Alvin Weinberg (a Manhattan Project scientist and later the director of Oak Ridge National Lab), speaks on trans-science in a way that anticipates some of the discussion we're having on climate change.
> But when what we do transcends science and impinges on the public, we have no choice but to welcome public participation. Such participation by the uninitiated in matters that have both scientific and trans-scientific elements may pose some threat to the integrity of the republic of science. In my mind, however, this is a lesser thread than is the threat to our democratic process that would be posed by excluding the public from participation in trans-scientific debate.
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[ 8.0 ms ] story [ 25.6 ms ] thread> But when what we do transcends science and impinges on the public, we have no choice but to welcome public participation. Such participation by the uninitiated in matters that have both scientific and trans-scientific elements may pose some threat to the integrity of the republic of science. In my mind, however, this is a lesser thread than is the threat to our democratic process that would be posed by excluding the public from participation in trans-scientific debate.