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Scientiae Carnival: Responsibility

Science is amazing. Scientific advances have led and formed our lives in innumerable ways. Through science and scientific knowledge, we have learned an immense amount about ourselves, our world, and our universe. Imagine how differently you would see the world if you didn't know that pressure, moisture, heat, and energy were all factors in determining the weather, or if you didn't know that sickness was caused by germs.

Simultaneously, though, we have seen scientific knowledge used for ill, over the years. The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, Medical Experiments of Nazi Germany and the bombing of Hiroshima are all examples of scientific knowledge applied in unethical and irresponsible ways.

There are a lot of reasons that we at FairerScience.org feel passionately about our work towards increasing women's and minorities' representation in the sciences, and one of those reasons is responsibility. It's not that we think women or minorities are more responsible or more ethical than white men; rather, it's that we all seem to be more compassionate about populations who look like us. The more diverse the field of science is, the more sympathetically scientific knowledge can and will be applied.

Therefore, it's only responsible for scientists of all stripes, striving toward an ethical approach and application, should desire and encourage a great diversity of people to be active in the field. It benefits us all.