What the Public Should Know about Science :: Argumentative Persuasive Papres

What the Public Should Know about Science The public is uninformed about the role of science in their everyday lives. If the masses are not aware of the positive contributions that have been made through scientific discoveries, they will not be very supportive when funding requests are made. Many of the scientific discoveries completed by scientists today may seem like a waste of time and money since the fruits of their findings may not be realized until years later. In order for the public to accept science as a positive contributor, they must be taught to understand the advancements made by science and the processes necessary to achieve them. The public most also be given an understandable explanation of how these advancements improve their lives. Not all scientific discoveries made by the scientific community were the expected outcome of carefully planned research activities. This position can be validated through an Internet article written by Larry Gedney titled "Unexpected Scientific Discoveries are Often the Most Important." Mr. Gedney feels that it is important to provide the researcher with more leeway on how funding is to be spent. A quote from his article states, " to ask a scientist what his or her next discovery will be is to misinterpret the scientific method." (1) Accidental scientific discoveries have been made throughout the history of mankind. Some clear examples are that of the X-Ray, Penicillin, and the principle of vaccination. In 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen discovered that he could see through his skin to the bones when putting his hand between a barium coated screen and an electrical discharge tube. As most of us know, this discovery has universalized the way that doctors perform their daily routines. Doctors no longer have to depend on their innate ability to feel a patient's arm to determine if it is broken or fractured. They can simply perform an X-Ray of the arm and within minutes have results back that clearly indicate if the bones in the arm are broken or fractured and the severity of the brake. Another example of an unexpected scientific discovery was made by Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist from Saint Mary's Hospital located in London. In his cluttered laboratory he noticed that a culture dish that had bacteria on it had been inundated with mold, which blew in from an open window. After observing the dish under the microscope, he saw that the bacteria, which were surrounded by the mold, had died.