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Path: utzoo!watmath!absary
From: absary@watmath.UUCP (Al Sary)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: Words of Wisdom
Message-ID: <16970@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 23-Oct-85 18:12:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.16970
Posted: Wed Oct 23 18:12:10 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Oct-85 00:42:48 EDT
References: <2293@hcradm.UUCP> <184@mdivax1.UUCP>
Reply-To: absary@watmath.UUCP (Al Sary)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 40
Summary: 

In article <184@mdivax1.UUCP> kenward@mdivax1.UUCP (kenward) writes:
>
>> In the recent issue of Computing Canada, David Suzuki, perhaps Canada's
>> most generally well-known scientist-at-large, has the following
>> interesting comment:
>
>> 	"On a test of science and technology issues, if businessmen
>> 	 and lawyers were in school, they would be in a special section
>> 	 for the mentally retarded."
>
>> How thought provoking.
>
>I hope that these "words of wisdom" are being presented with tongue in cheek.
>Why anyone would care about Suziki's proclamations mystifies me.  Certainly 
>nothing will be accomplished with such shallow generalizations.
>
>The real question is why businessmen and lawyers should care about science and
>technology beyond what is obviously important to their lives and livelihoods.  
>If they should, and I do not think it is that certain, then more will be 
>accomplished in trying to understand why scientists and engineers have, or 
>perceive themselves to have, a monopoly on this knowledge.  
>

David Suzuki gave a talk a short while ago at the U. of Waterloo, and when
he said the same thing as above, he was referring to politicians in
governments; most members of governments are from business and law
(according to Suzuki).  Politicians do make a lot of decisions which involve
science, and it is questionable if they always know what they are doing
(eg. acid rain, nuclear waste, defence, just to name a few).

>If an eager, capable student fails to learn, it is the fault of the teacher.

I am not sure I agree with that.  Some people may be eager to learn one
thing and not something else.

One more thing; Suzuki did say that people nowdays are over
specialized, and he wasn't only talking about lawyers and businessman
(but lawyers and businessman effect your life more if they are
politicians).