Last week, we certainly had you folks guessing--sometimes in a pretty off-the-wall way--about the news we planned to announce. So here's what's really happening: We have just inked a deal to do a book together. Yes, that's right--my third, Sheril's first. And yes, the book is about science--and about "the Intersection." We don't want to reveal too much yet, but suffice it to say, it rolls together many of the preoccupations of this blog over the past year or more--ScienceDebate2008, science communication, how to fight back against political interference--into a package that we think could light the way forward and help science emerge from the often painful 2000s into a much brighter new decade and future. Our recent articles have been very consistent with the overall theme and argument. So let me leave you a few teasers. From the Science policy forum:
ScienceDebate2008 might not have emerged if not for the collective efforts of individuals largely outside of science. Two screenwriters, a journalist, a philosopher, and two scientists built a bipartisan coalition of leaders in government, in academia, and among journalists and the religious and business establishments. The initial announcement came not from the major media (which initially paid little attention), but rather via the organization of a large coalition of science bloggers and other Webbased forums, such as the launch of a page on Facebook.com, coupled with a robust Web presence that tracks daily progress. At a time when scientists are greatly dissatisfied with increasingly fragmented media and their moribund treatment of science (9), "netroots" efforts provide a new means of outreach. Future initiatives to bring science into a closer relationship with society and the public may benefit from a similar approach.
And from Chris's recent New Republic article:
Scientists seem able to organize behind the prospect of a science policy debate; but a still more overtly political tack will probably worry many researchers, who recoil from the messy political process--and who fear attacks on their carefully guarded objectivity. Furthermore, there has long been a culture in the world of science that disdains mere "popularizers" and those who shirk research for less "pure" activities: Everyone in science remembers what happened to the great public communicator Carl Sagan, who was denied membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
We'll let you know more as we progress....
