Basic Books has just published The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius, by Harvard historian of science Joyce Chaplin. I got to read the book in galleys and it was excellent. From his studies of electricity and storms to his charting of the Gulf Stream, Franklin was easily this nation's first great scientist. I was happy to endorse this book and have a blurb on the back which reads as follows:
Joyce Chaplin's book is as electrifying as her subject. For those alarmed by the current rift between scientists and our political leaders, Franklin's life reminds us that a much more enlightened relationship is possible.
So, I encourage you to check out The First Scientific American, especially if the history of science floats your boat (as it does mine).
Meanwhile, The Republican War on Science was reviewed recently in Nature Medicine, and you can read the review here. It's by Michael Stebbins, with the Federation of American Scientists, and it's quite positive. I particularly enjoyed this part:
This book should serve as a harsh wake-up call to the scientific community and the American public at large that the heady days of science in the ivory tower must end if we are to effectively fight this lunacy.
Sentiments I endorse completely. Scientists need to come down from their towers, the sooner the better....
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Oh, I like the Stebbins review very much.
I wonder about the "ivory tower" metaphor. (1) Is it a myth? In my experience (limited, granted), the scientists I've worked with have been "down to Earth". (2) If it is real, then I would be concerned that coming down from the tower would mean doing more "practical" research and there would be less support for more esoteric work, which can still be very important. For example, the ozone hole (very important) was discovered by scientists studying trace chemicals in the atmosphere of Venus (very obscure). Global warming research similarly has roots in studying Venus. Of course, there are countless examples of significant scientific discoveries resulting from unexpected sources.
p.s. congrats on the reviews.
I think the Ivory Tower is pretty real. But I don't think coming down from the tower means changing your research, it just means making it accessible to the public. Too many researchers feel that their only job is to pass their data and information on to other members of their field, rather than taking the time to pass it on to non-specialists. My biggest argument against this is that most research is funded with taxpayer dollars, and as such people should feel obligated to pass what they've learned back to the taxpayers.
People don't become scientists because they are good communicators, they do it because they're good at research. But because they're not explaining things in layman's terms, other people are mis-interpreting the data for them. If we'd just do it ourselves in the first place, we wouldn't have as many problems. Then John Lott would have a scientist to quote instead of an op-ed article.