rather a rare thing back then. So perhaps it did stick in the mind.<\/p>\n I messaged back that maybe so, but it was definitely a younger person’s game. Besides, things have changed so drastically in the world in the meantime that the whole endeavour now feels rather quaint. <\/p>\n A decade ago, in my frequent university science communication lectures, I’d talk passionately about the need for scientists to connect with the public, to engage in dialogue, be open and transparent about how their work could help make the world a better place. Now (as recently as last week), I stand in front of the undergraduates \u2013 many glued to their phones as I speak \u2013 and admit that, actually, there no longer seems much point. <\/p>\n How can anything I say counteract the toxic deluge of misinformation that firehoses us on a daily basis? Politicians can look the camera in the eye and tell us that black is white, with absolutely no repercussions. A Health Secretary in one of the most powerful nations on earth can proclaim that vaccines cause harm, and peddle unproved snake-oil alternatives while preventable childhood diseases sweep through the land. <\/p>\n How can one well-meaning scientist counter that? Or even a million? The other side is bankrolled by dead-eyed billionaires.<\/p>\n So yes, it seems I’ve grown cynical in my old age. Having lost the rational argument against a bunch of grifters, we may now be beyond the point of no return. The pendulum will one day swing back, of course, but perhaps not in my lifetime.<\/p>\n In the meantime, ask the earnest undergrads in the front row who are actually paying attention, what can we do?<\/p>\n What, indeed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today in the United States, researchers are marching in Washington DC and across the country in a Stand Up for Science National Day of Action. Their problems are admittedly a lot heavier than ours here in the UK, although a … Continue reading