Slashdot Mirror
Science and Technology Medals Awarded
An anonymous reader writes "The Boston Globe is reporting that President Bush awarded science and technology achievement medals today to 15 laureates. The list of medal winners includes those who have done work that has 'revolutionized organ transplants, led to development of global positioning systems, and helped feed millions around the world.' "
And since he's so up on the "spirit of discovery" being a part of American culture, he surely wouldn't cut funds for schools...
To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
Damn you, inconveniently timed State of the Union address! DAMN YOU!
Ah, well, no matter. I shall simply toil in obscurity a little while longer -- and then when the day comes, let the planet tremble at my name! You laughed at me! You called me mad! I'll show you! I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
Bush? Awarding medals for Science? That's rich.
FTA: Ralph H. Baer, For creating Pong! WOOT!!!!
So what exactly do the winners of these awards get besides some face time and a piece of shiny metal?
Derive Politics
Seems that they're REALLY filtering the science news for the masses these days...
An old-timer with old-timey ideas.
Bush and ilk are the most ANTI-science crowd to come along in years.
I think the whole article is flamebait.
...were these hand-picked by Bush himself or suggested to him by an advisor?
I hereby welcome our new intelligent design overlord masters.
Now go back to your pens. Didn't you hear there's a shortage of engineers? You should be proud of being enslaved for the good of the nation.
He handed a medal to Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobel prize winner for "general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory", and to Robert N. Clayton for his chemical analyses describing solar system evolution. Economic equilibrium, welfare and evolution - none of which Bush seems interested in the rest of the year.
Maybe he thinks he's at the Olympics, and these medalists need his help to get corporate sponsors for some advertising dollars to, you know, kind of catapult the propaganda.
--
make install -not war
'revolutionized organ transplants, led to development of global positioning systems, and helped feed millions around the world.'
Those 3 awards went to ONE person!
It's a cookbook!
Before he awards any Science awards he should fire all the ignorant political appointees he placed to oversee real scientists. He should fire anybody who is as incompetent and unqualified as "You are doing a heck of a job Brownie."
can someone tell me who won the gold medal for
"Longest Chair Throw in the Field of Technology"?
I'd like to know more about the science. I don't really if an individual poster likes or dislikes Bush.
Perhaps Mr. Bush is just jealous of the news attention that the media has given Vice-President Cheney and his recent give-away of metal. (signal: collective groan).
From TFA: "--Robert N. Clayton, The University of Chicago, for his contributions to geochemistry and cosmochemistry that provided insight into the evolution of the solar system."
Blasphemy! God created the heavens in six days, it was intelligently designed (TM) from the start! Blasphemy!
How many did still get wrong?
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
... the 2004 medals of science. Why do the 2004 medals get announced by the President in November 2005, and presented in 2006? Is this a tradition, or a reflection of current priorities...?
This is...
O
U
T
R
A
G
E
O
U
S
!
And the math department's decent, surprisingly. Good in geometry; for instance, Stony Brook is responsible for FIST (Fast Industrial Strength Triangulation), which was commissioned by Sun for the standard Java library. (Triangulation is basically separating a polygon into a set of triangles.)
In case you were wondering, here's Dr. Sullivan's website: http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~dennis/
Quite frankly, it's almost inappropriate. Almost insulting. Can you imagine standing up there, recieving a medal from a man you are quite sure is almost religious (ha... ha!) in his dismissal and disrespect for science and technology? From a president that has cut funding for the very same science and education that he is now rewarding? I think that an empty, hollow, false recognition is hardly better than no recognition at all. I can only hope that the very same group he is making nice to now will remember his prior deeds against them, and not be blown over with false gratitude, a mockery, a mask that attempts to obscure his previous words and actions.
games journalism blog
So Ray Kroc got one?
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Glad to hear that Industrial Light and Magic, a movie special effects company founded by George Lucas, is one of the recipients of this award. Obviously this piece of news was drowned out by the sound of one certain shotgun blast in Texas.
_ Magic)
A trivia about ILM -- John Lasseter (director of Toy Story) worked for ILM in the early 1980s as a computer animator. The computer graphics department, now known as Pixar, was eventually sold to Steve Jobs, which went on to create the first CG animated feature with Toy Story. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Light_and
Sun and Fun
It's not that bad. Think of it this way:
If a Democrat had presented the awards, it would just have gone to show that Democrats are all elitist university-educated intellectuals who think they know better than the rest of us. So their career in politics would be over.
If a non-neocon Republican had presented the awards, they would have had to resign to spend more time with their families like all of the other non-neocons. So their career in politics would be over too.
If a political independent had presented the awards, nobody would care and the ability of the scientists to get adequate funding would be as low as ever. And the political independent's career in politics would already be over, by definition.
But because Bush presented the awards, there are more than the normal amount of headlines due to the irony of the awards being presented by an anti-science imbecile--and that's actually good for the scientists' ability to get adequate funding. And Bush's career in politics might be over due to the sweet merciful relief of the 22nd Amendment, should the Constitution still be around for two more years.
So, you know, look at the bright side.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that there are no climatologists on the list? There has been a lot of research in the area lately, with many significant results. Or perhaps that's the problem...
Those scientist who in worked on global warming are being toruted in Guantanamo
I hope these medals were presented on the basis of some sort of reasonable criteria. Hopefully these awards will be what the Nobel prizes used to be before they became a political joke.
You must be new to the politicial scene. If you'd be paying the slightest bit of attention you'd see that lower level positions are routinely given to lower level underlings in almost every administration. This goes for Clinton, Carter, Kennedy (brother for Attorney General anyone), and all the Republicans of the 20th century. What you should realize is that little political games (the Reno Justice department refusing to enforce laws it didn't like for example) are played all the time irrespective of who is currently in the white house. So save your indignation for a noble field, you won't find much to love here.
So he wasn't lying to us after all at our last departmental meeting.
"The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," -- Scott McClellan, Whitehouse spokesman.
other than global warming and evolution, what's to dislike about Bush's approach to science? Those arn't the pillars of modern science anyway, and although I'm sure many of you disagree with the President on a number of fronts he isn't exactly anti-science. Again, if you can get past evolution/global warming (which are no where near as important as this forum would lead you to believe) thing, there isn't a whole lot to critize.
+1, Funny
It would be nice if I could filter all articles that contained President Bush's name that were not filed under politics. Not because I'm disinterested, nor because I dislike the man, but because any article that mentions him becomes a nonstop bash-fest for the political trolls that live for such opportunities. I think the poster of this article did so simply to feed the trolls. Well eat up assholes. Oh, and don't bother with moderation, I'll save you the trouble:
-1 Offtopic. except that Bush trolling has become the topic.
-1 Overrated. this couldn't possibly be overrated because not a goddamn one of you slashbots thinks I have a point.
-1 Troll. pot; kettle; black
-1 Redundant. possibly, but since anyone else who's said this has also been modded into oblivion, I'll throw mine out there for a chance at visibility.
Women are like electronics: you don't know how damaged they are until you try to turn them on.
Viewers were momentarily startled by the appearance of flying pigs in the background, apparently rising out of a hole in the ground leading up from a frozen hell.
Soylent Green is peoplicious!
no pioneers in intelligent design?
sulli
RTFJ.
--Robert N. Clayton, The University of Chicago, for his contributions to geochemistry and cosmochemistry that provided insight into the evolution of the solar system.
I believe that's a typo - should read "insight into the intelligent design of the solar system."
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
I thought republicans hated public education. Isn't slashing education spending a good thing? Since when did Republicans become the party of big spenders?
That's true. Federal funding for education has gone up about 40 percent since 2001. But in the last two budgets (including 2007), education funding has been flat or it has been reduced. This comes at a time when the No Child Left Behind Act is forcing states to spend a lot more money on testing, teacher training and school improvement to meet the law's mandates.
y Id=5192631
Taken from an NPR acticle here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor
Its not fox so we know that it must be biased
It is nice to see Norman E. Borlaug in this list still. This is the greatest man in the world. He has saved bilions of people through his reserch in creating new breeds of crops. SMILE YOU FUCKS
Is it just me or do the "Ads by Google" a the bottom for hair transplants seem just a bit out of place ?
;)
WTF ??
Prior to the Bush administration the department of education had no real funding because they are largely hated by local school officials. Bush had to give them more funding when he started the hillariously named "No Child Left Behind Act." I believe that while the department of education gets more loot now schools don't get any of it. Which is why many states have toyed around with suing the government for requiring the mandatory tests that the aforementioned act requires
Mmmmmm. Sciencey.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
revolutionized organ transplants, led to development of global positioning systems, and helped feed millions around the world
That's something!
Before he awards any Science awards he should fire all the ignorant political appointees he placed to oversee real scientists. He should fire anybody who is as incompetent and unqualified as "You are doing a heck of a job Brownie."
Troll my ass, this is a very valid point posted above, as well as the first thing to my mind on seeing the headline. Whoever modded it troll needs to walk west til their hat floats...maybe it'll cool em off.
Why was he passing out the 2004 awards? Or did the Boston article get the year wrong?
While I don't approve of the anti-science attitude, I think I can put a spin on it which makes it more understandable.
Science was supposed to make life better. By making things more efficient, it was supposed to make our biggest problem what to do with all of our leasure time. It was supposed to bring an era of plenty for all, and end poverty.
I know, sounds Pollyanna-ish.
But you know, thinking harder about it, I believe all of the Pollyanna stuff I just spouted is possible, and with today's technology. The problem occurred somewhere on the way from the scientists to the marketplace. I suspect that in today's world, there's plenty, and nobody need go without food, shelter, or clothing.
It's a distribution problem. It's also a marketplace problem. I suspect that the most important product in today's market place is - scarcity. Look at post-Katrina... Petrochemical supplies dropped by 10-15%, prices jumped 35%. Make less product, make more money. Look at the whole ??AA and DRM issues. In fact, the "duplication" aspect of publication is rendered effectively obsolete by modern technology. Rather than seeking a way to equitably fund artists and the editorial/promotional aspects of publication, the publication industries have placed their focus on restriction of publication.
We also have super-rich and poor. I'm clearly not one in favor of Communism/Socialism, I like the ability to improve my lot by hard work and self improvement. I don't question that some people earn and have more than others - it's the magnitude of the difference that bothers me, and the fact that the system is being gamed.
So science got filtered on its way to the people. Instead of plenty for all, we have absurd riches for some, and poverty still exists. Instead of more leasure time for workers, we have fewer jobs, and those who have them work more than before.
Unfortunately and unfairly, science gets much of the blame. The problem is really excess greed. Some greed is healthy and motivating. But just like a mature human being knows how much to eat, he/she should understand how much greed is good.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
That's like getting an Art Award from the guy who paints the sad clowns in cheap motel rooms.
Norman E. Borlaug is my hero, and he should be yours, too.
There was a great episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! that covered Dr. Borlaug's work. I highly recommend it for a watch, if you have the chance.
From Wikiquote, a quote by Penn Jillette about Norman Borlaug:
I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
Those are some very fine scientists, mathematicians, inventors, technologists, and, ummmm, entertainers on the list. But where's the Dick Cheney, who invented the self-aiming torture-enhanced electronic surveillance shotgun, from his secret lair in an Undisclosed Location?
-- Jonathan Vos Post
Get the federal government out of schools!
Take your money, send it to Washington, have a bunch of
paper pushers get paid, then send what is left back to pay for teachers.
Great plan.
Better to keep the money local, and pay teachers locally and not
paper pushers in D.C.
The Federal Government does not make anything better except the military.
* RFK was not a dropout.
* RFK had fulltime employment prior to taking a high level government appointment.
* RFK did not lie on his resume.
* RFK was a lawyer -- did have expertise in his department, the Department of Justice's field.
* RFK was not an extremist from planet Wacko.
Appointing an anti-Science bigot to a responsible position at NASA is an insulting as it would be as appointing an animal-rights activist to head the Federal meat inspectors. Moreover, these appointments show Bush has no serious understanding of what the USA needs to do to reclaim the lead role in Science.
Carter's cabinet included people he knew, from back in Georgia. Bert Lance was one of his Finance guys. He appointed that colleague of MLK as the Ambassador to the UN. Well, the Ambassador did an okay job. Lance had a credible background, but he turned out to be corrupt. And Carter got rid of him.
A President has the power to chose the nominees. Something like 3,000 positions are his or hers to nominate. He or she has an obligation to nominate competent people. Sure, if the guy who is generally considered the most qualified doesn't agree with his policies he should appoint someone else, who does agree with his policies. But they have to be qualified.
I read what that militant fundamentalist wrote about his actions. He gave his loyalty solely to President Bush and he gave none ot his country. Well, that is wrong. Once you are appointed, you serve the country, not your sponsor. In the end your personal loyalty to your sponsor can't trump the Nation's interest. It did in the case of the NASA kid. Is there any suggestions RFK ever betrayed the country to honor his loyalty to his brother?