FROM THE PRESIDENT
Scientific Literacy
The United Nations agency UNESCO has defined literacy as an
individual's ability to "read and write a short simple
statement relevant to his everyday life." Scientific literacy
does not imply that a person must be learned in matters of science,
but it does not suffice that a person be able to read and write. It
rather means functional literacy, the ability to comprehend what is
read or written to an extent sufficient to perform adequately in
society, whether to communicate with individuals, to further one's
own economic or other interests, or to participate in the democratic
way of life. Scientific literacy implies the ability to respond in a
meaningful way to the technical issues that pervade our daily lives
and the world of political action.
Scientific literacy does not require knowing the definition of
angular momentum or that the expression of DNA is mediated by
transfer–RNA molecules. But a scientifically literate person
would know that astrology is not science and that children are not
born with stronger muscles just because their parents exercise in
the gym. Scientific literacy implies that whether or not a person
endorses a program for water fluoridation or for building a nuclear
power plant is based on some understanding of the issues at hand,
rather than on prejudice (that all tampering with natural resources
is harmful or unambiguously beneficial) or ignorance that decisions
involve trade–offs, as might exist between a nuclear and a
coal–fueled plant.
Two increasing demands of modern nations establish the universal
need for scientific literacy. First is the need for a technically
trained labor force. Second is the requirement that citizens at
large pass judgment on the promises and actions of their governments
and on the claims of advertisers of consumer goods.
The productive sector of the economy of any industrial nation
demands a scientifically literate labor force. Scientific and
engineering breakthroughs are the basis of industrial productivity.
But economic and industrial development more immediately come from
the adaptation of scientific ideas: new materials and manufacturing
processes, quality control, advances in productivity and the
performance of workers, and consumer appeal and marketing. The
successful implementation of scientific and engineering innovations
requires cadres of educated workers skilled in the management of
machinery, computers, control centers, quantitative information and materials.
The need for scientific literacy extends beyond industry to other
sectors such as agriculture. The recent greatly increased
agricultural productivity in the United States and other countries
is largely attributable to the introduction and application of
modern farming practices and the use of machinery that requires
skilled operators.
Scientific literacy is also required for informed public involvement
in the political and public life of a nation. Whether or not a
highway system will be developed, and if so, where and how; how to
protect and improve the water supply and air quality; the
exploitation of mineral or marine resources; the preservation and
commercial use of forests, rivers and coasts—these are among
the numerous political decisions that call for the participation of
the body politic.
A participatory democracy will not be consummated if the import of
the technical premises of political decisions with great economic
consequence, and which affect the present and future welfare of a
nation, can be understood only by a small fraction of the
population. A public that has no inkling of the technical issues at
stake exposes the democratic process to exploitation by special
interests and demagogues, and even to fraud of the kind that masks
pseudoscience, such as astrology or parapsychology, with the cloak
of science.