Tim Blair's
eighth installment of "Things Scientists Say" . He digs into the Formerly Gray Lady's archives so you don't have to. RTWT, but note the decline of intellectual freedom.
1953: “A natural sciences group tonight called upon scientists everywhere ‘to strengthen the spirit of free inquiry by clear and courageous public expression.’ Scientists were urged to lose their fear of being ‘labeled’ for saying things they believed.”
1993: “With the cold war over, many scientists are converting both their professional skills and their activist convictions from national security and nuclear weapons to other issues, particularly the environment. This intellectual shift is driven variously by principle, by a growing interest in the environment among younger scientists, by the hunger for new challenges and – not least – by the search for new sources of financial support.”
