In this post, I’ll be responding to a New York Times article from 2003 called Does Science Matter? by William J. Broad and James Glanz. To read the article, go to:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/science/does-science-matter.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

My response to the question of whether or not science matters can only be answered through, ironically, a scientific idea: realitivity. Science has done great things for human kind, such as cure polio, put a man on the moon, and invent the automobile. To the individual however, science can also be quite discomforting. I for one do not like to think that when I die my body will decay in the ground and no part of who I was will ever exist again. It is certainly more comfortable to believe that I will go to heaven and live my after life in bliss.

Science also brings with it as many new terrors as it does advances. With each new development we create, we bring about some new unholy terror that wreaks havoc on either the environment or our own sense of safety. The invention of plastic has led to the near extinction of many species of animals and the pollution of many, once beautiful environments. The creation and use of nuclear weapons has caused wide spread panic across the globe for decades.

There is no doubting that science has had its upside. We phones that slide into our pockets, AC units that keep us cool in the dog days of summer, and planes that take us across the country in hours. These brilliant inventions, and many more, have given us incredibly comfortable lives, but have they truly made us happy? If ignorance is truly bliss, then wouldn’t we be equally, if not more, happy living off the land, with no phones or emails or microwaves? If we had never invented or even imagined these creations our lives would certainly be different, but would they really be worse? I don’t believe they really would. In the end we must all die someday. When that day comes, I certainly hope I can bring myself to believe that maybe science does not have all the answers. Maybe there is something after death.

I suppose the point that I’m getting at is that the importance of science comes down to relativity. Sure science has been great in the perspective of the entire human existence, but to the individual it can often be more comforting to believe in something beyond science; something mystical. Whether it be God, reincarnation, angels, or just the occasional miracle or two, it can be a very good feeling to believe that science is not actually all that important. At the end of the day, all you can really worry about is your own personal happiness, and in that, I believe, science will often fall short.