Professor Brian Cox on why Boris Johnson should have studied science
Cox talks to The Radio Times Podcast about how science acquaints you with being wrong.
Boris Johnson and his government may have spent much of the pandemic claiming to follow the science, but 'they are ill-qualified to do so', says one of TV’s leading scientists, professor Brian Cox.
Sitting down with Jane Garvey and Rhianna Dhillon on The Radio Times Podcast this week he said: “I think PPE at Oxford [University] should be PPES, you should have science on the end of it. Politics, Philosophy, Economics, Science. Not because I want Boris Johnson or whoever it is to know how old the universe is but because I want him to be acquainted with being wrong.”
Why would science aid politicians? Cox’s answer is simple: “An acquaintance with being wrong is what you learn as a scientist.”
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Cox went on to say he struggled to name any prime minister who had a science degree, other than Margaret Thatcher, who studied chemistry at Oxford. And it isn’t just prime ministers who he worries are scientifically lacking. Cox quipped: “I’m trying to think of the last science minister who had a science degree."
The conversation, which you can listen to via the link below, also covered the relationship between male ego and space (with the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk turning their hands to extra-terrestrial activities), Cox’s own desire to see Earth from space and how there are two trillion universes that we, as humans, can currently see.
More like this
Cox’s upcoming five part docu-series Universe explores different aspects of the solar system. The first episode which looks at our planet’s star, the Sun, is available on BBC Two on Wednesday the 27th of October at 9pm.
If you’re wondering what to watch tonight, head over to our handy TV Guide.
