Science: A Menace to Civilisation?

In the modern age of technological advancement, computers, televisions and other electrical appliances, the world has come a long way from conventional equipment like paper, radios etc. Whether science has contributed to civilisation, most of us are not sure, but I posit that it has given us benefits, although if used wrongly, may produce disastrous consequences.

In our current time, most of us take technology for granted. Every day, we wake up early in the morning, mostly with the aid of alarm clocks. Then we travel to school on buses that have mobile television and use computers in school learning. Everywhere we go, we make use of technology, whether we are aware of it or not. Even our education and what we learn in the syllabus has been impacted greatly by the introduction of technology in the late 20th century.

Due to the advancement in medical technologies, healthcare standards around the world have improved greatly. Previously deadly and lethal diseases such as small-pox and tuberculosis are now limited to just infection of humans as scientists develop various vaccines suitable for immunity against these diseases. There are also vaccines for minor illnesses such as flu and fever. Had there been no proper vaccines, many more people would have spread the flu bug and succumbed to it potentially, especially in the cases of the Hong Kong Flu and H1N1 Swine Flu.

In the field of natural disasters, technology has also helped early prediction of earthquakes and tsunamis. As a result of this advancement, many more lives have been saved, due to prevention systems being set up and established in countries with high risks of earthquakes and tsunamis, including Japan and Indonesia. Earthquake detection devices have helped governments be able to evacuate their citizens early in time. Also, rescue efforts in the aftermath of such natural disasters have also largely depended on technology, especially the use of helicopters in the rescue of stranded residents in Hurricane Katrina and in the Sumatra Earthquake. Without these initiatives, there would definitely be more trouble in the rescue efforts, and many more civilians would have lost their lives.

It is possible to go on and on about the benefits of science and made our lives easier and mroe convenient. However, the ultimate benefits or detriments that come from the use of science still depend on the people who make use of it.

Since the start of the 20th century, major developments have been made in the field of military armaments. It is definitely accurate to say that while science has been helping the majority of mankind, some people make use of it to develop weapons of mass destruction. Virtually all the countries in the world have military armies, meant for a sole purpose: defending their country. This process involves the killing of civilians and troops, causing unnecessary bloodshed. Armies nowadays are focused on development of their weapons and armaments for more formidable and strong troops that are capable of beating out any enemies. One clear example that comes to mind is the development of nuclear energy. In the Second World War, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan by US forces, effectively ending the war in the Asia-Pacific region. The bombs were newly developed by US scientists under the Manhattan Project, and were ordered for use by then-US president Harry Truman. More recently, countries such as North Korea, Russia and Iran have stockpiled their nuclear weapons, with North Korea infamously displaying their weapons and their power by launching nuclear missiles in the Pacific Ocean. Just as it can help, in medicine and electronics, science can also cause harm through warfare.

In conclusion, there is no definite decision on whether science is benefitial or detrimental to mankind. Despite the controversial debates ongoing, there is no confirmed or accurate conclusion to this issue. Instead, we should all come to recognise that science has both pros and cons, and that to fully make good use of science and not cause any problems, we should stop applying it wrongly and should start developing sciences in the right industries and in the proper methods.