Why A Basic Understanding of Technology is Important to Politics!

Science and Technology may not be the most popular educational path among young people. For many of us it's hard enough to wrap our minds around the implications of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Yet this theory is 100 years old and has been tested experimentally many times. Certain aspects of it are in common everyday use. Without an appreciation for relativistic effects, our communications satellites would not be able to function properly.

The teaching of Science requires a special kind of instructor in order to bring to life arcane formula and abstract concepts in a way that will continue to captivate the student's mind and encourage young people in this career direction. While these may be hard to find, we fortunately have the web to provide us with many resources that allow us to self-educate. At this time in history humankind is on the verge of significant breakthroughs in many fields of scientific endeavor.

These will create tremendous opportunity, new product development, sources of employment and fresh fuel to the economy along with prosperity for the World and the U.S. in particular. To fully realize the value of technological advancements in our world we also need visionary leaders to make policy decisions that encourage fundamental research and provide an environment that will foster its commercial application without letting various forms of dogma stand in the way of creating a better life for people everywhere on earth.

Additionally, we must ensure that when breakthroughs in low cost energy production, cures for disease and other beneficial advancements are realized, they are not kept from the marketplace by those powerful elite whose particular cash cow is in danger of being eliminated by progress. This is meant to be a short commentary and not an exhaustively researched paper.

For those interested, a couple of links among the many available that provide valuable information on where various technologies are headed are: http://www.technologyreview.com, http://www.physorg.com.. These are written for the lay person and relatively easy going. Have no doubt that knowledge is power and it is important for us all to have a basic understanding of the implications of the current state of Science and Technology and how important it is to choose our leadership, at least partially, on the basis of their understanding also. Our future depends on it!