Comment: Don’t vote for scientific ignorance – opinion – 25 July 2007 – New Scientist

Comment: Don’t vote for scientific ignorance – opinion – 25 July 2007 – New Scientist

This is interesting, in an “Oh god, we’re all going to die!” sort of way:

WHEN 10 Republican candidates for the next US president were asked in their first Presidential Debate in May whether they believe in evolution, three of them – Kansas senator Sam Brownback, Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Colorado representative Tom Tancredo – answered no.
……..
Huckabee, for example, openly stated that he does not know if the Earth was created in six days, 6000 years ago…..

If a potential president is unwilling to accept the fundamental results of chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy and geology, …… then how can that individual be expected to assess the complex scientific and technological issues that will form the basis of US policy over the next eight years?

Lawrence Krauss poses an interesting question. If a presidential candidate is unwilling to accept the overwhelming evidence of all modern sciences, which all tell the same story about the age of the Earth and the Universe we observe, then how can we trust them to make informed decisions regarding science?

The problem with George W. Bush isn’t that he’s an idiot, he’s not. He’s an intelligent, educated individual. The problem is, he’s removed from reality. Anything that crops up that isn’t part of his view of the world is simply ignored. This is clear from his science policy.

He’s used this to ignore climate change, approve editing of science papers by people not scientifically trained, used it to veto bills on stem cell research and generally contribute to the impending crisis that America is facing; that they have nowhere near enough scientifically trained persons to run their scientific facilities, research departments and probably not enough to become science teachers and lecturers and train the next generation.

We’ve become a culture that celebrates stupidity. Look at Jade Goody (or any Big Brother contestant). We celebrate the fact that she’s stupid. Actually, she’s got what you might call street smarts, but she’s not academically intellectual. This is not a bad thing, but the fact that she’s become famous, partly from being perceived as stupid, is deeply worrying.

The real question is not do you believe in god? The real question is, do you believe in progress? Progress should be defined that just because we can do a thing, does not mean that we must do that thing. But all scientific knowledge has come from progress from great thinkers who have sought to increase their understanding.

No-one ever made progress by standing still.