The candidates have yet to be brought together for a debate over issues of Science and Technology, although ScienceDebate2008.com has been working towards that goal for almost a year.

They have succeeded in getting at least one Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, to answer their 14 policy questions on Science and Technology.  It is a very good read and the questions alone point out how important these issues are to our future.  Hopefully, the McCain campaign will follow suit and provide their answers very soon.  (update 9/15, the McCain campaign has posted their answers and you may see them side-by-side with Obama’s here.)

I have to say I was very impressed and pleased with the answers given.  It was obvious the answers came from some very intelligent individuals (Mr. Obama can’t possibly have the breadth and depth of knowledge for all those answers).  We can only hope Mr. Obama continues to elicit such knowledgable advise and adhere to it, if elected president.

How important is Science and Technology to you?

If your answer was ‘Pretty Damn Important!”, you’re correct.  If you gave any other answer, you’re just wrong.  You are.

How do I know this?  Because you are reading this.  It’s that simple.  You’ve probably never considered the basic science and engineering that brought this page to you.   Physics, fundamentally, but also electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and even biology.  That’s just some of what it takes to bring a web page to you.

Ask yourself some pretty basic questions:  How did I get to work?  How is my house cooled or heated?  Where does my entertainment come from (even modern publishing and distribution is a feat of technology!)?  Why is it that we live longer than our ancesters and in better general health?

You shouldn’t get through a day without considering the importance of scientific and technological advancements that make our lives rich and functional.

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. ~Edwin Powell Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954