Science for University Students. Part II. Translations. Сологуб Л.И. - 56 стр.

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that a modern computer hovers between the obsolescent and the nonexistent
illustrates the speed of advances in modern science. If practitioners of science
then talk in a language that is not easily understood or retreat into their
laboratories, the problem is exaggerated. Birth control pills, automobiles, and
increased longevity are all admirable, yet they have brought major changes in
the sexual mores, family mobility, and lifestyle of all of us.
The practice of science is opportunistic. We solve the problem that is
before our eyes and are not required to predict the widespread ramifications that
result if the solution is more popular than we expect. No one can assess at the
inception of an invention all of its social implications. We could not predict that
an understanding of radio waves would change the way we communicate, that
understanding control of bacterial growth would lead to a population explosion,
or that a simple equation, E = mc
2
, would change the nature of warfare. But as
architects of change, we have occasionally oversold the product, implying that it
will bring unmixed good, not acknowledging that a scientific advance is a
Pandora’s box with detriments or abuses as well as benefits. By confessing that
we are not omniscient we may lose some awe and admiration, but we will gain
in understanding and rapport.
Ultimately society controls the rules of scientific application mainly by its
control of funding. We of course have the option to work for organizations of
which we approve and the citizen’s right of political advocacy. Scientists are the
servants of society, not its masters, and we should remain so. But because we
are close to the events of change, it is our special responsibility to spell out the
disadvantages as well as the advantages of a new discovery as far as we can.
What is good for science is not necessarily good for the country, and we should
be particularly cautious in endorsing megaprojects (or microprojects) that
compete for dollars in a significant way with other needs of society.
It is the nature of scientists to advocate change more than most people do.
The increasing complexity of science, furthermore, requires language that is
unfamiliar outside the scientific community. This tempts some to accuse us of
being a secret cabal that embarks on projects society would reject if it had a
chance to do so. The antidote is to explain the serendipitous nature of science, to
display our own limitations with candor, to express our intensions and
reservations in clear, nonspecialized terms, and to empathize and communicate
with those whose lives will be changed by discoveries now being made in
mysterious laboratories and published in esoteric journals.
Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.
I. Read the editorial text and state what information it carries.
II. Choose the right answer:
1) The problem which is raised in the text is the problem of
a. interrelations between sciences and society
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