End of the world 10th Sept 2008

[Trinity]

Bry, a part of the human condition is the need to explore and grow our body of knowledge. Without thought and experimentation all current knowledge would soon reach the level of fairytales and legand.

Without science and engineering noone would have time to write plays and watch TV (of course TV wouldn't have been invented - the cathode ray tube is based on a forerunner of particle physics).

We would all be too busy scraping a living by gathering wild berries and catching rabbits.

[Bryan]

granted in the past it was important for us to develop, but now in the present i dont feel like we need to, life has gone fine the past few decades without this expermient

im not saying dont experiement, i'm just saying when the experiment runs of the risk of destroying the world - why bother?

[Perdita]

But the atom bomb and other nasty war fare and nuclear energy was also invented through scientific experiments and humankind is now learning how bad for the environment it is. I agree that our modern lifestyle is only possible because of science and we have had huge benefits, especially in the medical field, but there are two sides to everything, nothing will ever be just good. I am also concerned that there are people in this world who would quite happily misuse science to get their own way and don't give a toss about others.

[Trinity]

In a previous post I mentioned that there have been particle acceleration experiments in CERN for decades.

I also mentioned that the research was used to develop PET scans.

This is an extension to existing experiementation, it is not totally new.

The old say goes that we don't know what we don't know.

If we don't experiment we will never know how ignorant we really are.

In the past humans thought that the world was flat, that the sun revolved around the earth.

In the future people will find OUR levels of ignorance just as dramatic.

We don't know what we will discover, and that is the thrill of science.

[Trinity]

But the atom bomb and other nasty war fare and nuclear energy was also invented through scientific experiments and humankind is now learning how bad for the environment it is. I agree that our modern lifestyle is only possible because of science and we have had huge benefits, especially in the medical field, but there are two sides to everything, nothing will ever be just good. I am also concerned that there are people in this world who would quite happily misuse science to get their own way and don't give a toss about others.

It is true that people misuse science.

Just as the misuse everything else. Before the atom bomb there were still munitions and people still abused and killed others. This goes back as long as history.

Wars are caused by man - not science, and we cannot prevent wars by limiting science.

[Bryan]

If we don't experiment we will never know how ignorant we really are.

Ignore is bliss.

Other than finding cures for diseases, I don't see the need for us to experiment.

Why bother to find out how earth was created? Does it matter? it hasn't mattered for centuries.

We are now in an environment where we can survive comfortably the way we are. If it aint broke, don't touch it!

[Siobhan]

experiment.

Why bother to find out how earth was created? Does it matter? it hasn't mattered for centuries.

It matters more than you think... it has to do with religion V's Science.. .do you know how many wars were started due to religion???

I was never allowed to do evolution at school as it was a catholic school and they forbid it...

[Trinity]

Ignorance is .....ignorance.

What we do not know we cannot quantify, we cannot know what applications the results of these experiements will have until the results are in.

Medical physics is a whole branch of physics that is involved in not just developing new scans and new ways of diagnosing diseases - but also new ways of treating diseases such as cancer using light (lasers) and other radiation (x-ray etc).

The results from CERN will increase our body of knowledge and will have applications in the future that we have not yet foreseen.

English science education is failing. All this rubbish about double and triple awards and kids being taught physics by biologists is having an effect on the general knowledge of the population.

One thing that is great about Scottish education is that we are taught physics by physics specialists, chemistry by chemists and biology by biologists. Many more kids in Scotland study science than in England - I wonder why. Perhaps it has something to do with our science teachers actually knowing what they are talking about?

BTW, I do not claim to be an expert, but I did study Physics, Chemistry and Biology at University before specialising in biochemisty.

I also work as a research administrator in a well rated technological university.

[Behemoth]

In a previous post I mentioned that there have been particle acceleration experiments in CERN for decades.

I also mentioned that the research was used to develop PET scans.

This is an extension to existing experiementation, it is not totally new.

The old say goes that we don't know what we don't know.

If we don't experiment we will never know how ignorant we really are.

In the past humans thought that the world was flat, that the sun revolved around the earth.

In the future people will find OUR levels of ignorance just as dramatic.

We don't know what we will discover, and that is the thrill of science.

Well said, Trinity.

[Perdita]

[quote=Trinity;597591]

But the atom bomb and other nasty war fare and nuclear energy was also invented through scientific experiments and humankind is now learning how bad for the environment it is. I agree that our modern lifestyle is only possible because of science and we have had huge benefits, especially in the medical field, but there are two sides to everything, nothing will ever be just good. I am also concerned that there are people in this world who would quite happily misuse science to get their own way and don't give a toss about others.

It is true that people misuse science.

Just as the misuse everything else. Before the atom bomb there were still munitions and people still abused and killed others. This goes back as long as history.

True, but in early history, war meant thousands of soldiers fighting. With nuclear warfare developed by scientists a person does not even have to leave an office or put a bullet into a gun - on the push of a button millions are dead and the environment is destroyed, possibly for ever. Science is brilliant - but experiments are carried out by humans and, of course, to err is human. There just is not much room for human regrets if it all goes horribly wrong, is there.