Why Do We Do Science?
Posted on | March 1, 2010 | Comments Off
Isn't it just fascinating?
Science is the systematic investigation of natural processes in order to understand it better. But, why do we do it?
I am sure many High School students have asked this question. Why do I need to know that when I put a piece of magnesium in some acid in a test tube it fizzes? What is so amazing about litmus paper turning red? Why is my teacher so excited that ice floats?
Curiosity
There are different levels of answer to this question. Maybe the most basic is curiosity. It is fascinating to discover that every single living organism on earth has DNA that provides a code for every protein that it will need to use. I am always amazed when I mix two chemicals together and the temperature goes down so far that it can freeze water, or that just by adding a drop of one liquid to a pile of crystals causes a violent flame and lots of smoke. I just want to know why. Equally the whole idea of the size of the universe, or of the make up of the atom, drive many scientists to simply want to know more, just for the sake of it.
Economic Development
Another reason we do science is so that our society will develop economically. Whatever you may think of industry, it has been the development of scientific understanding that has enabled mankind to be able to travel around the globe in hours instead of months. It is scientific discovery that has provided us with the materials and gadgets that make our lives so much more comfortable, and have fuelled the development of civilised society. It is not all good – witness climate change and the exploitation of workers in so many countries, but there is also some benefit.
Improving people’s lives
Perhaps the highest level of scientific endeavour is that which aims to improve our lives. Pharmaceutical scientists searching for new drugs to treat diseases, geneticists searching for the cause of hereditary conditions, seismologists trying to find ways of predicting earthquakes in order to save lives, and climate scientists trying to understand why the climate is changing so much. These are all people who are devoting their abilities for the good of mankind.
So, science is worth it. There is so much that science can do. Of course it is not all done with the purest of motives, it does not always lead to the good of mankind, often quite the opposite, but it is worth doing. And it should be done. And it should be encouraged.
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