In society in general, respect is a matter of etiquette and social norms. In science, it is something I had never even thought about before, but it is a very important issue, especially in today's disrespectful society. I can break it down into respect for scientific work, and respect for scientists. And then there are the issues of respect for scientific work by scientists and by the public and respect of scientists by other scientists and respect for scientists by the public.

I'll start out with respect for scientific work by scientists. When a scientist does the research he/she will publish the results and details on how those results were obtained. Before it can be published it must be reviewed by other scientists. In almost all cases those results and methods will be respected by other scientists. Along with that respect goes the question, is it right? If the result is at all significant, other scientists will attempt to reproduce the results or prove them wrong. It is not a matter of disrespect to question a colleague's work; it is what we as scientists do. When a new and better method is invented to address the same problem, it may well be that the new results are different. When someone does what I have done, but with better and newer tools, and finds out that I was not quite right, it is not a cause for disrespect. My work was respected because it was seen as something worth pursuing further and the new work is respected because it is an improvement. I do not resent the newer work. If a piece of scientific work is not respected, it is because it is poorly done and/or the person doing that work has lost respect.

The next issue is respect for scientists by other scientists. In general, all scientists have been through the same grueling process of getting a Ph.D. That alone is the purpose of respect. We all know that science isn't easy, and our colleagues have worked hard to earn their "membership". Some scientists are more successful and perhaps brilliant than others, but from what I have seen, respect travels in both directions. Brilliant scientists are respected and they respect less brilliant scientists. That doesn't mean we all like each other, but we do respect each other. There is, for the most part, only one way to lose that respect – be dishonest. A scientist expected to be honest with himself and with others. If they are not, they will lose respect.

Respect for science and scientists by the public can be lumped into one discussion. It seems that when science is held in high regard, and respected, so are scientists, and vis a vis. After WWII and during the cold war science was our savior – radar, advanced weapons, the race to the moon, etc. During that period scientists were highly respected. More recently the situation has reversed. Scientists have discovered global warming and the fact that it is caused by our beloved automobiles. The natural human reaction has been to kill the messenger, not respect. This reaction has been reinforced by those who have a financial loss or gain depending on the result. The public needs to put some thought into their respect or lack of respect for everything.