ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Bravo Jonah,

...though I would leave out the civics lesson. This choir already knows 
the current administration blows.

I have never believed in all the ruck about 'creating scientists' and 
'it will mean something to them years down the line.' That's just a lot 
of mumbo-jumbo voodoo rhetoric designed to get $$$. The experiences that 
people have at our science centers have got to be Affective NOW, today, 
or their meaning and usefulness is greatly diminished. Yeah, they might 
turn into effective experiences - things that help create scientist or 
caused time to split open as you step off a curb during a drizzly 
morning someday in the future.

But mostly that kind of talk is a bit of a cop-out, an excuse that 
allows us to make exhibits that people don't care about. It's not easy, 
but if we tried harder to make exhibits that affect visitors now, 
there'd be a lot better chance that they will be able to recall the 
experience later. Later and out.

Joe R

www.TheExhibitGuys.com


Jonah Cohen wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> OK, I know that ASTC is (and definitely should be!) non-partisan, so forgive
> me if a little seeps in as I mount my soapbox. And I promise it'll have
> something to do with science centers...
> 
>  
> 
> OK, so there's an excellent op-ed piece in this week's Newsweek by Jonathon
> Alter, called "The Price of Loyalty". If you're a fan of the Bush
> administration, you won't like it. Alter's basic premise: Bush and a handful
> of advisers settled on certain premises (Iraq had WMD, the Iraq war would be
> quick, easy and cheap). Anyone who challenged these assertions was cut out
> of the loop (ie Colin Powell), fired and/or punished (Joseph Wilson, whose
> wife was the outed CIA agent behind the current indictment of Scooter
> Libby). The administration valued loyalty and ability to agree more than
> anything, Alter writes, and never even considered things like worst case
> scenarios/potential downsides of the Iraq war.
> 
>  
> 
> OK, that was a lot of politics. What's it got to do with us? Here's what:
> 
>  
> 
> We talk a lot about the importance of teaching the scientific method, not
> just the end results (the factoids) of science. Well, Alter's piece is a
> good example of why. Bush has basically made the ultimate example of
> Argument from Authority/Assuming the Conclusion. We all know that in
> science, an idea must be tested, challenged and debated before it can be
> deemed correct. If I have a theory that explains data, and you propose an
> alternate one, you're not betraying me, you're just doing good science. In
> fact your helping me; if your theory is right, at least I'm not laboring
> under a false assumption. If further investigation shows that I was right,
> trying to test our competing ideas has made my case even stronger. (Now I
> have even more data supporting it.)
> 
>  
> 
> This doesn't just work for science, it clearly applies in politics, too. And
> in business. And with personal issues. And...
> 
>  
> 
> A lot of times, we (science centers, that is) emphasize how we're helping
> train the scientists of the future, how we'll help meet the economy's need
> for future engineers, doctors etc. There's nothing wrong with that - it is
> indeed one of our raisons de etre, and it certainly makes it easier to get
> $$$ from local businesses.
> 
>  
> 
> But I worry when too much emphasis is placed on this reasoning, because it
> implies that professional scientists need to know science, others don't. And
> even if you manage a Starbucks, the Alter piece shows clearly that knowing
> the scientific method is important. Or if you're the president.
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry for the rant - these things have come up recently hereabouts. It
> wasn't nearly as cool as that pink dots illusion. (Thanks, Rachel!)
> 
>  
> 
> Jonah Cohen
> 
> Outreach & Public Programs Manager
> 
> Science Center of Connecticut
> 
>  
> 
> "On blind faith they place reliance,
> 
> what we need more of is science"
> 
>            -MC Hawking
> 
>  
> 
> 
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> More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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> 

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