Thomas Friedman’s runaway bestseller The World is Flat bemoans the declining competitiveness of the U.S. versus emerging economic powerhouses like China and India.  He attributes much of this decline to our woeful lack of educational emphasis on math and science.  The U.S. government has initiated the No Child Left Behind program in part to address this problem.

Is there hope for the U.S.?  I believe so.

In the seven year history of Imaginova, parent company of science related brands like LiveScience, SPACE.com, Starry Night, Space News and Orion, we observed that our readers and customers comprised much more than just the hardcore science enthusiasts.  So we commissioned a study by OMD, the global media & communications agency, to size and profile the market of adults who are “intellectually curious” about science.   The study determined that 60 million adults 25-54 fall into the “intellectually curious” category—but only about 20 million of these are the hard core enthusiasts (which we affectionately call ‘geeks’).  That means there are 40 million adults who define themselves in other ways—i.e., by their careers or social status– but are, in varying degrees, just as fascinated and intrigued by science.

The 60 million “intellectually curious” adults is just the start.  Many of these adults have children to whom they promote math and science interest and send their kids to schools who nurture this interest as well.

Part of the problem in converting this broad interest to passion and science-oriented career choices have been the role models of success.  Despite the mind boggling advances in scientific research over the last 30 years, the heroes of our day have too often been entertainers and athletes and the measure of career success has been defined by investment bankers and lawyers.  By their very nature, scientists are humble and shun the spotlight—becoming somewhat inaccessible to the youth.  Photogenic, entertaining physicists like Carl Sagan and Neil Tyson have been few and far between.

But there is hope. 

The internet boom beginning in the mid-90s is now over 10 years old.  Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, etc. are ‘rock stars’.  These are the type of high profile success stories that can be role models that turn intellectual curiosity into careers, new discoveries, and enhanced U.S. competitiveness.  

I am optimistic.