The use of science in public policy has recently been in the news, most prominently in the “March for Science” at over 600 locations around the globe. Science was championed as the answer to our problems, with scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and non-scientists like Bill Nye held up as messiahs for the noble cause. Now Nye’s new Netflix show, “Bill Nye Saves the World,” has come along to rescue us and our policies from scientific ignorance. The underlying message behind the March for Science and Nye’s show is that science can “solve” public policy problems if we would just let the scientists and technocrats take over. Without a healthy respect for individual rights and personal choice, the use of science in public policy can be incredibly harmful.

Source: Forbes May 01, 2017 16:18 UTC