Professor Colin Blakemore calls the decision to cancel Watson’s lecture at the Science Museum in Kensington ‘outrageous’
LONDON: The Science Museum in Kensington has come in for criticism from a top British scientist for banning Noble-winning geneticist James Watson after he made racist remarks against the blacks.
Professor Colin Blakemore, neuroscientist at Oxford University and former chief executive of the Medical Research Council, called the decision ‘outrageous’.
“It is outrageous to ban someone based on newspaper reports of their views. Jim Watson is well known for being provocative and politically incorrect. But it would be a sad world if such a distinguished scientist was silenced because of his unpalatable views,” said Blakemore.
The Nobel geneticist came to the UK last week to launch his latest book — Avoid Boring People — and was due to give his first lecture at the Science Museum on Friday. But the museum cancelled the engagement after an interview with Watson in a Sunday newspaper suggested that he considered black people less intelligent than white. Watson apologised for the comments arguing that he had been misunderstood, but it was too little too late. Other institutions where Watson was due to appear also reviewed their programmes.
The scientist’s woes did not end there. The 79-year-old who is credited with discovering the structure of DNA, was forced to cut short his trip and rush back to New York on Friday to save his job. Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, Long Island where Watson has been working for the last 35 years, relieved him of his duties as chancellor because of his views. Watson has served at the laboratory as a director and president.
While both the Sunday Times and the Science Museum have stood by their decisions, some British researchers are infuriated. They argue that scientists should be free to raise such questions, however unpalatable, provided they are scientifically justified, so they can be subjected to scientific and public scrutiny.
