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The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
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The Importance of Science: Ten Reasons
September 2nd, 2010
One of my old, fairly innocuous posts has been climbing up the popularity lists: The Importance of Science in Our Lives. It’s just a link to an article online with a little commentary. I see on my statistics pages that a lot of people arrive using google searches of “Importance of Science.” I wonder if this is a common school assignment for students, e.g., “Write about the importance of science in the modern world” or some other similar variation, and then off they go to google to get their answers rather than thinking for themselves. Maybe that’s too cynical. Anyway, I have been intending to follow up with some more specific and simply worded reasons that science is important to not just me (e.g., my income), but to our civilization today.
Science is important because…
1. …we don’t have to take someone’s word for something, we can test their claims.
2. …horrible diseases can be cured, or prevented entirely, and it can still provide hope for those with as-yet-incurable diseases.
3. …people who love each other can talk to each other whenever they want no matter how far apart they are in the world, and can be together the next day.
4. …science can show us what has caused mass extinctions and point the way to preventing similar catastrophes in the future.
5. …science can make us feel big and special for understanding the age of the Earth, the nature of stars, and the size of the universe, even if those things dwarf us.
6. …science saves lives.
7. …it has helped us to no longer need to worry about personal survival as our top priority, giving us more time for love, laughter, singing, and dancing.
8. …whenever one problem is solved another two rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete.
9. …science gives us superpowers, like looking across the universe, seeing atoms, flying across the Earth or to the moon, moving mountains, and harnessing the energy of the sun.
10. …science, in the long run, is the only reliable way to figure things out in a world that is so seldom fair and impartial.
Well, those are ten of mine. I could elaborate or further justify each of these, but for now I will leave these here to ferment some more. There’s a darker version of this list that would talk about guns, nuclear bombs, and more, but I’ll pass on that for now. Violence isn’t nice, but it surely is important.
Why is science important to you?
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> 8. …whenever one problem is solved another two rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete.
Therefore the only rational course is to stop solve problems! Solving problems just creates more problems!
Other ideas for the list:
* Science exercises the mind and teaches logical thinking
* Science encourages skepticism and questioning assumptions and looking at things in different ways
* Making important decisions based on science instead of superstition or demagoguery or hatred or fear etc often produces better results
* The techniques of science (logic, testing hypothesis, gathering, data, etc) can be applied in daily life for “small” personal problems and activities (purchasing decisions, playing games, cooking, debugging software, etc), not just for “big issues” like physics, astronomy, tech development, etc.
Science is logical mysticism. It creates awe with the world that simple mythology cannot. Stand at your front step and think about the complexity of everything you can see. The physics and chemistry and biology present in every square meter of your front yard is too much for any human to decipher individually. Watch the wind blow the limbs on a tree and think about the complex mathematics that must be deciphered to scientifically explain all the forces involved. Then think about the science behind joy, fear, parentage, the actual biology of a love for science. The well is deep, infinite from our individual point of view. And the best part of it all, that it combines these things and simultaneously creates a language to describe itself. That we need not rely on the bishop of climatology to dictate to us the gospel of climate change. It’s there for any curious mind to uncover.
Now the problem becomes converting people to the goals of science instead of their myths. Try saying something similar to what I just wrote to any diverse group of people and you’re bound to be labeled a kook.
Science is a way of passing knowledge from one generation to another. So we can build our collective knowledge to solve more and more complex problems related to our existence, happiness, and productivity.
Really great comments! I got some new insights.
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the importance of science. when we don’t know about science we don’t know how earthquake occur or what is solar system or etc.
science helps us make enquiries of living and non-living thing in our environment.
science saves life
science creates awe with the world that simple mythology cannot.
science is logical mysticism
Science is the answer to all horrifying questions
im trying to find out why science is important and that was just it…wow
So will it be correct if we say that Science has by now achieved the contentment that humans desire.. ??
The goal of science is to advance human understanding of the universe we live in. It is not to achieve personal contentment, although I am sometimes briefly content when I have used science to finally answer a question I have had for a long time.
But Sir, if we see practically …
In today’s world humans generally don’t use Science to understand universe except for those who are employed for such services, rather they use Science to fulfill their daily basic requirements.
Actually, Sir I am taking part in a debate and the motion reads “Science has achieved the contentment that man desires” and I have to speak in favor of the motion so just needed to prepare myself well…
Daksh, you win the argument if fulfulling man’s needs achieves the contentment that man desires. Science lets us shelter ourselves, amuse our selves, feed ourselves, etc., but that has not seemed to bring contentment. I’d prefer to argue the other side.
You are absolutely right Sir. Science does amuse us but that doesn’t bring contentment mainly because human desires are never ending…
Even I’d have preferred to argue the other side but I’ve been ordered to do the opposite…so I am helpless …
But anyways thank you Sir for sparing some time for me and please wish me luck for doing well in the debate… very nervous for tackling the refutations that would come up…
Science is a quest for truth,fact and a way for life.
Dear,
violence is not important, our world needs peace.
The person who cannot overcome their egos, prestige,religious feelings and greed needs violence and not for the persons who are working to go beyond these.
science doesn’t encourage violence but it teaches facts. Science teaches role of each individual in this universe. Everything just depends on our perception dear.
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[…]The Importance of Science: Ten Reasons[…]…
The truth u just said sir. Whenever one problem is solved another too will rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete
reading science is better than reading novels because science is made up of all inventory whereas novels all are imaginary
man is the greatest miracle and the greatest problem on the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!
science gave us to know about the technologies which plays important role in our life…
Well,, i gotta nice points. i’m sure to get gud marks in ma project… thanq ya.
Science is a body of knowledge organised in a systhematic manner
Science is a way of life, it gives reason for man’s existance
I could like to seek the importance of scientists and the major roles they played in the uplift of societies.
Wow,that is good.this help me to complete my project.TQ!_!
Through science, transportation has been made simple unlike the olden days where people treck from one place to another at the end leads to swollen up of legs which can eventually lead to death
Science is a way of knowing things in a manner easier than everthing
The discovery of fire has been one of the most important discovery of man-kind. The development of languages has helped us communicate with other people. The list goes on but according to me, these two products of science is enough to rule out the drawbacks of science.
How is human language a product of science? People communicated by language long before science in any significant sense existed. Indeed even some other species of animals communicate with simple languages developed with no apparent scientific knowledge.
Science its helps in d development of our farm machines like tractor,bulldozer & some chemicals 2 improve d soil fertility.science has done great things in our lives.
“…whenever one problem is solved another two rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete.”
As a scientist starting out I think this misses the point. The ability to solve a problem isn’t what makes science important. If you solve the problem of figuring out why a poet put a specific word at exactly the place he did you solved a problem, sure, but it doesn’t have much impact on many people. Solving IMPORTANT problems it what makes science important. And with this premise I’d argue that some sciences are more important than others.
I love my field of study, computational linguistics. But I’ll acknowledge any day that getting fusion reactors to work is more important than just about anything I’ll do in my field in the next 5 to 10 years.
And I can absolutely see a time when science, while still interesting and enlightening, will not be important anymore because what we’ll have then will be enough for most people.
But my main point is this: The question is too simplistic. One of your points is: “Science saves lifes.” No, the results of some scientific fields save lifes. Saying science as a whole does something is completely meaningless because there are gigantic differences in how much practical impact different sciences have. Science is fascinating, but not all science is important. And there is no reason why science shouldn’t become unimportant one day. The importance of science depends on its ability so solve important problems. Science will always solve problems, but hopefully we’ll get to a point where all important problems have been solved.
1 with out scince we could not find out how plants and how the universe was made
2 we would still be cave men runing a round like a lost puppy
3 we would have no clue how to get to the moon
Very thoughtful and helpful.
science is all about =tell me and i forget, show me and i remember, involve me and i understand.
Fellow brothers our member in our gang has a debate on the topic”it is more profitable and rewarding 2 study the science than the art” i need ur helps. Coming bak in a couple of hours for ur help.
Science is all about life and what makes life worth living. It seeks to answer and solve all of life’s problems
Science point light to the darkness of our knowledge
Science is important because, science is every thing. All the products we use are the product of science e.g cream, soap, book, pen etc.
Science is the motor of innovation. Through science,transportation has been made simple unlike the olden days where people treck from one place to another at the end leads to swollen up to legs which can eventually lead to death.
thanks a lot! :))
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Please i need more explaintion on these nevertheless ynu tried so much
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I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this information together.
I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worth it!
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