The Geek Manifesto

The Geek Manifesto

by Mark Henderson (Author)

Synopsis

There has never been a better time to be a geek (or a nerd, or a dork). What was once an insult used to marginalize those curious people (in either sense of the word) and their obsessive interest in science has increasingly become a badge of honour. And we should be crying out for them...We live in a country where: *Only one of our 650 MPs has worked as a research scientist. *The Government's drugs adviser was sacked for making a decision based on scientific fact rather than public opinion *A writer can be forced into court for telling the scientific truth *The media would rather sell papers by scaremongering over MMR vaccines and GM crops than report the less sensational facts. Whether we want to improve education or cut crime, to enhance public health or to generate clean energy, science and its experimental method is critical. It's time to stop the nonsense! The Geek Manifesto shows us what needs to happen to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into politics and society. And how to turn our frustrated outrage into positive action that our country's leaders cannot ignore. Shortlisted for the Political Book Awards Polemic of the Year 2012.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Bantam Press
Published: 10 May 2012

ISBN 10: 0593068246
ISBN 13: 9780593068243
Book Overview: Britain's leading science journalist makes an agenda-setting argument that science matters to every aspect of politics with a rallying call to all geeks, wannabe geeks and secret geeks to join together in a new force our leaders cannot ignore.

Media Reviews
With over a decade of experience as the science correspondent for the Times, Henderson has seen it all. Today science is enjoying unprecedented coverage in the media and recognition in popular culture. Here is the account of how and why this has happened, how science works and how it is perceived, warts and all. Fascinating stuff. Jim Al-Khalili In this timely and important book, Mark Henderson explains why Geeks are on the march - and why the world will become a better place as a result. Tim Harford Mark Henderson's new book shows that CP Snow's 'Two Cultures' are still all too apparent in today's society, and also charts the frustrating tussle for power between forces of irrationality and the rational over recent years. Henderson advances a compelling argument that we shouldn't be ashamed of rational thinking, but instead, we need to recognise and embrace the importance of science in our politics, education, economy and culture. Professor Alice Roberts an entertaining call to arms for scientists, engineers, skeptics, rationalists and fans of the scientific method Engineering & Technology superb... Required reading for those who love science and recognise the need to 'geek the vote' Douglas Kell
Author Bio
Mark Henderson, the Science editor of The Times, is an award-winning journalist who has covered science for The Times since 2000, building a reputation as one of the UK's most respected and best connected journalists in the field. As well as covering science news he is a regular contributor to comment pages and played a pivotal role in founding their science supplement, Eureka, for which he writes features and a regular column about science and politics. Freelance writing includes recent work for the British Medical Journal, Prospect, and the Royal Society's 350th anniversary programme.He is an accomplished broadcaster for TV and radio, whose recent appearances include BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC4's 'Dinner with Portillo', BBC Breakfast, Sky News, LBC and BBC R4's 'Material World'. He is also a regular panellist at the Royal Institutio, the Wellcome Collection and the Cheltenham Sciece Festival. In 2011 Mark Henderson was awarded the European Cancer Reporter Prize and the Royal Statistical Society Prize for statistical excellence in journalism.