JLVernonPhD presents "American SciCo"

We all knew it was coming, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the pace and the magnitude of the Republicans newly invigorated “War on Science.”  Yesterday, I received in a twitter message the most infuriating indication of the extent to which they will go to undermine the scientific community.  The message came in the form of a video on the new majority whip Eric Cantor’s website.  The video features Republican Congressman Adrian Smith, member of the House Committee on Science and Technology.  Congressman Smith, whose life achievements according to his website largely involve his service as a legislative page, makes an appeal to the public to take a look at NSF-funded projects to “ensure your tax dollars aren’t wasted.”

After recovering from hot flashes of anger, my eyesight returned from tinted red to normal and I took account of what was happening here.  

Exactly what was Congressman Smith saying in this video?

It seems to me that Congressman Smith thinks the American people are stupid.  And, since Republican Whip Eric Cantor is hosting this video on his website, I assume he and the Republican Party also think the American people are stupid.

My optimistic nature forced me to seek a positive outcome from such a blazen insult to my life’s cause; the advancement of science.  I refuse to believe that Americans are so simple-minded that they will not do the 5 minutes of research necessary to expose the patronizing arguments made by the Republicans and designed to turn them against funding science.  Given my confidence in the American people, I think there will be a backlash against the Republican Party for underestimating their ability to seek the facts on this issue.  I believe this will benefit those of us who appreciate and advocate for science.

The arguments raised by Congressman Smith harkened back to the 2008 campaign days (ah the good ole days) when Republicans Sarah Palin and John McCain attacked science by demeaning the importance of “fruit fly research in France.”  Interestingly, Palin was actually undermining the research that provided some of the most critical understanding of her pet cause of Autism and special needs patients.  Rachel Maddow covered this quite well:

Clearly the Republicans are once again misleading the American people when it comes to science.  

Why do I believe they could be such evil-doers?

Let’s examine the examples of “malfeasance” portrayed in the video.  Congressman Smith targets an NSF funded research grant that he characterizes as “$750,000 to develop computer models to analyze the on-field contributions of soccer players.”  He asks the question, “When the American family pays nearly $10,000 in federal taxes a year, should 75 families work all year to support soccer research?”

Well, of course, that sounds absurd!  Americans should be outraged, right?  Well, let’s take a look at this so-called “soccer research.”

By doing a simple google search of the principle investigator on this grant, you will soon find that Dr. Luis Amaral is a professor of chemical and biological engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University.  Dr. Amaral researches complex systems.  His research into seemingly unpredictable systems like soccer games can help us understand the structure of ecosystems and fluctuations in stock prices.  His work also provides insight into physiological signals like heart rate to determine methods for diagnosing cardiac disease. I have faith that the American people will see value in the implications of this type of research.  $750,000 seems like a small price to pay for research with such broad impacts.

OK, so let’s assume the Republican Congressman was mistaken on the previous example (perhaps he doesn’t know how to use the Google) and take a look at his second example of “wasteful spending.”

My very complex research which again involved typing a couple words into the Google search box reveals that Congressman Smith has once again given an overly simplistic characterization of very important science.  Smith states that the NSF has funded research to “model the sound of objects breaking for use by the video game and movie industry!”  What an outrage!!!

But wait, is this really an abuse of research funding?  I don’t know if the Congressman is either ignorant or disingenuous, but I feel that he has once again insulted the intelligence of the American people.  Has he purposely underestimated the citizenry?  Does he assume they will not make a couple of clicks on the internet to find the real significance of this research?  

To save my fellow inquisitive Americans the trouble, I have done the research for you.  First, the scientist Doug James who received NSF funding to do research described by Congressman Smith “for video games” was recognized by PopSci as one of the 2006 “Brilliant 10.”  Each year, PopSci selects 10 of the brightest scientists in America.  They describe these scientists this way:

“By “brilliant,” we don´t mean smart. Or at least not just smart. Brilliance is marked by insight, creativity and tenacity. It´s the confidence to eschew established wisdom in order to develop your own. It´s the foolishness needed to set out for the edge of understanding and sail right past it…”

Now, onto the research.  The so-called “video game” research is actually designed to “enable programmers to manipulate 1,000 objects in the same amount of time it now takes to handle just one or two.“  In addition to helping the video game and movie industries create sound, this research could more importantly usher in novel applications that were formerly impractical, such as real-time virtual surgery.  Did you get that?!  Real time virtual surgery which can help doctors to become more adept and efficient at doing life-saving surgical procedures. 

So, let me ask you a question.  Does that sound worthy of receiving government funding?  I think the American people will respond with a resounding, “Yes!”  And, I hope they will simultaneously offer an overwhelming “No!” to Republican insults on the American intelligence and the scientific community.