The Discover Interview Robert Proctor

摘要

Pop quizzes are frequent for students in Robert Proctor's history of science classes. "How old is the earth?" "How many millions in a billion?" "Are you convinced that humans share a common ancestry with apes?" Proctor's passion is figuring out not only what his students know, but also what they don't know. His drive is to explore aspects of science that most don't see. A professor of the history of science at Stanford University, Proctor has taught courses as varied as "The Changing Concept of Race," "Tobacco and Health in World History," and "Human Origins: Evidence, Ideology, and Controversy." His ever-roving eye tends to focus on bad science made during good times, good science made in bad times, and the mass of ignorance lodged in our collective minds as a result of both.