Design World

  • Home
  • Articles
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
  • 3D CAD Models
    • PARTsolutions
    • TraceParts
  • Leadership
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2020 LEAP Awards
  • Resources
    • DIGITAL ISSUES
      • EE World Digital Issues
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • 2020 LEAP Awards
    • MC² Motion Control Classroom
    • Motion Design Guide Library
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
  • Women in Engineering
  • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • COVID-19

Dean Kamen speaks out on science vs politics

By Paul Heney | January 30, 2015

Share

Dean Kamen talks about science vs politicsDesign World spoke with master inventor Dean Kamen (of FIRST and Segway fame) and he’s the star of our “Leadership in Engineering” January cover story. As a preview of that article, here’s an online extra from our conversation with Kamen.

* * * * * * *

Kamen, who is a huge proponent of STEM education and a founder of FIRST, sees the politicization of many issues that affect science as a great concern to moving the country forward.

“If we don’t quickly—and I mean really quickly—inject rational thinking into senior levels of government and business so that the kids growing up now do understand the difference between science and nonsense, we’re all in trouble,” Kamen said. “I don’t think science is in conflict with religion any more than I think I could tell you which is more beautiful, or nicer to have, apple pie or a sunset. There’s nothing wrong with people being artists—my father was an artist—or playing a violin. There’s nothing wrong with people liking physics, or solving differential equations.”

Kamen feels that the root of this is that people have become very skeptical of almost every profession.

“I think subconsciously, except for maybe some clever marketing guys, they’ve reverted to using the word science almost as a superlative in any debate they have, by saying, ‘It’s scientifically proven that this or that,’” he said. “Now that we’ve lost faith in so many other things that used to be about faith, we substitute the word science to try to convince people that it’s real, and you can trust it, and it’s important, but they apply those words of science to things that are not tested in experiments with demonstrated, measurable outcomes. Science isn’t about believing F=ma any more than believing that Moses parted the sea. Science is about being able to make a statement that is demonstrably provable. Whereas, a lot of other things we do in this world are expressly dealing with things that we can’t prove.”

Part of the problem, he said, is that there are a lot of people who don’t understand the difference between science and various other statements that people make.

Dean Kamen at DEKA headquarters“If it’s really science, it’s only that you make a specific, measurable statement about something that you can predict, based on a set of rules, laws, and that you test them. By the way, if you ever find something that violates the test, you don’t go into a faith-based explanation. You say, ‘I guess that law was wrong, or at least it wasn’t perfect. It needs to be modified,’ as Newton’s laws needed to be modified,” he said.

“We now live in a world where people will say, ‘We should teach creationism in the schools,’ and my answer is, ‘Fine, teach it if you’d like. You can teach it like any other [thing]. You can teach people religion, we normally do that in a religious school, and that’s fine. You can teach them ethics, you can teach them a lot of things. You can teach them creationism. You can teach them nursery rhymes. But, don’t confuse nursery rhymes or creationism with a very disciplined process that we try to teach people, called science, in which the tools typically are mathematics, and in which we are trying to convey the idea that in this incredibly incomprehensible world that we all live in, the most incomprehensible, amazing thing of all is that some of it’s comprehensible because some great geniuses have found patterns by which they can give us rules that seem to work everywhere.’”

“I have nothing against beautiful art,” Kamen said. “I have nothing against religion and faith-based organizations. I have nothing against teaching people beautiful stories and ethics. But, substituting for what real science is, these vagaries, under this veil of it being science, and therefore making science even less of an available tool to kids, is terrifying.”

Mobile Hydraulic Tips

About Paul Heney

Paul J. Heney, the VP, Editorial Director for Design World magazine, has a BS in Engineering Science & Mechanics and minors in Technical Communications and Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has written about fluid power, aerospace, robotics, medical, green engineering, and general manufacturing topics for nearly 25 years. He has won numerous regional and national awards for his writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

MOTION DESIGN GUIDES

“motion

“motion

“motion

“motion

“motion

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Configuration Management: Configuration Integrity IS A Core Driver for Business Success
  • How to Choose a Linear Actuator
  • Create your perfect machine with Advanced Engineering
  • How a ME/EE turned passion for design into his own bike company
  • Everyone Can Save on Cable Costs. Here’s How
  • How and Why You Should Use a Wave Spring for Bearing Preload
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Tweets by @DesignWorld
Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP Awards

Copyright © 2021 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Articles
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
  • 3D CAD Models
    • PARTsolutions
    • TraceParts
  • Leadership
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2020 LEAP Awards
  • Resources
    • DIGITAL ISSUES
      • EE World Digital Issues
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • 2020 LEAP Awards
    • MC² Motion Control Classroom
    • Motion Design Guide Library
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
  • Women in Engineering
  • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • COVID-19
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.OkNoRead more