Sunday Time, South Africa - May 29, 2000
CHRIS BARRON asked him . . .
No. Politicians are trained for loyalty whilst scientists are trained for independence. Politicians get promoted for being economical with the truth whilst scientists get fired for bending the truth.
Who needs scientific advisers when we've got the Internet?
Good politicians need and have scientific advisers. The Internet cannot interpret scientific facts. Politicians cannot become scientists overnight by learning through the Internet. I pity those who believe you can replace the training and experience gathered over many years of learning and practice at the bench by surfing the Net overnight.
What do you most admire about politicians?
Their potential ability to bring about meaningful changes in society, provided they are smart enough. More importantly, their ability to change to suit the occasion or audience. Their disregard for integrity, which at times is amazing. Their infatuation with loyalty and consensus. Their talent for ignoring and evading the truth in the face of evidence. And their cunning talent for using information like Humpty Dumpty - making it mean what they want it to mean.
Have you ever said anything you've lived to regret?
I would not be human if I'd never made such an error.
Do academics serve any useful purpose?
Academics are vital to any society. Now that knowledge has become the defining and precious item of our time, academics have become even more important in society. A nation that devalues academics is in peril.
Are you provocative?
If being principled, forthright, fearless and honest is being provocative, then yes, I am.
As a scientist, do you believe in prayer?
Yes. I am, after all, human. Being human is much more complex and more exciting than simply being a scientist. I believe in culture, social norms and values. All these make for a richer existence than the scientific specialisation which is but one small component of my totality.
Have you gone from underdog to top dog, and how does it feel?
I have never subscribed to any dog classifications. As I've never been a dog I don't know how it feels.
Is magnanimity always a virtue?
No. But it is an important virtue. In a country where race and power relationships are so skewed, magnanimity becomes an essential element of governance.
Is laughter the best medicine?
Not always.
Will it help those with HIV?
Not very much.
Do facts ever lie?
Facts do not lie, but the misrepresentation, misinterpretation, distortion, decontextualisation and manipulation of facts produces many lies. Politicians are adept at this.
What is the dumbest thing you've ever heard?
That poverty, malnutrition, TB and AZT are the cause of AIDS in Africa. The majority of AIDS patients in Africa are not poor, malnourished or TB sufferers, and do not use AZT. They are young, well-nourished and middle-income earners.
What makes you really angry?
Dishonesty and the inability to use and apply common sense.
What would you say to Peter Duesberg if you were stuck in a lift with him?
Be open-minded, transcend your entrenched position and do experiments to prove your misguided ideas and theories. I also suggest you visit an AIDS clinic to actually see AIDS patients.
What is the most useful lesson you have learned in life?
It is more important to make decisions based on principle than expediency and loyalty to people. Loyalty to ideas and knowledge is more important than loyalty to people, because carefully evaluated ideas and principles last longer as genuine friends of the mind and spirit than people do.
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