This is probably one of those essay topics which the teachers love to give us to write about. I must have written about it first, when I was in the sixth standard. For me then, Science was just yet another subject which we had to endure in school and hence, most definitely a bane.
But now, five years hence, I am a lot more aware (at least, I would like to believe so). I now know that Science is not simply about learning the periodic tables, the laws of motion or photosynthesis.
I now know that Science is everywhere around us. From the simplest of tasks like cooking food to the intricacies of the Universe, Science is all around us.
The most fantastic dreams of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne and such have come true. The futuristic worlds they had thought and written about are a reality today.
Today, no one is interested in the miracles of nature, the glitzy spectacles of science far outnumbers and outshines the marvels of nature. Science has far outrun the scriptures and the holy teachings in providing the clandestine answers to the ambiguities we humans tend to have.
We have become so accustomed with the innumerable scientific inventions that we take them for granted and do not even consider how our life would be without them.
The world has become a smaller place today because of the technology Science has gifted us with. Leave aside the rockets and planes, even the humble bicycle is a product of Science only.
Even in the field of communication, man has made advancements in leaps and bounds. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he probably had no idea that it be so revolutionizing. When Charles Babbage thought about the computer he too might not have foreseen it to dominate every part of life. The telephone and the computer have given us the internet which has given us the e-mail. Also video-conferencing has made it possible for a doctor in one part of the world to instruct his patient's surgery in another part of the world.
In the field of medicine science has given us life in the form of death combating medicines. This has increased the average life of human being by many years.
And when we talk about Science, how can anyone forget Edison’s brainchild, Electricity. Electricity is something that we cannot do without. Electricity powers our lights, fans, computers, refrigerators, TV's, more or less it powers our entire life.
Science has also given us what the current education system cannot do without, Paper. Paper is the basic need of the education system. Books, Question papers, Résumé's, everything needs paper. The world needs paper.
Science has given us a host of other advantages. It has helped in the field of irrigation, sports, real estate...... and the list goes on. Science has practically given us everything.
Every coin has two faces. The same science which has been of such great assistance to mankind has another face. Science which has bestowed us with development, progress, expansion and growth has also brandished us with hostilities, destruction, violence, ruin, devastation, annihilation bloodshed, carnage and obliteration.
The most destructive force science has given us are the nuclear weapons. Modern weapons have the potential to annihilate the entire world in the blink of an eye.
Peace and tranquillity are hard to find today. We hear about wars being fought in some part of the world or the other almost every day. Families are torn apart and friends are lost forever, never to be reunited .By giving birth to weaponry, war craft and armaments it can be indisputably said that science is the root of battles, armed conflicts and international disputes. Thanks to science we are plunging headlong into an era of nuclear wars.
Science has increased our longevity of life, there is no arguing that, but this has also resulted in over population and population explosion. This has resulted in mass deficiency of land. And hence countries are fighting over land and resources with all their might and investing more and more in nuclear weapons.
Like every other thing Science too has its merits as well as demerits. No doubt Science has provided us with the technology to build machinery that threatens the very existence of humankind but hasn’t the same science also given us the countless small and big pleasures of life?
Science is not accountable for the uses it has been put to, it’s the people who use it or misuse will be the more apt word here. Science is merely the means; it is up to us to mould it in a positive productive way.
It has been said that “Science is a good servant but a bad master”. Like the fire which can warm us and keep us safe but can also burn entire forests in its fury, the efficiency of science too depends on the use it is put to.
It is not Science itself that is at fault but us humans. In our quest to make our life simpler and more luxurious, we have turned a blind eye to the damage caused to our mother earth. Our greed to get the most out of everything has made us contemptuously neglect everything else.
The men before us had used science for noble purposes, for discovering the mysteries of the world, for inventing objects that will make our life easier, but we, especially in the last century, have used science for our own selfish purposes blatantly ignoring the needs of others. We have built ships and tanks, guns and bullets, bombs and more bombs, all in a bid to extend our political domination.
Time and again man has misused his powers whether it is muscle power, money, creative power or scientific power. Men is now trying to compete with God, ignoring the countless cures that still need to be found, questions still need to be answered, and devices that still need to be perfected, Men have now proceeded to create and destroy life.
Humans are the only fortunate beings on this earth that have been gifted with intelligence. But, sadly man uses intelligence without wisdom. Dr.Jekyll, the protagonist of Robert Stevenson’s book, had intelligence but no wisdom. He brought out his evil side by using his scientific powers and that ultimately brings an end to his life. If only he would have used his knowledge for a better purpose, for the good of the people, he would have had a different life.
Thus, Science itself is both a boon and a bane. It is we humans, who put it to use, and therefore it is up to us what we make of it.
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Points: 1188
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