With the 2012 Presidential campaigns moving into high gear, we find that science is once again under attack. There are a few voices out there making attempts to defend science. There are people calling the Republican candidates anti-science, and the Republican party the party of anti-science. But science is not Republican or Democrat. Science policy might need defending, but science is science. As I see it, two things are needed in our current political environment:
- Science needs vigorous promotion
- Pseudoscience needs vigorous denouncing
For many decades we had three champions of science here in the United States:
Isaac Asimov is well-known as a science fiction writer. He was also a professor of biochemistry and from the early 1950s to his death in 1992, he wrote hundreds of book and thousands of essay on science. He made all kinds of appearances in support of science and science eduction. And several of his books and many of his essays vigorously denounced pseudoscience. He made science easy for anyone to understand (including me) and made a clear distinction between science and pseudoscience. He loved the former and would not tolerate the latter.
Carl Sagan was perhaps the most recognizable astronomer in the second half of the Twentieth century. He wrote some extraordinary books on science including Cosmos, on which the TV series was based, and the Pulitzer prize-winning The Dragons of Eden. He also wrote books debunking pseudoscience like his 1996 book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
Martin Gardner wrote the Mathematical Recreations column for Scientific American for 25 years. He also wrote numerous books shining a light onto pseudoscience and exposing its follies.
These were the biggest promoters of science that I was aware in my lifetime. Asimov died in 1992, Sagan in 1996, and Gardner in 2010. I don’t believe they have been replaced, at least in terms of their ability to popularize and promote science, and denounce and challenge pseudoscience. I don’t know why this is, but I believe that these are the types of champions that science needs to promote its cause. Politicians can’t do the job. Even if they could their effect would be muted because of politics. Scientific institutions don’t seem to do nearly enough promotion to permeate the awareness of the average American. Sure, there are other outlets, magazines like Scientific American, where Michael Shermer has a monthly “Skeptic” column; or New Scientist which has on occasional editorial on anti-science. But these magazines are read by people who are already interested in science. What about the vast majority who are at best agnostic to science? Where are our heavy-hitters?
Among the science fiction community are many writers who are also scientists: David Brin, Gregory Benford, Geoffrey Landis, Catherine Asaro, and many others. Many of these scientist writers are very good at promoting science, but their audiences are, unfortunately, limited. What science needs is promotion on the kind of scale that Carl Sagan could bring to it. Science needs another scientist who is a household name, someone who people see on the evening news, distinguishing fact from fiction. Science needs scientists who can help the average person understand the difference between astronomy and astrology and why that difference is important.
When we urge our kids to go into science, when science catches fire with a youngster, it is often with the thought of making some kind of breakthrough discovery. Many scientists, I am sure, are ultimately disappointed. While they do good science, they never make an exciting breakthrough. I think we should encourage another important avenue: that of popularizing and promoting science and making it accessible to everyone. A single scientist might not make an earth-shattering discovery; but a single scientist can encourage and influence hundreds or even thousands of would-be scientists, and perhaps one of those scientists will make a critical breakthrough.
So what do you think? Who will be our next Asimov? Sagan? Gardner?
I have no clue, but I am hopeful that they are out there right now. We desperately need them.
Leave a Reply to Michael A. BursteinCancel reply