Science Friction. An extensive article by Nicholas Thompson detailing the rift between current politics and scientists.
Some scientists have joked that if they were ever to gain more funding for their research in the future, they would have to put a militaristic spin to their grant proposals.
The simple fact that this isn't really a joke makes me sad and more than a little bit livid. As far as I'm concerned, the people "in charge" are already deep in the quagmire of obtaining knowledge for self-destruction. And if it doesn't suit them, they attack the data that has been accumulated by people far more knowledgable about the subject than they are and make up something to make their agenda sound plausible.
What really angers me is that all this boils down to is the age-old struggle of belief versus fact. The two aren't completely mutually exclusive, but right now, it's precariously tipping toward that part of the venn diagram where belief no longer intersects with fact. One could argue that it may be the nature of things: evangelists are much more impressionable and charismatic then logisticians. But the only things evangelists do are talking and bullying. And if they are center stage all the time, not only will reason evaporate, but everything will fall apart.
Caught between two books. A little "insider" information about book publishing deals. Personally, I don't think editors have any idea what the reading public wants. That's probably why authors come away disappointed--wrong expectations. Of course, I don't have anything published so what do I know?
