> Greg Burch
> The scientific method presents an interesting corollary to legal due
> process, and in the spate of recent "junk science" decisions in the
> American courts there has been a fruitful cross-fertilization between the
> two systems. Perhaps what we need is a "science court"?
Recall [Engines of Creation], Chapter 13.
http://www.foresight.org/EOC/EOC_Chapter_13.html
>From the text:
We need better procedures for debating technical facts---procedures
that are open, credible, and focused on finding the facts we need to
formulate sound policies. We can begin by copying aspects of other
due-process procedures; we then can modify and refine them in light of
experience. Using modern communications and transportation, we can
develop a focused, streamlined, journal-like process to speed public
debate on crucial facts; this seems half the job. The other half
requires distilling the results of the debate into a balanced picture
of our state of knowledge (and by the same token, of our state of
ignorance). Here, procedures somewhat like those of courts seem
useful. {. . .}
Dr. Arthur Kantrowitz (a member of the National Academy of Sciences who
is accomplished in fields ranging from medical technology to high-power
lasers) originated the concept I have just outlined. He at first
called it a "board of technical inquiry." Journalists promptly dubbed
it a "science court." I have called it a "fact forum"; I will reserve
the term "science court" for a fact forum used (or proposed) as a
government institution. Proposals for due process in technical
disputes are still in flux; different discussions use different terms.
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