Neuroscience
Whether we like it or not, science has been a key player in our political affairs. The acronym STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) arose partly out of national security concerns such as World War II, the War on Cancer, and the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik. But how has science really played out through the wars?
Read this article in the Indiana Daily Student here...
When we remember Eisenhower’s 1961 use of the phrase “military-industrial complex,” some historians argue the phrase was originally meant to be “military-industrial-scientific complex.” According to Ben Schott of the New York Times[2], this claim has been debunked, and there was “scientific” term in the phrase. But, though we never meant to describe the militarization of our nation with the word “scientific,” the role science has played in our militarized economy has lingered.
Over the past century, the US has witnessed ups and downs in our hopes as a nation. These sentiments have permeated through the scientific world. In Sarah Bridger’s book “Scientists at War,” she says scientists successfully flourished in the years after World War II. But, during the Vietnam War, several individuals of the science community became suspicious. [1]
The ethics of science in politics has been debated throughout the 20th century. Jacob Darwin Hamblin, Professor of History at Oregon State University, says scientists assisted in atomic energy regulation as well as Soviet Union diplomacy. During the 50s and early 60s, military research research blossomed as the US competed against the Soviet Union.
References
[1] http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/an-ethical-evolution
[2] http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/guest-post-james-ledbetter-on-50-years-of-the-military-industrial-complex/?_r=0
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Neuroscience
The War in Science in the War
 |
| A billboard at Oak Ridge Facility in Tennessee warns people to keep silent about anything they see or hear there. Oak Ridge was a town built in 1942 to house workers and the laboratory that developed the Manhattan Project – the secret second world war program that built the atomic bomb. |
Read this article in the Indiana Daily Student here...
When we remember Eisenhower’s 1961 use of the phrase “military-industrial complex,” some historians argue the phrase was originally meant to be “military-industrial-scientific complex.” According to Ben Schott of the New York Times[2], this claim has been debunked, and there was “scientific” term in the phrase. But, though we never meant to describe the militarization of our nation with the word “scientific,” the role science has played in our militarized economy has lingered.
Over the past century, the US has witnessed ups and downs in our hopes as a nation. These sentiments have permeated through the scientific world. In Sarah Bridger’s book “Scientists at War,” she says scientists successfully flourished in the years after World War II. But, during the Vietnam War, several individuals of the science community became suspicious. [1]
The ethics of science in politics has been debated throughout the 20th century. Jacob Darwin Hamblin, Professor of History at Oregon State University, says scientists assisted in atomic energy regulation as well as Soviet Union diplomacy. During the 50s and early 60s, military research research blossomed as the US competed against the Soviet Union.
References
[1] http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/an-ethical-evolution
[2] http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/guest-post-james-ledbetter-on-50-years-of-the-military-industrial-complex/?_r=0
- Against Initiatives: "don't Be Taken In By The Boondoggle"
...or should I say braindoggle... I've been reading The Future of the Brain, a collection of Essays by the World's Leading Neuroscientists edited by Gary Marcus and Jeremy Freeman. Amidst the chapters on jaw-dropping technical developments,...
- Science (fact) Writing
John the Science Librarian just blogged Cognitive Daily: How to report scientific research to a general audience in his entry called Writing about science. Since I have some time on my hands (not teaching this semester, gasp!), I've been reading a...
- Why Turning Out Brilliant Scientists Isn't Enough
A brilliant article by Prof. Robert Winston from New Scientist magazine (31 January 2009): ---------------------------------------------------- THIS year sees the 50th anniversary of C. P. Snow's influential Rede lecture on the "two cultures", in...
- Complacency In The Medical-industrial Complex
Science is no longer a game of lab mice and test tubes. Long gone are the days of scientists only locked up in labs, secluded from everything but their microscopes and calculators. Now, more than ever, scientists find themselves writing reports and...
- Homeland Security Research Opportunities
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer 2012 Research Experiences DHS HS-STEM Summer Internship Program Program Specifics:For undergraduate students 10 week research experience $5,000 stipend plus travel expenses Areas of research: ...