(2003-01-07) Edge Science Advisor

EdgeOrg asked their panel what recommendations they would make as US Presidential Science Advisor. Many included interesting thoughts on Educating Kids and on Dealing With Terrorism (sometimes via the same advice).

• Steven Pinker: The obvious cure for these fallacies is enhanced education in relatively new fields such as Economics, Biol Ogy, and Probability and Statistics. Unfortunately, most high-school and college curricula (Curriculum) have barely changed since medieval times, and are barely changeable, because no one wants to be the philistine who seems to be saying that it is unimportant to learn a Foreign Language, or English literature, or trigonometry, or the classics.

• Jaron Lanier: The Arabic-speaking world is encountering the power of modern propaganda for the first time via satellite TV. Our response has been to craft infomercials, but why not try to find the next generation of leaders when they are young. They are undoubtedly oriented to new media just like their Western counterparts. Why not make language translators available on the web so that kids in Arabic speaking countries can browse English language websites and learn for themselves about us? Why not encourage personal links using the web? Why not make science and technology education materials available in this way?

• Howard Gardner: We cannot conduct meaningful scientific research on educational practices unless we articulate a value system with some specificity. And so, to be concrete, we can't just compare three scientific methods in terms of efficacy. We need to decide whether we want a science education that focuses on factual knowledge, laboratory skills, deep understanding of a few essential concepts, asking good questions, or some amalgam thereof. Only thereafter can proper studies be launched. (I'm not sure I agree...)

• Roger Schank: I would create more curricula in science and other subjects (Math And Science) that emphasized everyday reasoning issues (Public Policy) like the use of Stem Cell-s or waste cleanup or snow removal or Alternative Energy sources. Why can't science be about real issues in real people's lives? I'll bet you didn't take a single science course at Yale. Who could blame you? I was a member of the Yale faculty for many years. The science professors are preparing future scientists not future Presidents. The nation suffers as a result.