The Inhibition of Innovation.

• Author: Bertioli, David J.
• Position: BRIEFLY NOTED

The adage "Follow the science" when formulating public policy has much to recommend it, but it's not as straightforward as it sounds. Let us explain.

Astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Siegel recently wrote, "Science is a way of thinking about the world, the process of inquiry and investigation, and also the full suite of relevant knowledge that we know, collectively, about an enterprise." It is based on "the scientific method," a rigorous process that reveals new information, or knowledge, that enables us to know what we know.

But simply saying that scientific knowledge, not science itself, should guide policy is insufficient. An essential ingredient is missing: value judgments. Knowledge created by science tells us, with ever-increasing accuracy, what the world is, but it does not tell us what the world ought to be. This gap between "is" and "ought," which cannot be filled by logic or reason, was articulated by Scottish philosopher David Hume. It can only be filled by value judgments, be they moral, religious, or political.

Value judgments are needed because of tradeoffs. Decisions can be informed by scientific knowledge, but they are not dispositive because differing values can lead to different decisions based on the same accepted body of scientific knowledge. Consider, for example, California's High-Speed Rail Project, which would link San Francisco and Los Angeles. Although it is technically achievable, whether the cost is worthwhile is a value judgment, and it has changed over the years. As of March 2023, according to a California High Speed Rail Authority project update report, the price tag for the system had risen to $128 billion. That's a nearly 22 percent increase from last year's estimate of $105 billion and a far cry from the $33 billion voters approved in 2008. That massive outlay inevitably diverts government resources from other projects--and from taxpayers' pockets--and what is cost-effective and societally advantageous is a matter of value judgment.

Genetic engineering / The interplay of scientific knowledge and value judgments also applies to opinions about innovative technologies, from nuclear power and fracking to genetic engineering. Let us focus on the last of these, a particular interest of ours.

When it comes to certain activists' decades-long objections to societally important advances in "genetic engineering," or "genetic modification," we would argue that they have been wrong on both the science and the...