Will they discuss science or just religion?

In December I suggested that we needed a presidential debate on innovation. Last week the democratic candidates Obama and Clinton did participate in a discussion on religion. Held not far from my home in Pennsylvania, this event has for a time occupied not only the national but also my local news. In contrast, a very thoughtful discussion on the promise of science and the role that it should play in the presidential elections was aired by my local PBS station from midnight till 1:00 AM earlier in the same week. Despite the credentials and insight of the distinguished panelists who were brought together by Charlie Rose, this discussion received no news coverage at all. I think that readers of On The Edge Blog deserve better.

This column frequently discusses applied technology as it relates to packaging, and I myself have been guilty of ignoring the role of basic scientific research as it relates to the business of packaging. When it takes 2 or 3 decades to achieve routine application of servos and robotics to packaging machinery, what do we need with any more breakthroughs in basic science? We're still learning to apply the discoveries of the NASA program. Life is good, and if the time from discovery to full commercialization is longer than my career, why should I care?

Complacency and entitlement have killed more than one company and more than one civilization. That is a lesson that could be reinforced by discussion of religion. Americans are resting comfortably on the shoulders of scientific discovery, most recently fueled by the threat of Sputnik and the understanding of DNA. With the possible exception of breakthroughs in health care (to which we think we are entitled), we have become complacent about most things scientific. Other nations, recognizing that our standard of living has been built upon hard work and scientific breakthrough, are rushing to fill the void that we are leaving.

One of the problems that our society has created is that kids tend to think of science as just a collection of facts. The more science is taught as being about what is, the fewer students it will attract. Forty years ago, I rejected biology in high school because it was presented to me as just a file cabinet full of facts that needed to be memorized. Today the Internet reinforces this incorrect perception of science in general. Science is a process of questioning, hypothesizing, designing experiments, observing and drawing conclusions. Too many students believe that research is about finding answers to questions through Google. It takes a special teacher to teach geometry, calculus and physics as a game--like process for thought and discovery that can be applied to all aspects of life.

Science, mathematics, engineering and technology are different parts of the same elephant. How many of us can explain the difference or how one supports the other? Most of us think of science and math as for scientists and engineers rather than as two of the liberal arts that help all of us to become well-rounded, educated individuals. In our effort to create stars, we deny real science education to the masses. Science and math are not democratizing activities that many of our schools seem to require. Math, in particular, has right and wrong answers and science often has inconclusive results. Our children need to learn to deal with all of these.

Science needs to be presented as the creative and collaborative activity that it really is. We misunderstand science as something of drudgery done in isolation. The Internet was created out of the need for scientists to collaborate, and little progress comes in isolation.

The Rose panel agreed that America is in a quiet crisis from which we need to act soon if we are to maintain our status as a world leader. Here are some general thoughts on what we need to do:

1) We need to start by valuing science enough to have it on the agenda for discussion by our presidential candidates and for them to see it as important to winning votes.

2) We must think of science as crucial to our nation's leadership, link it to national needs and insist that our leaders give it the same type of attention that they give to defense or health care. Science underlies both.

3) We need to think about and deliver larger commitments to science than just the engineering activities of getting energy from corn or the technology requirements of updating the skills of our existing workforce.

4) We need to support scientific activities across disciplines and have the profession recognize that they have support for the long haul.

5) We need scientists and engineers in positions of leadership in government and business.

6) We need to reform the teaching of science in the primary and secondary schools.

7) We need to require and provide for quality science and math classes for all college students.

I've heard our European colleagues chastise packagers and the packaging machinery industry as lagging behind the world due to our lack of engineers and scientists in management. I think this is partially true, but fails to reflect a true balance between science, business and society. We need to restore that balance.

In the words of Charlie Rose,

Science affects nearly every aspect of our lives. It is a tool for solving problems, both large and small, that enriches our society through discovery and understanding.

You can view the Charlie Rose broadcast, Episode 13 of the Charlie Rose Science Series.

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Comments Keith Great article on science. I am a retired scientist and teacher. I taught astronomy and physics at the college level and worked for over 30 years as a research scientist at NASA. One of the greatest difficulties that I faced was that of explaining to students what science actually is. The misconceptions they brought to class were both astonishing and disturbing. Many came to class with preconceived notions about the state of knowledge about such things as climate dynamics, evolution, and cosmology. They were completely misinformed about why theories are a critical element of the scientific method and the role of experimental testing of theories. There was little appreciation of the consequences of confirmation or the lack thereof for the success or failure of a theory. I taught off and on for over thirty years and I hope that at least some of my students left my classes with a clearer understanding of why science exists. Chuck Ivie Posted by: Charles Ivie on April 22, 2008 I agree with everything you said plus - One thing you did not talk about directly was that science and engineering are part of the journey to find truth and solutions, but today junk science laced with politics and manipulation for grant dollars is becoming a scandal in North America. Theories without facts and the research of years are treated as fact and universities do not want discussions and challenges to the status quo. I forget who said it, but it was said that today's modern research is so badly laced with error and politics that it takes billions of dollars to effect a conclusion or application, when it could have be done with a few million. Posted by: Paul Zepf on April 22, 2008 I was pleasantly suprised to see a discussion about the need for science education from an organization dedicated to packaging. You pretty well echoed my thoughts and concerns in this area recently. I hope the science debates come about because the public needs to become aware that this is in our long term interest. Posted by: Stan Unruh on April 22, 2008 We also need to teach children and their parents, or parent (too many single mom's, not enough dad's willing to sacrifice), that science is not about seeing how many earings or tattoos one can show, but to create convenience for society saving time, labor and preserving freedom of time to do the things we desire. Posted by: Stan Walulek on April 22, 2008 Yes Science is one part of the equation, but not all of it. Science has brought us great progress, but compared to what. If plastic proceeded glass as a product, we would probably not use glass like we do. Dangerous, heavy, uses a lot of energy to make, breaks and cuts, etc. But despite science, it is the society, or government that has the greatest influence, either in promoting or stifling progress. Religion is one of the legs, politics/government another leg and the natural world the other, where science is part of the latter. Posted by: Bob Carow on April 22, 2008 Thanks to all for the great comments. Keep them coming. By the way, it is a beautiful day in Dusseldorf as I await the opening of Interpack and a chance to see what new developments have been brought by those fluent in science, math and engineering. Posted by: Keith Campbell on April 23, 2008 Hi, Keith, Thanks for the post about the importance of science/math and the need for students to understand these areas in order to succeed. A while ago I stumbled on a book by Norm Edmund of Edmund Scientific fame. He wrote a book entitled "End the Biggest Educational and Intellectual Blunder in History" -- a call to reinstate the concept of the scientific method in all areas of education. Norm is not a writer by trade but his impassioned arguments in that book are very thought-provoking. If you haven't read that book, you might be interested because it covers his theory of why science and math have taken such a nosedive in America's schools and what would have to fundamentally change in order to fix this. http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Educational-Intellectual-Blunder-History/dp/0963286668/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208892282&sr=8-7 Harold Buchholz Posted by: Keith Campbell on April 23, 2008 Keith everything you say is right on the mark. I can't believe the that I have to go to packaging site. To get some fresh info on the issues that really matter, to me and country. Thank you ! P.S> I have a packaging design that I've made and want to introduce to industry. Is there a place a sole innovator can go to get help breaking into his industry. If you want to take time to help me I think you will be very happy you did. Please help and thank you Posted by: Keith Kline on May 3, 2008 Post a comment (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) Name: Email Address: URL: Remember personal info? Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)