Is scientific knowledge necessary to vote?
Asimov’s Corollary: “If a scientific heresy is ignored or denounced by the general public, there is a chance it may be right. If a scientific heresy is emotionally supported by the general public, it is almost certainly wrong.” In this same article: “It is not so much that I have confidence in scientists being right, but that I have so much in nonscientists being wrong….It is those who support ideas for emotional reasons only who can’t change.” (from 1977 essay “Asimov’s Corollary,” reprinted in Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright, 1977) In ‘scientific knowledge’, I include an understanding of the scientific method, hypothesis and falsifiability, and mathematics. I don’t think everyone has to know everything, but I believe Asimov was right — that when it comes to public policy, we have to think, not feel our way through the problems. It seems the crucial national issues now circle around energy, ecology and the environment, genetics, medicine and health care, space exploration, even econ
