The coming science caucus?
By John Mecklin | June 15, 2017
It’s not pi in the sky. Across the United States, scientists have decided to put their Ph.Ds to work by running for political office.
Or so writes the Los Angeles Times’ Melissa Healy as part of a series that tracks five scientists who are seeking seats in Congress. As Healy describes the situation, “In districts blue and red, working scientists are putting two hypotheses to the test. First: Their facility with facts and data will make them better policymakers than the politicians currently in office. Second: Their profession’s reputation for pragmatism and problem-solving will mobilize and unify voters around them.”
Communicating with voters of course requires more than peer-reviewed findings, and the new crop of Democratic scientist-candidates receives coaching from, among other groups, a nonprofit with a charming scientific reference in its name, 314 Action.
That’s 314, as in the first three digits of pi, the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter.
Publication Name: Los Angeles Times
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John Mecklin
John Mecklin is the editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Miller-McCune... Read More
