Science: Not just for scientists

In a landmark essay to mark the relaunch of the British Science Association, Chief Executive Imran Khan argues that science is too important to be left to scientists alone

No-one should feel the need to apologise for not being a scientist. And yet when I tell people I work for the British Science Association (BSA), embarrassment is a common response. "I don't really understand science", I hear. "Oh, I'm more of an arty person", they say, or, "the last time I did science was at school".

Such embarrassment is misplaced; not liking science is fine. The real concern is when people are excluded when they don't need to be - and this happens with science more than it does for many other parts of our culture. Music, literature, politics, and sport, for instance, can all be shaped by anyone who consumes, creates, or critiques them - not just by their respective professional classes.