Does the public always know best?

An open forum examining whether society has become too obsessed with a "radio phone-in culture" in which the views of the public always come first will take place at the University of Cambridge this week. The free event, which is open to all, will bring together a panel of experts from fields including journalism and medicine, to ask whether these and other disciplines are being inhibited by the need to respond to public demand? Provocatively entitled "Does the public always know best?", the forum is part of a bigger conference on "detachment", convened by the University's Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), which is running until July 3rd. Far from attempting to claim that members of the public should never be allowed their say, the organisers argue that a healthy demand for accountability in fields such as politics and science is making these areas much more open and democratic than in the past. At the same time, however, the panellists will be asked if that demand is starting to go too far, and whether, in some cases, we are at risk of confusing what the public say they want, with what is actually best. "Many professionals are being encouraged to engage more with the public than ever before," Dr. Tom Yarrow, one of a team of anthropologists behind the event, said. "Very few people would dream of suggesting that is a bad thing overall, but perhaps we should be asking if it is happening at a cost and whether a better balance between engagement and detachment ought to be struck? "Some scientists, for example, now feel that they are losing autonomy and the right to research issues that are not driven by commercial opportunities, or a recognisable public interest.