3. IS SCIENCE A CURSE?
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"Science is a key which unlocks for mankind a store of nature."
(Samuel Johnson)
Some people hold the opinion that science is a curse but I tend to think that it is not. It is the thinking or the use of something that makes something a curse or a blessing. Science is the product of brilliant minds but it is the evil genius that turns a beneficial thing into a harmful thing. Science helps people to do things for the welfare of humanity. Blessings of science can transform this world of ours into an earthly paradise. There are a number of miracles of science that we can see in various fields of life.
"Men love to wonder and that is the seed of science."
(Emerson)
One great discovery is electricity. Electric machines have largely reduced manual labour. Electricity has made things easier for us. Without it our whole industry will come to a standstill position. If there were no electricity, the entire world would be in darkness. Life is not a bed of thorns now because of scientific inventions. Science has brightened and broadened our horizon and acumen Science has played an important role in the production of food. There is significant increase in the production of crops due to fertilizers and modem equipment. Engineers have built dams on rivers to provide water for canals to irrigate the fields. So, man has almost solved the problem of food shortage.
"A man of science is just a student of nature and derives his inspiration from science."
(C.V. Romans)
Monsters of the past have been conquered. Medical science has controlled epidemics. It is now possible to operate upon heart and even replace it. Operations of eye, ear and nose are very common. There are useful injections which quickly relieve us from pain and illness. Vaccination hall has made small-pox a thing of the past. Many other diseases like cholera, plague and T.B. have been fully controlled. Quinine has eradicated malaria. In the field of surgery, science is touching the zenith of progress. Science has added to our physical comforts as well as our mental and intellectual development. There is a goodly number of sources of communication like newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet thatasked update people about the current affairs. They help people to know about what is going on in the world. There is more awareness today than it was in the past.
"Science is more stimulating to the imagination than are the classics."
(Holdene)
No doubt. science is a good servant to humanity, but it is a bad master also. Indeed, it has helped man to solve many problems but the modern scientific progress has also created many new problems. Aeroplanes drop bombs and kill men in thousands. Poisonous gasses, and other instruments of war are all terribly destructive.
However, the 21 century may be called the age of tremendous scientific progress. We are indebted to science for modern comiorts of life. It has given power and confidence to man. t is a good servant to mankind.
In the final analysis of the given proposition, I tend to think that science has its own barbs and bouquets. If used wisely, it can bring the blossom of betterment, and if used unwisely, it can play a havoc and cause a mess on a massive scale.
"Every great advance in science has Issued from a new audacity of imagination."
(John Dewey)