Covert Scientists

There is a review in this week's NY Times book section: The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite,' by Ann Finkbeiner.

I had never heard of The Jasons. From the review:

Jason (the term refers both to the group as a whole and to individual members) was conceived in the late 1950's, when the physicist John Wheeler proposed assembling a few dozen top academic scientists to give the government no-holds-barred advice. In 1960 the group began gathering each June and July in various locations. Physics was still riding the wave of prestige generated by the Manhattan Project, and all the original Jasons were physicists. Mildred Goldberger, the wife of the early member Murph Goldberger (and herself a physicist), proposed naming the group after the mythical Greek hero. Funding came primarily from the Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Pentagon (known today as Darpa).

What type of advice? It gets nasty.

Finkbeiner clearly likes most of her subjects. But she doesn't let them off the hook. She gently yet firmly keeps asking, What were you thinking? Most seem to agree with Murph Goldberger that Jason's involvement with Vietnam, while well intentioned, was "the greatest mistake that any of us ever made."

With all the talk of anti-intelectualism and the war on science, lets not kid ourselves, the powerfull will use scientists when it suits their needs. The sad thing is that when it comes to war and other dark aspects of government activity, many scientists are cooperative.