By Dennis D. McDonald

I read SCIENCE magazine’s House passes sweeping U.S. innovation bill, teeing up talks with Senate with some satisfaction given Congress’ attention to beefing up reversal of the United States’ leadership decline in scientific and technical leadership. According to the SCIENCE article,

In the weeks to come, Democrats in the U.S. Congress will find out whether that warning also applies to their ability to finalize sweeping legislation that promises to double the budgets of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other key research agencies, pour money into high-tech industry, curb “malign foreign influence” on U.S. research, and root out sexual harassment in academic science.

While such a funding increase would be welcome, I fear without equal attention to improvements in how basic science is taught in US grade and high schools the benefits of more R&D funding might be short lived. For example, we need to raise children who not only understand the basics of how viruses are spread and mutate but who also are able to recognize misinformation and propaganda.

Given the ease with which misinformation is spread that latter goal will be difficult to achieve. Read what theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack has to say about combatting misinformation about Physics:

I think that a lot of times when people share false information about science, they don’t know it’s false. A lot of people don’t have the skills to really evaluate the sources that they’re looking at, or don’t really care. They share a video because it’s cool, and they don’t check where the video came from. They don’t check to see that a bunch of people are replying to the original tweet saying it’s fake. They don’t Google it. Most of the time, I think people share stuff because they think it’s neat and they don’t know that it’s wrong.

I think Mack is being kind with the “they don’t know it’s false” reference but she pinpoints where we need to start: helping people (e.g., children) recognize how to evaluate what they are being told. I’m not saying that’s easy but if we don’t figure out how to do that we’ll lose any advantage we have based on increasing funding for science and technology.

One small step I’m taking with my 3 year old granddaughter is to make sure she understands that, because she told me last week she wants to be a “scientist,” I’m making sure she knows that members of my own family are scientists and that she should talk with them about that the next time she sees them. Based on my past experience with her she’ll remember that.

Copyright (c) 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald

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