Mr Fergusson, who resides in Wellington, was commenting during a graduation address to more than 480 University of Otago graduates, including those in science, consumer and applied sciences, physical education and surveying, at the Dunedin Town Hall on Saturday.
He also noted that the Rev Thomas Burns, who was one of the key figures in the founding of Otago University in 1869, had earlier been the minister for some years in the parish of Ballantrae, in the ar
''In your careers, scientific and otherwise, you have had a grounding in science from one of the world's leading research universities,'' he told graduates.
The only way for New Zealand and the United Kingdom to keep their places near the top of the economic ladder was by ''constantly developing cleverer ways of doing things'' - whether in the media, other creative industries like fashion, ingenious innovations or ''commercialisable'' science, he said.
Graduates could contribute to society not only through helping with wealth creation, but also in other important ways through their training in evidence-based reasoning.
Readership rates were falling in both countries, popular media catered for, or encouraged, shorter and shorter attention spans, and complicated arguments were presented in often distorting sound-bites.
All these things made ''dispassionate decision-making based on clear evidence a habit, which is increasingly under threat''.
But there was growing respect, in government and in companies, for people who had scientific training because they were seen to approach issues rationally, he said.
Mr Fergusson has strong family connections with New Zealand.
His father, the late Sir Bernard Fergusson (Lord Ballantrae), was Governor-General (1962-67).
Sir Bernard's father, Sir Charles Fergusson, was also Governor-General (1924-29) and both of his grandfathers were governors.
