Avatar Allan Hauer

Allan Hauer

Science is the center of my life having spent 27 years as a physicist and manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory. I also love poetry, art and music but science is the unifying theme. I also sometimes use “Science” with a capital “S”. I am a Fellow of the American Physical Society
I enjoy formulating analyses of general social and economic issues from a scientific perspective. Some might characterize my approach as “technocratic” but I believe that the scientific perspective is far more diverse and rich than that cliché would imply.
I’m an intellectual child of the 60’s. I willingly leaped into the world of space and computers, riding the wave of uniformly positive public opinion of science and technology and American success. Unfortunately that wave has to a great degree, broken on the shore of rigid ideology, stereotyped thinking and prejudice- but I have high hopes for the new “waves of the future”.

Please visit my “Science and Society” blog at aahhauer3.blogspot.com

Recent comments by Allan Hauer

  • A Metaphor for Obama

    True wisdom can be expressed in simple but powerful ways. We’re really talking about the power of the American dream-truly inclusive democracy. Such a picture has to be built on the strong foundation of an educated, healthy society. This is where the spark of free enterprise ignites and blends the individual and community, the singular genius with collective inspiration.

  • Financial Reform’s Breakthrough Year

    It’s interesting to focus on the phrase “… the bankers and their allies”. Are we dealing with a monolithic and stubbornly regressive community? ; or is there at least some enlightened thinking deep within the granite walls of the big institutions? It was quite interesting to follow the progression of the presidential campaign. Romney (presumably speaking for “… the bankers and their allies”) began by unconditionally declaring that Dodd Frank must be repealed. By the time of the first debate, he had significantly altered his position essentially saying that Dodd-Frank was only partially in error and needed to be “tuned” or revised. Does this reflect some flexibility of thought in the banking community itself?

  • Why Are Governments Paralyzed?

    As a professional scientist, I often wish that a more “technocratic” approach would prevail in our search to solve society’s problems. But then an obvious mandate like “fix the lack of trust” hits me between the eyes. In the socioeconomic world it seems that some sense of balance or equilibrium is so often a principal goal
    I believe that much of the current lack of trust is part of a visceral reaction to the complexity of modern society. Rigid, ideological thinking promises easy, quick answers and unfortunately many find this picture beguiling. I’m actually quite hopeful though and part of the reason lies in American history.
    The theme is that the search for balanced, carefully measured solutions to our challenges is far more than just bland compromise. There is vitality and strength that comes from a blending of perspectives and America has found this “sweet spot” in many of its greatest successes. It’s truly a matter of the combination being greater than the sum of its parts. For some, balanced thinking is the same as scientific reasoning – completely free of ideological rigidity. America has had outstanding success in science and technology and this is a key part of the national foundation. It’s no accident that many of our founding fathers had a deep interest in science. But the real key for our nation’s future is creative, innovative thinking that spans the space from the workshop or laboratory to the rural healthcare cooperative, from the Yankee Town Hall meeting to the National Weather Service. There are also natural deeply rooted principles that blend the individual and community, the singular genius with collective inspiration, the spark of free markets built on an educated, healthy society.

Show more