• Question: does your job save lives?

    Asked by mattyfairhurst to Tom, Antonia, Douglas, Hugh, Matt on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by scotthoughton, 9bride.
    • Photo: Tom Hardy

      Tom Hardy answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I hope so Matty. My job is very varied and I do lots of different things and I’m sure they do not all save lives. And I should also mention I don’t work on the front line so I’m not a Policeman or a Fireman so I don’t physically save people from danger.

      But I can give you an example. Part of what my team does is we test how good detectors are in airports and we make sure only detectors that work to a good standard are used. This prevents criminals from taking dangerous items or explosives onto air planes and I’m sure this saves lives, but I’m just one small part of a much bigger process.

    • Photo: Douglas Blane

      Douglas Blane answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      It did at one time, because we used to create computer models of ships and oil rigs doing tricky stuff at sea in high waves and wind.

      Figuring out how to do things safely, before actually doing them, meant peope didn’t get hurt or killed. That’s the great thing about mathematical modelling.

      You used to have to just try things out and see which worked and which didn’t. But when your’e in dangerous conditions and something doesn’t work it often doesn’t work badly, and people get hurt.

      Now you can get guys like me and my colleagues to figure out the equations, set them up on a computer, try stuff out and then tell people:

      “If you do this and this and this – and do it in this order – then everything will be cool.”

    • Photo: Matthew Hurley

      Matthew Hurley answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I have two jobs – one as a children’s doctor and I suppose that’s what we’re supposed to do. As a scientist I haven’t saved any lives……. yet.

    • Photo: Antonia Hamilton

      Antonia Hamilton answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      no, not directly. I study theories of how the brain work, and in the long term understanding how the brain works will help people live better lives.

    • Photo: Hugh Roderick

      Hugh Roderick answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Not at the moment, but the hope is that by producing crops for African farmers that don’t require dangerous chemicals to defend them from pests their health will be improved. And hunger is a big problem in Africa, another problem that hopefully pest resistant crops will help with.

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