Science Vignette for grade 12 Biology                                                                           Martin Skoda

 

Science and the Silver Dollar

 

Why is it that we pursue science?  What is it about scientific knowledge that we feel is important?  Do we pursue scientific knowledge because we feel that greater knowledge of the world around us makes our life more fulfilling?  Do we pursue science because we wish to make money?  When one thinks of art, such as a painting or a dance performance, does one support it because it is new or interesting, or does the piece of art have to be in some way concretely useful, like furniture or something that entertains us?  The same question exists in science.  Can scientific research exist as an exploration into the unknown or must it be somehow concretely useful such as providing us with a cure or products such as computers?  I would like you to keep these questions in mind when you read the following two stories.

 

One

 

Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) was an American inventor who earned patents for more than a thousand inventions.  His most famous inventions were the incandescent electric lamp, the phonograph (which is like a record player), the carbon telephone transmitter (an improvement on the telephone), and the motion-picture projector.  After reading an article in which he was referred to as a scientist, Thomas Edison said to a friend,

“That’s wrong.  I am not a scientist.  I am an inventor.  Faraday was a scientist.  He didn’t work for money, he said he hadn’t the time.  But I do.  I measure everything I do by the size of a silver dollar.”

Thomas Edison never forgot his role as a business man and the profit motive was an essential part of his personality.  (story from Fuller, 1942)

 

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was a scientist who experimented extensively with electricity.  Some of his discoveries were electromagnetic induction, the compound benzene, and he did research on electrolysis with the eventual formulation of the Faraday Law.  His motivations for scientific research were neither money nor fame (he had the opportunity to be knighted but declined the prestigious honor).

 

Two

 

In the 1960s outer space was the grand frontier to be tamed.  NASA’s brilliance and bravado made the agency seem unstoppable as it sent men into orbit and on to the moon.  Lately though, NASA has run into financial trouble and has found itself in a time when the general public seems uninspired by the starry universe.  Trouble at NASA began in 1986 when the Challenger blew up, killing the seven astronauts on board.  Since then shuttle launches have been delayed with mechanical glitches more often then not.  Satellites have mysteriously stopped transmitting and space probes have broken down en route to their planetary destinations.  With these setbacks has come the loss of a galactic vision in modern society.  Nowadays the general public cares much less about the unknown reaches of the solar system and universe. 

(state of NASA from Lemonick, 1993)

 

Presently NASA has grand designs to complete the International Space Station but with it’s funding having been slashed it cannot come close to meeting the original design (Triplett, 2001).

 

To achieve their expensive goals, NASA must come up with their own fund raising.  One such creative plan is outlined as follows,

* “NASA has a nearly complete catalog of more than 10 000 pieces of man-made debris left in orbit.  For a fee of $150 NASA will allow an individual to name and own a piece of orbital debris.  For an additional fee, NASA observation satellites will videotape the object’s eventual fiery entry into the stratosphere.  For a further charge, surviving objects can be tracked, retrieved, and delivered to the owner’s home.  A complete pricing schedule will be announced in the near future.” 

*This fundraising scheme is 100% gossip.

(NASA gossip from Abrahams, 1998)
Questions about the reading

 

  1. What general theme links these two stories?
  2. Is scientific research important even though it sometimes does not provide any practically useful material or product?  Explain.
  3. Should scientists focus their energy on making money, as a business person would?  Explain.
  4. Michael Faraday did science neither for money nor for fame.  Why then do you think he spent so much time in scientific research?
  5. NASA relies on the government for funding (regular people pay for its operation through taxes).  Do you think it is fair that NASA lose much of its funding just because space exploration has recently lost its popularity?  Explain.
  6. Some examples of scientific fields are those that study bacteria and viruses, those that study animal behaviours, and those that study how machines work.  Try to name six other fields of scientific study.  Do you feel that some are more important than others?  Why?
  7. Do you think that scientists should have to fund their own research?  If not, then who do you feel should pay for it?

 

 

 

References

 

http://www.invent.org/book/book-text/38.html              for information about Edison

 

http://www.encyclopedia.com/articlesnew/04367.html  for information about Faraday

 

                Abrahams, M.  (Ed.).  (1998).  The best of the annals of improbable research.  NY: WH Freeman and Company.                             

                               

Fuller, E.  (Ed.).  (1942).  Thesaurus of anecdotes.  NY: Crown Publishers.

 

                Lemonick, M.  (1993).  What will NASA do for an encore.  Time, 142 (26), 50.

 

                Triplett, W.  (2001).  NASA budget problems alarm space-station collaborators.  Nature, 413

(Oct. 4), 445.