Alas, Mankind, We Knew Him… - Destructive Science.

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Jo Harris 10Bg                01/05/2007

Alas, Mankind, We Knew Him… - Destructive Science

Science and technology have had a profound effect on society, particularly over the past century. We've seen massive increases in the supply of food, allowing the human population to grow to 6 billion; once-virulent diseases such as bubonic plague and smallpox all but conquered. And we've even managed to put a man on the Moon. If it were only consequences like those that resulted from our use of science and technology, this speech would end here. However, there is an additional set of effects. For a start, we have caused unprecedented damage to the environment: extinctions of animal and plant species are happening at a rate several hundred times greater than the natural level, whilst holes are appearing in the protective ozone layer around the earth. This is all due to our negligent use of science and technology.

Our scientific advances are testimony to the intelligence of man, and we have achieved a great deal. But is man wise enough to know how to use that intelligence judiciously? There have always been people concerned about the threat from science, but now even some scientists are saying they're scared.

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On 2 August 1939 a letter was sent to the President of the United States, F.D. Roosevelt. The letter was signed by Albert Einstein and became one of the most important documents ever written by a scientist. Einstein’s fame extended far beyond his work in physics, he had become an icon of wisdom and humanity. His pacifist views were also well known. This made the so-called ‘Einstein letter’ all the more dramatic because its message was stark and simple: Einstein informed the President that it was possible to build ‘extremely powerful bombs of a new type’ by harnessing the power ...

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