"Discussions" with friends about what science is for. I wonder sometimes. Almost everyone I know is a
scientist. That's pretty much all they've got in common - in almost every other respect they're different. Some sing. Some write. Some play
music. Some get involved in
politics. Some are
destined to do things that will change the
world. Some will just be on
TV. But the one other thing that unites them is that they seem completely unaware of any role they may have in
society beyond the simple inter-personal interactions that almost everyone takes part in.
Hmm. I start talking about this sort of thing, and they look at me oddly. Why? Is the idea of giving something back to society if you take things from it really that weird and alien?
I'm a scientist. I do research. I find out new things that let other people find out new things and help us understand how things work. With a bit of luck, this helps improve life in some way (not necessarily in an obvious way, and not necessarily in the even remotely near future. But eventually. Somehow. Even if it's just a feeling of "Oh, I know why that happens. I don't have to worry about it.").
What I do impacts other people. I have an effect on society. At this point they start looking at me even more oddly.
One of the most common criticisms aimed at scientists is that they don't think about the consequences of what they're doing. That's what drove me to write science and morality. Scientists never think about morality, apparantly. We're all evil. We're responsible for the nuclear bomb, genetically modified food and human cloning. If only we'd thought about the consequences of our actions, the world would be a better place.
Of course, the fact that just about the entire population of the planet doesn't think about the consequences of their actions is besides the point. It's all down to the scientists.
On the other hand, society stands to benefit from stuff I come up with. If I used my personal ethical system to make decisions on whether or not I should release my results, where's the interaction with society? I'm making a personal choice that could affect billions. I'm in this position through my own choice, not that of society's. What right do I have to make this decision?
The ones that haven't wandered off by this point are disagreeing. We understand the issues better than the non-scientists, apparantly. They're not qualified.
This is where the duty bit pops up. As far as I'm concerned, society has the duty to decide what to do with my work. I have the duty to come up with the stuff in the first place and then make sure that they're sufficiently educated to be able to cope with it. Everyone's happy in the end. It all seems to make sense, but they still look puzzled when I suggest it.
Oh well. Never mind. For the first time in years (possibly my life), I feel like I've got something to aim for other than the next academic achievement. I'm probably missing something obvious, but I'm happy.
I'm looking forward to next week.