Science for people
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-12-09Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 12
Science Education, Research, Production and New Technology • - are loaded with jargon. For instance, did you know that 'the way work is organised prevents us from conceptualising and controlling our own labour process'? While on New Technology, women are not mentioned once!
Women are pretty much ignored throughout, as is the Third World (see SO 100 for some issues involving development in the Third World and women's role). This may be a result of 24 of the 28 writers being men (mostly white midale-class academics?) - writing for a simuar audience!
Their language is dense and difficult to read and information is presented ir. an unimaginative way. Nevertheless, it has its good points and I would recommend SOOS to SO readers who are already interested in science and SfP no. 53 has just come out, with a socialist analysis of information technology.
This consists of: 1. 'Who's (Whose?) Information', a rather confusing article on Cable TV. It does include the ideas that the labour movement should actually decide a communications policy and that an information network serving workers could be set up la Workers Information Service). 2. 'Cops and Computers' and 3. 'Micro Networks' which suggests ways of putting computers at the service of local communities and groups of workers (I'm now thinking of launching a Science Column Computer Fund!).
Anyway, StP • is well worth reading (as is the Hazards Bulletin that BSSRS also publishes).
And at least they are doing something, inste id of just writing about it, like me!
SUGAR CEREALS
Scan page 13
Socialist Organiser no.112 December 9