Academy of Ideas

#BattleFest2021: Girl, boy, other: how do we talk to kids about gender?

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GIRL, BOY, OTHER: HOW DO WE TALK TO KIDS ABOUT GENDER?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/girl-boy-other-how-do-we-talk-to-kids-about-gender/
How should we talk to kids about gender – if at all? Is it small-minded to feel uncomfortable about a more open discussion of sex and identity, particularly with younger children at school? Or are we allowing political trends in the adult world interfere with what’s best for kids? Is it a sign of a problem or an expression of greater freedom that, in recent years, there has been a notable increase in young people feeling alienated from their given gender identity? Should children’s gender identity be given the space to be playful, and does the toxic debate in the adult world risk putting limitations on that space for childish exploration?

#BattleFest2021: Is it time to rethink the precautionary principle?

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IS IT TIME TO RETHINK THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-it-time-to-rethink-the-precautionary-principle/
Can we treat decisions about something like a pandemic in the same way as those to do with the environment and new technologies, like artificial intelligence? Or has this pandemic shown us that we need to consider each new threat in a more holistic way, considering the economy, well-being and people’s freedoms as much as the direct threat to health? Is it time to finally depoliticise precaution and treat each case as unique? Or with political alignments becoming as important as the dispassionate assessment of risk, will the precautionary principle remain another victim of the all-encompassing ‘culture wars’?

#BattleFest2021: Is levelling up really levelling down? The great inequality debate

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IS LEVELLING UP REALLY LEVELLING DOWN? THE GREAT INEQUALITY DEBATE
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/is-levelling-up-really-levelling-down-the-great-inequality-debate/
This debate was run in partnership with the Ayn Rand Centre UK.
So equality of opportunity – or perhaps more radically, allowing everyone (more or less) to have the same income – is a no brainer. If the economic consequences of the pandemic are that the poor seem to have got poorer while the wealthy have done even better, tackling this disparity should be a priority for policy. But is equality really all it is cracked up to be? While everyone would agree that poverty is a bad thing, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should get the same. Even those on minimum wage in the UK are much better off than people in poorer but more equal countries. People vary in how talented, skilful and hard-working they are, but would people take risks or slog to get qualifications if there were no material benefit to themselves?

#BattleFest2021: Racism and how to fight it

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RACISM AND HOW TO FIGHT IT
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/racism-and-how-to-fight-it/
What does racism in the UK look like today, and how can we fight it? Is the contemporary anti-racist route of exposing white privilege the right way to challenge discrimination? Or does accentuating racial difference risk defeating any prospect of solidarity? Is it right to claim that society remains structurally racist, or should we be more specific about the differences between individual racist prejudices and institutional racism? Is contemporary anti-racism helping or hindering freedom and equality for people of colour, and who should have a say in how to fight for their rights?

#BattleFest2021: The status of science after the pandemic

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THE STATUS OF SCIENCE AFTER THE PANDEMIC
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-status-of-science-after-the-pandemic/
As we emerge from the impacts of Covid, what should we conclude about scientific authority and accountability? How should science and politics relate to one another? In what circumstances, and in what capacity, should scientists feel free to speak their mind publicly? Conversely, when is it reasonable for lay people to direct criticism at scientists? How should scientists use, and relate to, traditional media and social media? And how have the everyday challenges of a jobbing scientist – obtaining funding, pressure to publish, demonstrating impact, negotiating tensions with one’s seniors and colleagues – affected, and been affected by, the politics of the pandemic?

#BattleFest2021: The Irish border question

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THE IRISH BORDER QUESTION: CAN THE UNION SURVIVE?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021:
https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-irish-border-question-can-the-union-survive/
 Is it time for Unionists to accept a border poll as a democratic resolution and prepare their best arguments to save the Union? How should British citizens view the threat to the Union? If Lord Frost eventually tears up the Protocol, will that save the Union and resolve the border tensions? Or has the unravelling of the border become a fait accompli, based on the instability inherent in partition?

#BattleFest2021: Will green jobs save us?

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WILL GREEN JOBS SAVE US?
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/will-green-jobs-save-us/
Will a shift to a green economy revive the UK economy? Is the ‘green economy’ just the latest Big Idea to boost growth that will ultimately prove illusory? Is encouraging economic growth simply bad for the planet and should we accept that environmental problems mean we should strive for a zero-growth society?

#BattleFest2021: Can our data be used for good? The ethics of research

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CAN OUR DATA BE USED FOR GOOD? THE ETHICS OF RESEARCH
A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/can-our-data-be-used-for-good-the-ethics-of-research/
This debate was run in partnership with ADRUK.
When there is such extensive scope to improve lives by making better use of data, what guiding ethical principles and data protections should be in place? Can governments be trusted to use this data for good, or do they deserve scrutiny? Are there useful differences between public bodies and companies, or between researchers and governments? Is ‘anonymous’ data ever truly safe from being re-identified, and if not, how can we balance risk with the benefits afforded by the digital revolution?