Dealing With NASA's New Science Challenges
Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking
“Because science, facts, and evidence are vital to addressing policy and programmatic issues across the Federal Government, the heads of all agencies (not only those that fund, conduct, or oversee scientific research) shall designate expeditiously a senior career employee as the agency’s lead scientific-integrity official (“Scientific Integrity Official”) to oversee implementation and iterative improvement of scientific-integrity policies and processes consistent with the provisions of this memorandum, including implementation of the administrative and dispute resolution processes described in section (3)(c)(iii) of this memorandum. For agencies with a Chief Science Officer, the Scientific Integrity Official shall report to the Chief Science Officer on all matters involving scientific-integrity policies.”
Executive Order on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
“The PCAST shall advise the President on matters involving policy affecting science, technology, and innovation, as well as on matters involving scientific and technological information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the economy, worker empowerment, education, energy, the environment, public health, national and homeland security, racial equity, and other topics.”
Keith’s note: It will be interesting to see what happens to the National Space Council since OSTP has been elevated to cabinet-level ranking and the PCAST is being established as the nation’s focal point for generating scientific advice, policy etc. The National Space Council and its Users Advisory Group would seem to be duplicative and a needless layer of government. These directives will require NASA’s Chief Scientist and Chief Information Officer to dramatically dial up their activities. Given that the NASA Chief Scientist’s office has traditionally been mostly outreach oriented and out of the loop on many things – and that the NASA CIO’s office has dropped the ball in almost every imaginable way for more than a decade – this is going to be a challenge for the agency. And the NASA Advisory Council often exists only as a forum for civil servant powerpoint presentations. Add in a “whole of government” approach to climate change and NASA is going to be drinking from a bunch of new firehoses very soon. Science is back, y’all.
Or is preferred selective science ‘back’?
Science is a particular process which generates tentative knowledge based on current best understanding. Remember too that It is undertaken by fallible human beings. Attaching an integrity label and/or creating the position of an integrity officer does not guarantee that the science is substantive or that the information generated is even tentatively valid. [The language itself reminds me of Orwell.]
Information designated as legitimately scientific in the past has contributed to some of the most egregious horrors inflicted on humankind. Even scientists (gasp!) have been shown sometimes to be biased—either consciously or unconsciously or both—in their own disciplines. Scientists are not immune to being human.
Science, like any other human endeavor, can be exploited, misused, oversold, and over-indulged. It does not exist apart from the rest of the human condition. Science has boundaries, too. It is most certainly unable to scientifically demonstrate some claims attributed to ‘science’ itself.
Science, yes, but we must vehemently beware Scientism. We must be careful to not trust mere labels. Feynman’s Cargo Cult Science is alive & well today, and not necessarily only amongst the usual suspects. It is only a tool or a toy (GKC); to make it more than either of these is to make a serious and potentially harmful error of incomplete thinking.
Cheers! But be vigilant against trusting in the ideals we imagine to actually exist and be manifest in our own human constructs. The very statement “Science is back” is to imply just such a trust.
Preferred science? We have people who believe that there is a giant space laser controlled by Jewish people. Can we just get folks to accept certain facts, irrespective of what political affiliation they might be? One side has constantly attacked science as a form of elitism.
Hopefully this means that ALL Federal officials/employees will feel free to follow science based policies and not have to pretend to follow policies based on some political figure’s apparent beliefs. Hopefully Federal officials and employees will be free to speak out against unsafe practices etc.