Rich through science

Tilburg’s Science Café is celebrating its fifth anniversary. It’s worth taking a moment to reflect on its role. The café provides a way for Tilburg to combine all that is engaging and inspiring about science with the levity and dynamism of a place for socializing (and a generous dose of Brabant jollity). I was asked to deliver an opening statement on the theme for the evening: the purpose of science. The intriguing question that hung above my head as I opened my mouth to speak was: ‘Away from science?’ (thank goodness for the question mark at the end). The tone was set.

For me, the essence of science and research is the quest, driven by curiosity, to uncover new and unknown phenomena and whenever possible to get to the very bottom of things. And as far as I am concerned, this attitude will continue to set the tone. I also appreciate the element of doubt in science, rather than that of certainty. Then, of course, science is also about ambition, competition and the search for acclaim. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The renowned social psychologist Carsten de Dreu characterized the behavior of his former colleague Stapel as a lack of curiosity combined with an excess of ambition (to paraphrase). His actual words were: “Inquisitiveness serves as science’s safeguard against fraud and fads; it is not only what drives one’s own research forward, but it is also what keeps one asking critical questions of one’s colleagues – how did you come to that conclusion, can you show me? We need to be inquisitive. In fact, we need to become even more inquisitive.” He puts it very eloquently. Doubt and inquisitiveness, then, lie at the heart of science.

But what about its purpose? There seems to be a tendency in our society towards science that can yield a financial return. All the talk is of valorization, cutting edge sectors led by representatives of the business community and funded largely with money from science – ‘convert knowledge into cash’ is a mantra that one hears everywhere these days. This is not something that I am happy about. It is the scientific equivalent of a fast-food diet and does not do justice to the dynamism of science as a profession.

However, this does not mean that we can turn simply disregard what society wants and needs. Of course we must demonstrate the value of science, but not only in economic terms. The social, cultural and democratic aspects cannot be neglected. For me, valorization does not present a problem when approaching a new area of research. It is science and the scientist who define the parameters of research and nothing and nobody else can dictate which areas will or will not be researched. The challenge lies more in how we use the results of our research. It is certainly true that a great deal more can be achieved with our education and research activities than we might suppose. I am absolutely convinced that we can use the results of research even more effectively. And it is easy to think of examples that demonstrate what science contributes to our society. There is also the fact that the leaders and entrepreneurs of the future are currently studying at our universities. That, too, is a form of valorization.

That is why I have chosen to give this short opening statement the title of ‘Rich through science’. Let us be thankful for that richness.