It's terrific to read about Unscientific America in my local paper,
A new book argues that scientists need to do more to promote their work to the public Last month, at an Arizona state senate hearing, a Republican legislator named Sylvia Allen casually tossed off a statistic that, if true, would unravel the last 200 years of painstaking progress in geological research. Speaking on a proposal for a new uranium mine, she asserted matter-of-factly that "the Earth's been here 6,000 years, long before anybody had environmental laws, and somehow it hasn't been done away with." The hearing was videotaped, and a clip of her remark was posted on the Internet, exposing her ignorance of basic science to a predictable chorus of mockery and disdain. None of which, of course, has the slightest chance of causing Allen, or other believers of the so-called young Earth hypothesis, to change their minds. In their new book, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum say it's time to switch from the standard, tired prescription for solving the problem of scientific illiteracy: more, or better, science education in the schools. After all, many proponents of "intelligent design" are well educated in the language and methods of science. Instead of blaming the public for their inadequate knowledge (or, in the case of Allen and other creationists, willful ignorance) of science, Mooney and Kirshenbaum blame the scientific community and its press agents for the poor job they've done promoting their brand.
Read the full article here.
