Fund Science on the Basis of Scientists‘ Work, Not Their Identity
The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, that country’s major scientific funding organization, is developing a comprehensive research plan, called NSERC 2030, to guide its priorities over the next decade. In the current phase, NSERC is engaging with external stakeholders through a series of discussion papers aimed
An Astronomer Cancels His Own Research—Because the Results Weren’t Popular
Astronomy seems to be in trouble, as it is increasingly populated by researchers who seem more concerned with terrestrial politics than celestial objects, and who at times view the search for truths about nature as threatening. This became obvious in recent years, once the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project
Tales From the Gulag
A couple of weeks ago I published an article in the Wall Street Journal describing the tyranny that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies are imposing on universities and scientific institutions. This includes excluding talented scientists who are not effective enough in displaying their DEI allegiance, enforcing ideological adherence among
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention, and Has Been for Over 3,500 Years
It is comforting to imagine that our modern sensibilities distinguish us from our ancient ancestors, but when it comes to human societies, it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Our knowledge of the workings of the world has improved immensely, but our personal experience of
Whatever It Is, It Ain’t Aliens
From my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence than of the unknown rational efforts of extra-terrestrial intelligence. ~Richard P. Feynman, The Character
In Defense of the Universal Values of Science
The progress of modern science has been a truly global phenomenon, a fact worth celebrating, just as the technological fruits of science have, to varying degrees, impacted the lives of everyone on the globe. Scientific breakthroughs have paid no heed to geographic boundaries. Modern algebra owes its origins to 10th
Why Climate Science Is Like the Rest of Science
Recent White House initiatives suggest that addressing climate change has risen to the policy forefront of government at the presidential level for the first time in US history. Last week President Biden convened an online international meeting of heads of state on the issue and committed the US to a
Science Goes Rogue
Social justice activists have been arguing for some time that scientific societies and institutions need to address systemic sexism and racism in STEM disciplines. However, their rationale is often anything but scientific. For example, whenever percentages in faculty positions, test scores, or grant recipients in various disciplines do not match
