Bookmark: Statement on Repairing the World and Book Selection for Swearing-In
Dr. Eric Lander, Science Advisor to the President, has an interesting statement on the five hundred year old text he chose to be sworn in on. Very much worth reading in full if you have any kind of interest in books or the usage of books, but above all here is the snippet on his choice:
So, that is the story behind my choice of book on which to take my oath for my roles in stewarding science and technology in the federal government:
- a book that bears upon the paramount ethical obligation to repair the world, which I hold dear and which underlies the goals of this Administration and the goals of science;
- a book that is one of the earliest fruits of a revolutionary information technology that swept the world;
- a book whose year and place of publication speak of religious tolerance and intolerance; and
- a book whose existence would not be known but for the work of a scholar who chose to enter into public service.
So, that is the story behind my choice of book on which to take my oath for my roles in stewarding science and technology in the federal government:
- a book that bears upon the paramount ethical obligation to repair the world, which I hold dear and which underlies the goals of this Administration and the goals of science;
- a book that is one of the earliest fruits of a revolutionary information technology that swept the world;
- a book whose year and place of publication speak of religious tolerance and intolerance; and
- a book whose existence would not be known but for the work of a scholar who chose to enter into public service.