I've been extremely gratified by the huge response to the Mooney-Sokal op-ed in the L.A. Times, and there's been still more response since last I posted. In particular, sci-fi novelist David Brin, whose books I read as a kid, posted a very strong endorsement at Daily Kos. I don't agree with everything that Brin says, but believe me, he says it powerfully. Worth checking out.
BTW: Brin's fairly critical review of my own book can also be read here, on his website. I think he likes me a bit more when I'm paired with Sokal....
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This review was first written on April 14, 2005...
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I mentioned your op-ed in the comments on Brin's blog, so you might have me to thank (though word always gets around somehow these days in the ol' Wobosphere). It looks to me like you pushed one of his buttons by endorsing the left-right political axis, whereas in the op-ed you co-authored with Sokal, the theme seems to be, "There's science and anti-science, and the anti-science can appear in all parts of the political landscape, with self-proclaimed conservatives being the worst offenders today."
Chris,
Thanks for pointing us to Brin's thoughtful review. It leads me to this question for you:
Do you view the "War on Science" as a systematic attack by Republicans, or is the fact that the present "War on Science" is Republican an emergent property?
In my review ( http://www.scienceshelf.com/RepublicanWaronScience.htm ), I see it as the latter, a confluence of attacks from different Republican constituencies.
Brin seems to think you are characterizing it as a top-down war launched by political operatives currently in command of the party apparatus.
An aside: Like Brin, I found the title of the book problematic -- but it is a great marketing device and that's why we authors can't always choose our books' titles.