The Geek Manifesto ─ Why Science Matters

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.

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 the British should be crying out for them. They live in a country where:

- Only one of Britain's 650 MPs has worked as a research scientist.
- The British 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 they 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 people what needs to happen to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into politics and society. And how to turn their frustrated outrage into positive action that Britain's leaders cannot ignore.

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 program.
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 panelist at the Royal Institution, the Wellcome Collection, and the Cheltenham Science Festival. In 2011 Mark Henderson was awarded the European Cancer Reporter Prize and the Royal Statistical Society Prize for statistical excellence in journalism.