Brian Schmidt: in conversation
Professor
Brian Schmidt was part of the team that won the
2011 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae”. The consequences of the research were, and will continue to be, profound. It marked a major moment in scientific discovery. The effects of the Nobel Prize win on Schmidt have also been profound. His views on science education – discussed below – now make national news. People who don’t know him look at him differently, “like I’m some movie star”, and the requests on his time have multiplied greatly.
"I don’t think people should be able to opt out of science, or English, or maths – I think those are fundamental things we need. And so I do think we need to rethink the curriculum. I think we have, quite frankly, too much selection for classes for people to take. It makes education expensive and ultimately it’s not stuff that’s really at the core. We need to teach science to be interesting, but not just be memorising facts. The most important part is the scientific process of reasoning and deduction. Getting the idea of evidence and probability and uncertainty – that’s something everyone needs to interact successfully with life these days."
http://theconversation.edu.au/brian-...versation-8383
