Lacking rationale

Isaac Asimov once said that “the saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”\nWhile most presidential candidates are incredibly intelligent and articulate, their grasp of science is not what many would see as commendable. And this is OK. I do not feel the need for Rudy Giuliani to explain quantum mechanics to us, nor do I demand that John Edwards passionately speak about the distinction between genotype and phenotype, although both would be quite funny. What I do hope for is that the presidential candidates understand that science is more than just a class – it is a method, a way of understanding the truly amazing phenomena around us.\nThis hope was completely dashed earlier in May when three candidates, running for the highest position in the land, raised their hands to the question “Is there anyone that doesn’t believe in evolution?” Three of them! \nI also do not “believe” in evolution for the same reason I do not “believe” in gravity. I “concur” and “agree” and apply Occam’s razor when making my decisions on whether or not to lend my support to grandiose scientific theories. The word “believe” is a ridiculous way to describe it.\nNow, I would not concern myself with this old debate if it wasn’t for the fact that one of the men who did raise his hand, saying he did not “believe” in evolution, was Mike Huckabee. He is still very much in the race and has a small chance of actually becoming our next president. \nI like Mike Huckabee, despite his gleeful ignorance on evolution. He came out of nowhere to win the Iowa caucus and did so with immense grassroots support. You have to respect a man like that. But “The Huck,” while a terrific symbol for integrity, is also a symbol of what is wrong with certain politicians, and that is that some have an unhealthy distrust of science.\nAnd it’s not just evolution. Global warming is also breeding a certain, almost conspiratorial mistrust. The most recent global warming report that was put out in 2007 contained the research of thousands of scientists from 113 countries, and it says that the global warming trend is “unequivocal” and human activity is a “very likely” cause. In spite of this, many politicians and pundits still try to persuade us that it is nothing more than a mere conspiracy! This isn’t just an intellectual critique on the theory of global warming; it is a small attack on rationality itself.\nWe as a nation depend on having intelligent politicians who look at the problems of our nation and rationally try to fix them. But can we really trust our politicians to make cogent, well-thought-out decisions when they seem to have such ignorant – if not downright antagonistic – views of some of science’s latest and greatest achievements? It is vitally important that politicians, like scientists, use the information available to them to come up with solutions to some of our most troubling problems. We cannot do it with people who think otherwise.