I Told You So by Matt Kaplan
Kaplan is a Science Reporter for The Economist. You wouldn’t think of that publication as a powerhouse of science reporting, but in fact it is. (I need to look into it more closely for that reason.) This is an interesting and important read because Kaplan points out how science has been influenced by money, greed and politics since science was “invented.” He gives many examples from history to highlight his point, and they are all fascinating.
His point is well made. He goes on to propose that we need to consider fundamental changes in how science is “done.” It needs to involve more peer participation with less emphasis on peer reviewed publication and citation. This is one of the avenues that prevents new science from gaining traction. He also makes a strong case for more funding of basic research, not less. We currently are in a period of deep cuts to basic research. Institutions like NIH are seeing a reduction in budget in the range of 30%. This does not bode well for the future of solving humanities pressing energy and environmental challenges. It is going to take solutions from science, basic research being fundamental, to solve these sorts of pressing issues.