Astronomers Weigh In Chris C Mooney

Carl Zimmer noted late last week that the president of the American Astronomical Society has sent President Bush a letter of displeasure over Bush's endorsement of "intelligent design." I have to say, this really makes me smile. I wish we saw a lot more of this kind of thing: Scientists from different disciplines putting it on the line to defend colleagues when they're under attack, instead of keeping their heads down and saying to themselves, "That's not my field." Maybe it isn't your particular field, but it sure ought to be within your field of vision. Science is having a rough time in America today and that's a problem that implicates all of us, but especially all scientists. It's long past time for them to see the big picture and to stand up for their colleagues. And partly because it's such a no-brainer, and partly because it's so fundamental, evolution is the fight where we really ought to see that kind of thing happening. So I'm glad that it is.....