Science and Technology Group

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of the Reform Club

2016 Programme

History of the Society

The Reform Club Science and Technology Group was formed in July 2006 by a group of Club members who felt that prompted by a sense that almost all contemporary issues have a scientific or technological dimension. Our first speaker was Baroness Susan Greenfield giving a talk to us entitled "Ageing and the Brain" on 6th February 2007.

The group’s focus is on the social and ethical implications of science and technology, rather than the complexities of the science itself. we aim to generate a high level of debate and dialogue, helping us all to get to grips with the real scientific issues behind the headlines we all see every day.

Speakers have come from all over the world, bringing a wide variety expertise. Unlike so many forums for debate, the Group benefits from a position of total independence from the scientific and political establishments, so that discussion about social and economic implications can be carried out in a spirit of open enquiry.

The Group holds its regular meetings each month usually on a Wednesday towards the middle of the month, from February to June and from September to November inclusive. We meet for drinks and nibbles at 6:30pm, usually in the Strangers' Room. The dress code is lounge suits. The talk takes place before dinner to allow members to discuss the issues raised over the meal. At the end of the session, over coffee, we move to questions, which usually involves a lively discussion from the room.

The following list of past speakers, selected from our 'back catalogue', has been chosen to convey the range of topics we have covered over the years:

  1. Lord Martin Rees Earth's Final Century? What Chance Change? (2007)
  2. Bjørn Lomborg Thoughts from a Sceptical Environmentalist (2007)
  3. Steve Jones Why Creationism is Wrong and Evolution is Right (2007)
  4. Lord Krebs Organic Food: Is it a Con? (2008)
  5. Ziauddin Sardar The Relationship between Islam and Science (2008)
  6. Robin Dunbar The Psychology of Group Size (2008)
  7. Michael Marmot Health Inequality and What To Do About It (2008)
  8. Chris Rapley Great While It Lasted. What Next? (2009)
  9. Karol Sikora Can We Afford Decent Cancer Care For All? (2010)
  10. Rohan Freeman Virtual Reality: The Death of Geography and the End of Privacy (2009)
  11. Lord May Systemic Risk: from Ecosystems to Banking Systems (2010)
  12. Lord Oxburgh A Secure and Affordable Energy Supply: Pipe Dream or Reality? (2011)
  13. Hermann Hauser - Microprocessors and All That (2011)
  14. Simon Singh Libel Laws and Science (2011)
  15. Jocelyn Burnell The World of Radio Astronomy (2012)
  16. David King The Sustainability Struggle (2012)
  17. Sir Paul Nurse Funding Science Research (2012)
  18. Colin Blakemore What's Special about the Human Brain? (2012)
  19. Marcus du Sautoy The Importance of Mathematics Education (2012)
  20. Anthony Ryan Nanotechnology (2013)
  21. David Spiegelhalter Understanding Risk (2014)
  22. Uta Frith A Little Bit Autistic? (2015)

Of course this selection inevitably omits many excellent talks by eminent speakers.