Rick Nelson

Art controlling science
December 6, 2005

Should the humanities control the sciences? Should Shakespeare and Goethe dictate the applications of Einstein's theory of relativity? If the answers are yes, do we live in an environment that fosters technical illiteracy?

I have argued that a lack of technology investment in US education and basic research is responsible for the dismal lack of interest in technology, the dearth of young people pursuing engineering studies, and of general scientific ignorance of the US public.

My comments mirror those of many, but those with whom I agree are generally technology industry leaders like National Instruments' Dr. James Truchard or hard-nosed commentators like The New York Times' Thomas Friedman. The latter may not be a scientist or engineer, but his writing suggests he has a realistic view of the types of knowledge necessary to be competitive in a world economy. See, for example, his November 4 column, "From gunpowder to the Next Big Bang" (subscription required for online access).

But in today's Times, Friedman's colleague Nicholas D. Kristof, whose advocacy runs to the laudable but far from realistic goals of eliminating human trafficking in Southeast Asia and ending genocide in Africa, posits another view on technological illiteracy. He cites the usual depressing examples: only 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution, and, only 13 percent know what a molecule is, one-fifth of Americans still believe that the Sun goes around the Earth, and only about half know that humans did not live at the same time as dinosaurs.

Why is that? He writes, "The problem isn't just inadequate science (and math) teaching in the schools….A larger problem is the arrogance of the liberal arts, the cultural snootiness of, of ...well, of people like me….In the US and most of the Western world, it's considered barbaric in educated circles to be unfamiliar with Plato or Monet or Dickens, but quite natural to be oblivious of quarks and chi-squares."

Kristof presents the counterargument: "We can always hire technicians in Bangalore, while it's Shakespeare and Goethe who teach us the values we need to harness science for humanity." There's something to that, he continues, but adds, "The officers of the Third Reich were steeped in Kant and Goethe."

He concludes that a disregard for science due to the hubris of the humanities has been detrimental to US research efforts.

It's a fascinating column and worth reading, despite its being behind a subscription firewall. But I have one question: are US citizens really more advanced in their understanding of Plato, Monet, and Dickens than they are in their grasp of quarks? I have my doubts.

Posted by Rick Nelson on December 6, 2005 | Comments (1)