Rep. Rush Holt, USDAIn the heat of election season, scientists—and 85 percent of voters—are clamoring for candidates to explain their positions on alternative energy sources, climate change policy, and federal funding for research, among other science-related issues. But one scientist-turned-congressman wants more. Representative Rush Holt (D, NJ) doesn’t want politicians to merely think about science, he wants them to think like scientists. In a recent opinion piece in Nature, Holt argued that scientific thinking—based on logic and evidence—could improve lawmakers’ decisions on issues ranging from voting systems to air transportation security. The Scientist spoke with Holt about his thoughts on blending science into politics.
The Scientist: What inspired your opinion that scientific thinking can improve politics?
Rep. Rush Holt: It became apparent to me that my constituents like the fact that I’m a research scientist that decided to go into Congress. And I’ve been asking myself, “Why?” Sometimes people say, “Well, we want somebody who will understand scientific technicalities and languages.” But most of the time I find it’s not that, but rather, people want someone who makes decisions based on evidence. People are really troubled by the idea that politics is driven by ideologies now, and debate is usually just posturing. Science moves away from political spin because it’s tied to evidence. In science, questions are answered provisionally, with the understanding that provisional answers are subject to revision ...
