Mar 14 2013: I think that scientists being willing to own up to their failures and willingness to continue research in order to overcome their failures will matter in the grand scheme. We need to build trust between scientists, the government, and the general public in order to all collaborate cooperatively. This trust will encourage beneficiary funding as well as spending and with more spending, more effective research as well as experimentation can be performed. It is rarely 100% guaranteed for a experiment to yield expected results exactly, but with better research, we might be able to get closer getting what we want from an experiment. Either way, we must encourage research instead of halting it. There is a much bigger consequence than discovering knowledge that could be used badly, that consequence being that this knowledge is first discovered by someone else and used for bad.
Mar 14 2013: It seems from a young age, students are not always encouraged to learn about things they're passionate about. Sure, some schools greatly encourage exploration of curiosity through demonstrations and interesting presentations for their young pupils, but many schools (and I can speak from personal experience) more than often just want to make sure their students to learn what they need to by the time they need to in order not to fall behind; we're learning to retain the information well enough to spit it back to standardized tests. This mindset follows us, and we don't find these things we're being forced to learn interesting because we're not recognizing that the subjects we study are broader than the basics we must be able to explain on tests. There needs to be a paradigm shift in the way we, as educators and older individuals, encourage learning and teach students. I find my best classes have not been the classes I did the best on or the classes which I easily passed tests, but the classes in which teachers provided me with real life applications and situations, theories, and knowledge that I found intriguing. Those classes weren't centered around learning material for a test rather than just teachers sharing their passion for a subject and how that subject relates to our everyday lives. Similarly, these classes are the ones which have shaped my drive to improve in math and sciences as well as my interest in the major I am now pursuing at college. If we can more encourage this method of education, I think students (of all ages) will be more engaged in learning, leading them to pursue a degree in which they'll care genuinely about the subjects which they are studying.
Mar 13 2013: I think this is where scientists must further delve into opportunity costs and expected results as well as expected failure. In terms of money, I think it's important to spend money on the actual process of research rather than the experiment as to it's potential effectiveness before performing the actual experiment. If the money is spent usefully in research, this might lower the cost of an experiment in terms of failure.
Mar 13 2013: Change is gradual. And like any big project, small steps must be taken to solve a problem as a whole. "Big Problems" are being solved gradually by individuals breaking down these big problems into smaller problems. For instance "How do cure cancer?" has been broken down into "How can we better detect cancer?" "How can we better improve treatments?" "How can we do more research to learn more about this disease?" We've been able to answer these questions so far through fundraising efforts, increasing research, and development of detection devices have been improving and valued over the past few years and will continue to be. If this strive for change continues then big problems will continue to grow smaller and we'll continue to provide solutions.
Mar 13 2013: I agree with you in the fact that taking risks are necessary in terms of scientific exploration. Inaction is worse than negative or positive action; at least we can learn of the dangers of science and create means of prevention and even safer, innovative technologies from a discovery gone wrong.
Mar 8 2013: I do agree with you in the stance that rights and wrongs are validated through the teachings of religious preaching. However, I believe that right vs. wrong is a mindset that isn't necessarily primarily gained through one's religion but also through one's emotions and social experiences. Therefore, this isn't an objective right or wrong, God or no god. Nothing is absolute; if it were so, the question of doing the right or wrong thing wouldn't exist. But because subjective morality exists, we question the rights and wrongs that we have learned to know.
In the case of rape, you ask why is it objectively wrong? Let me rephrase your question, when is it objectively right? Some might say for reproduction; we live in a day and age where this isn't necessary. I don't think people need God or religion to know that imposing someone's free-will for personal pleasure and desire for power is wrong.
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A reply on Conversation: Are scientists responsible for the consequences of their discoveries?
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A reply on Conversation: Are scientists responsible for the consequences of their discoveries?
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A reply on Conversation: Are scientists responsible for the consequences of their discoveries?
A comment on Conversation: Do right and wrong exist?
In the case of rape, you ask why is it objectively wrong? Let me rephrase your question, when is it objectively right? Some might say for reproduction; we live in a day and age where this isn't necessary. I don't think people need God or religion to know that imposing someone's free-will for personal pleasure and desire for power is wrong.