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ence. There seemed co be no limit ro
rhe power of science in rhe hands of
man.
Signs of Trouble
Bur rhen somerhing happcncd.
le
was almosr imperceptible at firsr.
Bur ir rapidly gained momenrum.
Somerhing seemed ro be missing.
Pcople were nor finding sarisfacrion
in rhe sociery rhey had creared wirh
the knowledge made available b) sci–
ence. For many, rhar sociery was roo
mcchanical, roo impersonal. Thc fcel–
ings of dissarisfacrion, vague ar firsr,
didn'r rake long co crysrallizc. Peoplc
werc finding rhat affiuence and rhc
availabiliry and acc¡uisition of mate–
rial goods srill lefr somerhing ro be
dcsired. Lives filled wirh material
goods and scrvices were roo ofrcn
empry, meaningless. and wirhour pur–
pose. 1r was easy ro teel losr in a
world of manu facrured '"thi ngs."
Wc had been able to pur man on
rhc moon and bring him back safcly
ro carrh. Bur here on earrh pcoplc
werc finding ir dangerous ro walk
downrown because of rhe alarming
increase in violenr crime. After spcnd–
ing millions of dollars co develop
weapons as dererrenrs ro war, we
found thc rhrcat of war jusr as real
bm much more ominous in irs porcn–
rial for descrucrion. Many of che rech–
nological advances rhar seemed
to
improve our material standard of liv–
ing wcrc discovered ro havc sig–
nificanrly advcrse effecrs on global
ecology.
For a sociery rhar had been led ro
believe, and was apparenrly willing ro
believe, rhar science and technolog)'
held rhc "magic keys" ro the furure,
these wcre bi rrer pills ro swallow. The
porrcnc for rhe furure of more peoplc,
biggcr problems, and more ccch–
nology was anyrhjng but optimisric.
The siruarion was frustraring. .Many
peoplc were beginning ro look
around for someone or something ro
blamc.
Sincc many of rhe perplexing prob–
lcms facing sociery were ar leasr asso–
ciarcd wirh science and rcchnology.
PLAIN TRUTH November 1972
rhese now gianr concerns became
prime rargers for criricism and
insidious propaganda. cience and
rechnology were blamed for rhe evils
of pollution. Scienrisrs, guilty or not,
werc labeled as "wannongcrs" for
their role in developing wcapons sys–
rems. They were accused of ''pros–
riruring" rhemselvcs and rheir
knowledge ro militar)' and industrial
intereses for monerary rewards.
As rhe disenchanrmenr grew, many
projecrs rhar scicnrisrs were working
on ar public expense wcre felr ro be
irrelevanc or ac leasr expcndable in che
lighr of a righrer economy and orhet
more pressing problcms. For many
scienrisrs rrained ro do rescarch. che
rask of communicaring wirh rhe pub–
líe in understandable rerms and
defending rhe merirs of rheir work in
practica! rerms was a challenge ro
whicb few were ec¡ual.
In rhe reshuffiing rhat ensued, rhe
"blank check'' rhat had becn given ro
rhe sciences for rcsearcb was can–
cdled. Funding was cur. Jobs disap–
peared. Careers in science and
rechnology became less inviring. The
golden age of unlimired fairh in sci–
encc appcared ro have passed irs peak.
The oprimisric fascinarion wirh
marerialiscic science rhar began slowly
ar rhc close of rhe .Middle Ages plum–
meted.
As rhe sevenrics begin, rhe swirling
wínds of unccrrain change are blow–
íng. Significanrly. interese in religion
and mysricism are again on che rise.
Limirarions Ovedooked
Arremprs have been madc ro
undersrand che currcnr growing dis–
appoinrmenr wirh science and espc–
cially rechnology. lnvesrigarors have
uncovered severa) underlying causes.
One of rhc mosr fundamental is a
lack of undcrsranding of rhe actual
capabilirv and limirs of science.
Many people have woetully over-
LEFT-WING STUOENTS DEMONSTRATE
ogoinst wortime technology ot the
197 1 American Associotion for the Ad–
voncement of Science meetings.
Doug
Winnoil -
Ploin
T
ruth
21