The wages of fundamentalism

[kskiska]

The International Herald Tribune
Peter Watson International Herald Tribune
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, England For decades, "big science" - indeed any kind of science - has been led by the United States. There are warning signs, however, that American science is losing its edge, and may even have peaked. One reason is that as religious and political fundamentalism tighten their grip, they are beginning to sap America's intellectual vitality.

By contrast, the political turmoil that has broken out on the other side of the Atlantic shows that Europeans grasp how destructive fundamentalism can be.

According to a survey in Physical Review, reported in May 2004, the number of scientific papers published by West European authors had overtaken those by U.S. authors in 2003, whereas in 1983 there were three American authors for every West European. The percentage of patents granted to American scientists has been falling since 1980, from 60.2 percent of the world total to 51.8 percent. In 1989, America trained the same number of science and engineering PhDs as Britain, Germany and France put together; now the United States is 5 percent behind. The number of citations in science journals, hitherto led by American scientists, is now led by Europeans.

As battles have raged in Kansas and elsewhere in America over evolution and Genesis, reputable biologists have spoken up in favor of Darwin's theories, but who knows how many students have already been turned off biology by these skirmishes?

As a result of fundamentalist opposition, America is already falling behind in cloning and stem cell research, now led by South Korean, Italian and British scientists. In February the New Scientist reported a survey in which fully half the scientists working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they had been pushed to alter or withdraw scientific findings for political reasons.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of Chinese and Indians traveling to America to study has fallen by more than 50 per cent - they are going to Europe instead. There are now as many Asian PhDs being produced as U.S. ones, more and more of them familiar with Europe.

Yet history shows that fundamentalism leads only to stagnation and disaster.

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http://iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/06/21/news/edwatson.php

[bleedingheart]

1. Great Article!

Good find!!!


Science is about answering questions and daring to question even further...

Fundamentalism is about acceptance and remaining stagnant....

[MountainLaurel]

2. This is spot on

My fiancee and I were discussing the issue last night as it relates to the large number of Indian-born engineers in the United States.

For anyone who hasn't heard of it, Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World is an incredible treatise on this very issue.

[ixion]

3. fundamentalism leads only to stagnation and disaster

words with more truth were never spoken.

[byronius]

4. Great Post. It's just common sense.

We used to make fun of cultures that demonized science. Now, we're them. Crap.

[jsw_81]

5. Excellent article

Unless we confront the perils of fundamentalism we as a nation are in danger of slipping even further into a new dark age of sorts. It is pathetic that while students and scientists in Europe and Asia are forging ahead with math and science Americans -- especially the Bush voters in the south -- are still whining about evolution, the age of the earth, and anything else that might conflict with their "holy" book.

The truly frightening thing is that these imbeciles are unwittingly aligning themselves with similar anti-science forces within militant Islam. They really ARE turning out to be the American Taliban and we're screwed unless we can stop them.

[mom cat]

6. Welcome to the third world of the US of A

[Iowa]

7. Excelent article!

And it's not just science that is impacted by these fanatics. Earlier today I posted this in another thread about the recent decline of the public school system in my small community:

"...our schools are slipping in the sense that the fundies are getting a foothold. We have a new superintendent and some new principals who aren't very bright. The super hands out bibles, allows fundies to pass out literature at school functions, etc. Plus they are implementing some really dumb, unnecessary, us vs. them, authoritarian policies that focus on the lowest common denominator; they're making our school a microcosm of a fascist state. In response the best teachers are taking early retirement, and the ones too young to retire are finding other jobs. IOW, the damned fundies are starting to rot the system from the inside. Those idiots ruin everything they touch!"

Furthermore, as one who happens to be of a Christian faith, I believe that fundies have grossly perverted the basic tenets of Christianity and turned everything on its head. This is partly due to the absence of true scholarship among the ranks of their leaders. It doesn't require much intelligence or any rigorous training to become a fundie pastor. Many of these guys just rent a store-front and declare themselves pastors with no training whatsoever! They just make it up as they go. Compare that to the education of a Jewish rabbi. It's no wonder so many of their leaders are manipulative, sociopathic, demagogues who prey on fear and employ all other types of emotional mumbo-jumbo to control their flock. Where else can some slick con with greased back hair open up shop and fleece the public of their hard-earned cash in a way that's viewed as upstanding and respectable?

Stopping them will be difficult. But it is THE most important thing we can do for future generations, IMO.

[daleo]

8. Sure it looks bad if you just focus on "Physical Review"

And other egghead journals. But what about "Creationism Today", "Noah's Ark-eology", "Earth Centered Astronomy", and other great science journals? Not to mention flat earth studies, the latest thing in Fundamentalist Geology. Forget International Herald Tribune and try reading International Herrod Tribune.

:sarcasm: