Science: Boon Or Bane

Science: Boon or bane?

Gone is the age of steam. We are now in the age of hydrogen bombs and electricity. The most fantastic dreams of H.G. Wells in his novel Dream have come true. Thus, in this space age, where the wonders of science excel the wonders of nature, science affects our day-to-day life. Science has surpassed the old miracles of mythology and yesterday's faith has proved to be today's superstition in the crucibles of science.

Yet the problems is whether science is a boon or bane to society. Science is truth, truth is beauty and beauty is god. Science nurtures intelligence but leaves the will and emotions uncared for. It is said that knowledge comes but wisdom lingers. Science triumphs in automating processes but now it reigns over man. Automation is the order of the day. The spectre of war and destruction haunts the world and nobody is safe. Controlling scientific knowledge with moral judgment may be a solution to this dilemma. Audiovisual appliances annihilate times and distances. Science is the handmaid of modernity. But more valuable than these concrete achievements is the spirit of science. Science means systematised knowledge. It finds the causes of phenomena and works through observation and experiments. Science is the torchbearer of civilisations.

Is science really a bane? It is said that science is a good servant but a bad master. As religion is a matter of faith, science is a matter of fact. Modern warfare is destructive beyond the wildest dreams of our unscientific predecessors. Machine guns, shells, submarines, the atom and hydrogen bombs can destroy the world in the twinkling of an eye. Aeroplanes in war act as engines of mass destruction. Not only in times of war but in times of peace also man lives in the midst of disease. Though cures are being invented diseases are multiplying too. If the former is in arithmetic progression, the latter is in geometric progression. That is why peace lovers blame science as a curse.

It is said that mathematics makes men subtle and history makes men wise. Likewise, science whets the human intellect. It supplements him with astute knowledge and adds to his comforts. It should be refined by the philosophy of love, by a desire to tolerate others and then man will be able to avert the evil effects that may follow from the misuse of science. An integrated educational pattern, which makes the scientist aware of his social responsibilities may be the panacea to the present pandemonium.


Bobby A. Mathew, X

Thiruvananthapuram: Kendriya Vidyalaya (AF), Akkulam

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