Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
The major categories that arouse suspicion are 'experimentation on
humans and animals', which represents a certain problematic type of re-
search, and 'field research and expeditions', which are associated with
the adventurous sciences. Our analysis shows that movie portraits of
medical research and psychology, chemistry, biology, and genetics em-
phasize experimentation on living objects as the dominant method for
gaining knowledge. Chemistry, again, is second only behind 'medical re-
search' in being involved in experimentation on humans and animals.
But it is not just the methods and instruments that are suspicious, it is
also the scientists' intellectual power that surpasses that of ordinary lay
people, or at least so it seems. The 'genius' of scientists as a source of
knowledge arouses a certain amount of suspicion because it sets scien-
tists apart from ordinary lay people, and discovery 'by accident' also
suggests their extraordinary capability to read the 'book of nature'. Both
categories are in accord with the stereotype of the individualist nature of
scientific discovery and are prejudices that are held by the lay public and
supported by scientists.
3.5 Dangerous discovery/invention
One of the most common stereotypes about science is that scientists gen-
erate dangerous knowledge, through discoveries and inventions, which is
associated with hubris. To a large degree, associations with that kind of
knowledge determine the images of the different disciplines. In the case
of chemistry only a quarter of the films in the sample shows discoveries
in chemistry that are not dangerous. More than half are depicted as
unintentionally dangerous, the remainder being depicted as the danger-
ous results of ill will. This prompts the question of who is depicted as the
victim of dangerous research. It turns out that in half of the movies the
discoveries and inventions affect uninvolved people. In roughly a third
the victim of the discovery is the scientist himself. If one includes col-
leagues and assistants this share increases to about half of all the films.
This reflects the (alchemist) tradition of solitary research and heroic self-
experimentation.
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