Foster sees ways that U.S. science policy could be improved. He says politicians need to understand that large-scale science experiments cannot be stopped and started without disrupting the research as well as the lives and careers of hundreds of researchers, which he says can strangle a scientific field when it happens repeatedly.
Calamitous budget cuts make it all too obvious why scientists should take a more active role in the political process, Foster says. "They are shooting themselves in the foot," by not getting involved, he says. He urges researchers to brush up on congressional policy and keep their representatives informed about their work. "You do get listened to," he says. Or in some cases, elected.
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5 Comments
Add CommentThat good news for Science. Hope he is not cleansed of Science by dirty politics of Washington.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm heartened by Mr Foster's move to Washington. While it won't make a big difference, at least we'll have some politicians that stand by the principals of deductive reasoning, cause & effect and so on, and are not joining the maddening crowd in the headlong rush to worship at the alter of hearsay & ideology.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe need more Philosopher Kings not Demagoges
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe need more Philosopher Kings instead of Demagoges
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUS Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-Maryland) holds a Ph.D. in Physiology. The author seems to have made a mistake by stating only two other congressmen hold the esteemed Ph.D. degree.
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