It started out with rock snot and ended with a call for scientists to stand up to suppression.
Canada’s Science Minister Kirsty Duncan used her TED talk in Vancouver to highlight her government’s record on science and blasted those who would silence researchers.
“It is critical — absolutely critical — that our scientists are free to undertake their work, free to collaborate with other scientists, free to speak to the media and free to speak to the public,” Duncan said.
“Because, after all, science is humanity’s best effort at uncovering the truth about our world, about our very existence.”
The 2018 TED Conference is focused on scientific progress, the issues that come with progress and the discomfort some feel about it.