Hi Billy,
On Aug 30, 2009, at 6:20 PM, [email protected] wrote:
We cannot toss out the Congress and replace it with, as Saint-Simon
wanted for France,
a "Council of Newton," of scientists of many kinds, to act as the
legislature of a republic.
But how about such a council as a shadow government ?
Could be quite telegenic, even if it met only a few times per year.
Committees might
be televised on a more regular basis. Otherwise its members might
communicate via
e-mails and submit material to a "Newton website."
The idea is this : What would scientists recommend by way of
legislation ?
AND, when there is science related legislation on the Hill, what do
actual
scientists think about the bill or bills ? Finally, such a council
might do much
to popularize science for the sake of public knowledge and better
attitudes,
and in the process help stimulate a more robust "science market."
Many ways
it could do so, but one of them might be an on-going critique of TV
and Hollywood.
Alas, that's nominally what the National Academy of Science is more-or-
less supposed to be, and (politically speaking) to first order it
tends to act as a special interest group for science funding.
To make this work would require a major shift in how scientists are
educated, and even in how they perceive themselves. Worth doing,
perhaps, but not a small task...
-- Ernie P.
_______________________________________________
Centroids mailing list: [email protected]
http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com
Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
