Worthwhile Uses for Science?

I probably don't have any business or justification for making such judgments (but hey, has that stopped the Rush Limbaughs of the world?), but I sometimes wonder whether some of the uses to which we put our science and research talent are truly worthwhile, in the grand scheme of things. That is, whether these efforts might be put to better use. A couple of examples:

To make household products work better: Well, I guess that making products work better to get the stains out of our clothes is a good thing. Probably preparations and machines that get our houses clean with less work are a good thing, too.

To remove calories from our food (and even our pets' food): I can't say this is a waste when Americans' overweight and obesity problem is serious and leads to diseases like diabetes; but it seems kind of a shame when you consider that there are millions of people in the world who are starving and desperately crave the calories we are trying hard to discard.

Cosmetic science, etc.: For example, new and better products to remove wrinkles from women's faces. Well, women would hate me if I said this is unnecessary or a waste of talent, but I think it is at best a borderline case. And that could lead to a whole other subject--why our society considers it more important for women to devote a lot of effort to looking good. Is that sexism? But men have been catching up in that regard, and there are far more men's grooming products on store shelves than there were a few years ago.

I just noticed that the dental floss I bought the other day says "Improved Flavor." Definitely important, a real contribution to improved quality of life.

Making our electronic toys continually better: Well, for me it's hard to believe that our smart phones need to get smarter every day, nor (as a non-video gamer) that we constantly need new and better games.

Update, October 5, 2011:
Here is a quote from an online article dealing with a proposed trade deal that would preserve the intellectual rights of "Big Pharma" (the big drug companies) but might have the bad effect of making drugs for AIDS more expensive and less available to poor people in the countries involved, such as Vietnam:

Much of the research pharmaceutical companies do conduct is simply not relevant to public health concerns, with money pouring into projects for hair loss, for instance, while funding for diseases that primarily afflict the poor, like tuberculosis, stays in perpetual short supply.

"The drug companies would say it generates research, but the evidence is very questionable, because much of the research is not directed at important diseases," says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz (HuffPost Politics, Oct. 5, 2011).

Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein

What's Changed in the World. Part 3 - Science

In some fields of science, progress may have been frustratingly slow—both to the general pubic and to the professionals in those fields. For example, it is still not possible to predict volcanic eruptions or tornadoes--and warnings of imminent tornado strikes are all too short. Basically, warnings are issued only once a tornado has actually formed and been spotted.

However, it is in the biomedical fields that we have seen astonishing progress. With many miraculous new drugs and new surgical procedures, such as transplants, many illnesses and medical conditions are no longer death sentences. Patients with certain types of cancer now have much longer life expectancies. Patients with HIV/AIDS can now often live long with the virus. Generally, people are living long lives, now, with many illnesses and conditions that would have shortened their lives a few decades ago.

There are entirely new kinds of medical imaging (CT scans and MRI); and, the sequencing of the human genome has almost unlimited possibilities for associating diseases with specific genes and maybe also permitting new treatments.

I can't comment too much on the physical sciences except maybe astronomy, which has intersected my life at several junctures. Astronomy has made a lot of progress with incredible new tools such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

The field of computers, both computer hardware and software, has probably done more to transform our lives than any other technical field; but I've covered a lot of this in the posting on changes to communication.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard Stein

When New Ideas Prevail--and When They Don't

One of the biggest disillusionments of my life was when I discovered that the academic world is not open-minded. Not even the science subset of that world, despite what we are made to believe about science.

Now and again we hear about someone who had a revolutionary, visionary, or counter-establishment idea that ultimately prevailed and became the new accepted wisdom. These people, when they initially presented their ideas, were confronted by all the power and weapons that orthodoxy can bring to bear against them: skepticism, ridicule, even difficulty in finding employment. But the story has a happy ending and in the end they won recognition for their ideas and their vision. You read about them, they appear on TV.

But for every story like this, how many stories are there—the ones we don't hear about—where the guy allowed all the obstacles and opposition he faced to beat him down? Five, ten, many more than that?

Surely it takes a certain personality type to successfully suffer through all the discouragement he encounters. Perseverance, belief in self, ego strength: it takes all these and more. Plus perhaps the ability or willingness to suffer financial hardship. When one is told, in effect, Don't quit your day job; when one has doors slammed in his face—well, you get the picture.

Those who have been successful in their fight against the obstacles thrown up in their road typically have not had to supply all their own support from internally. One hears that they were supported and encouraged by spouses, sometimes a parent or even a sibling. It definitely helps to have those things, someone "in your corner," as we say. Anyone who is or wants to be an academic or any kind of wielder of ideas had best have family who know the terrain or some mentor who can offer advice and encouragement. When these things are absent and the obstacles can just have too much force, it is humanity in general that loses.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard Stein