The true language of science is English
Galileo Galilei once wrote that the book of nature was written in the language of mathematics; to understand this book, we had to learn its tongue. Indeed, Galileo's ability to form equations accurately describing physical phenomenon, such as the rate at which obects fell, constituted a part of what is now called the Scientific Revolution. Mathematics today has become such an integral part of modern science--physics, chemistry, and even biology--that any science which does not regularly employ it is often considered a pseudo-science.
But Galileo was wrong. The true language of science is not mathematics, but rather English.
The majority of important scientific publications are published in the English language. We may gain an impression of this statement when we consider that although English speakers constituted less than nine percent of the world's population, they produced 408 books for every one million English speakers. This amounted to 34 times the rate at which Chinese books were published, despite China's much larger population.
The predominance of English is perhaps due to the fact that culture changes very slowly, and science is no exception. It was created in a particular set of Western nations, and today it is the nations of this particular culture group which still produce the largest number of scientific publications. (Japan, so heavily influenced by the West, has become a newcomer to this rather prestigious club.) The United States, a former British colony, put more money into science, produced more publications, and patented more technologies that most of all other nations in the world: about 35% for all categories in the mid 1990s. That its predominant language is English helps account for science's lingua franca.
Spanish, in contrast, is but a very minor scientific language; the countries where it is spoken are mostly peripheral scientific countries. In 1994 Latin America published only 1.6% of the world's scientific work, accounted for 1.9% of global investment in science, and patented only .2% of all worldwide technologies. Although these figures date seven years, they reflect rather persistent patterns of Latin American history. Out of the hundreds of Nobel Prizes awarded, only a mere handful have gone to Latin American scientists. Latin American scientists are also much less likely to be cited in the scientific literature than those of the U.S. or Europe; the same can be said of Spain.
If that were not enough, Latin American scientists are also less likely to cooperate with other international scientists, thereby further inhibiting their productivity. While Sweden's scientific cooperation index was 39%, Argentina' s was -49%. (Note the negative sign in front of the second number.) This tells us that while there was a great deal of cooperation between scientists in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, there was almost no cooperation between their counterparts living in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. If we were to make a household analogy, North America would be "dog-like" in its open behavior, while South America "cat-like" in their reserved outlook.
These facts tell us that in order to learn science, one must first know English--a statement that cannot be emphasized enough in Puerto Rico. Not only is English important to learn the basic ideas of nature, but it also is necessary to know in order to contribute anything to these ideas. Working scientists that have no knowledge of English (or Russian or Japanese) have already doomed their careers before they have even begun; they will not gain access to the latest ideas, tools, and, in all likelihood, funding. They can't even think of the Nobel Prize.
The reversal of Gov. Calderon and Sen. Ostolaza with regard to the "Spanish-only" law show hopeful signs for the island. It reveals that they are more interested in the economic and cultural well being of Puerto Rico than in the dogmatism inherent in their political predecessors. Had Rafael Hernadez Colon's law passed a decade ago, not only would it have had a negative economic effect, but, more importantly, it would have led to the stagnation of Puerto Rican culture--contrary to his many vacuous arguments.
As culture, science is one of the highest gifts of civilization. It is what separates us from animals, makes simple the complex, and brings humanity that much closer to God (as Newton believed). Erase all scientific knowledge and one would be erasing one hundred thousand years of human history; it has taken that much time to get to where we are now. Similarly, kill English in Puerto Rico, and one would have robbed from thousands of Puerto Rican children the greatest gift they could possibly ever have received.
While it is not being suggested that the Spanish-only law would have eliminated all science in the island, for all sakes and purposes it would have inhibited science as a discipline and a lived culture. It would have cut the island away from the richest vein of science there currently exists, the US. Ironically, it would also have re-created the colonial relations which plagued Puerto Rico for so much of its past by forcing its students to go to Spain for their scientific education. This would be tantamount to trading in a brand new Ferrari for an old and beat up Volkswagen--and who in their right mind would want to do that ?! No wonder Spain gave Hernandez Colon a medal.