Should I listen to experts?

November, 2011

Who do you turn to for advice and which advice do you take?  A simple enough question but does your head ever rule your heart and are your decisions evidence based?  Do you ever doubt experts based on who they are seen to be representing and can you ever get truly independent advice?  Are you confused by controversy between scientific experts on issues such as GM, Climate Change, Food Security, Diet and Health and MMR?  How does the peer review process in science work and is it robust?  

During this event we explored these and other aspects of decision making with "experts" in risk perception, gardening and peer review.

The presentations

1. Gut instincts, expert judgments and things in between.... -Dr Gary Barker, Institute of Food Research
2. How to avoid going down the wrong garden path - Bob Flowerdew, BBC Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time and author of numerous books on practical gardening
3. Peer review -Andrew Sugden, Deputy Editor & International Managing Editor, Science