The Paradox of Science
As a lab team we work with passion and dedication to solving a biomedical problem, while unintentionally creating another. This is the Paradox of Science. Even though we believe in our work and will never stop our pursuit of knowledge to contribute to the fight against cancer, we cannot allow ourselves to look away from our role in the environmental impact our work also has. The Paradox of Science aims to create awareness, and inspire people to take action themselves by offering ideas and tools to do so.
The Paradox of Science is part of the ‘If Things Grow Wrong” exhibit in the Lakenhal Museum in Leiden, the Netherlands.
“The paradox of science highlights the dilemmas surrounding progress, growth, and its cost. It blends powerful awareness with a definitive call to action.”
— the jury of If Things Grow Wrong
The second room unveils the ‘Beauty of Knowledge’. The 3D microscopy imaging on show makes the viewer aware of the beauty that lies behind the science, which at the same time is used to increase medical research knowledge and output.
In the third room, ‘The Paradox of Science’, the viewer is confronted with the unintended consequences of scientific research.
Finally, in the fourth room, space is given to a more sustainable world, encouraging scientists and the public alike to help work towards solving this paradox.
As modern humans, we find ourselves in an ever evolving dilemma. On the one hand, science is getting smarter, enabling us to find new ways to fight devastating diseases, such as cancer. On the other hand, that progress brings with it a considerable mountain of plastic waste. Think, for example, of the large amounts of single use plastics that are often needed to conduct this research in a careful, sterile way.
The makers of this work, themselves researchers in the biomedical field, confront us with this paradox. The Paradox of Science consists of four rooms that take the visitor on this journey. The first room begins the story with ‘Fighting Cancer’, showing items relating to a cancer patient’s experience, interwoven with the laboratory work done to tackle this disease.
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