习作-3.30 issue40求拍

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TOPIC: ISSUE40 - "Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests, however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem."
WORDS: 596                    DATE: 2010-3-30 17:23:39


Although I agree that individual interests of scientists play an important role in motivating them to discover some theories and make new inventions, I can't accept the claim that a researcher should totally devoted in their unusual or idiosyncratic interests but not be concerned with the impact brought by their work to society.


Admittedly, we should fully emphasize the importance of interests of scientists. Just as Einstein said: " interests is the best teacher", with interests, which means a love for the some work, a researcher could spend as much time and vigor as he can to do his study or come up with new ideas. In addition, interests help a scientists overcome the hardship met in the process of researching. Because during such time he is interested what he is doing, he do it just for love, which make them feel easy, regardless of success or lost. Another reason why we should give place enough importance on the interests of scientists is that scientists most often hold a more profound comprehension of what they are doing, which is some times difficult for average population to understand. In this case, if the public impose their opinions on scientists, we not only harm the scientists, but also reject some possible great development in science and society. So, both government and the public should provide scientists appropriate freedom in their own scientists. And this is why recent years, a new policy, which is called governed by professors, in popular in many Chinese universities in order to prevent institutions interfered by political power.And the interests could also explain the prosperous science and technology in American where enough freedom is given to professors.


However, a more important fact deserve our attention is that, interest is no the God. Some guide and restriction on interests are necessary,for interests some times bring disaster. For example, some scientists are strongly interested in inventing high power weapons or bio-chemical weapons, and some researchers are addicted in researching human clone technology. Can we obey their interests? Of course not. We still remember the serious damage to property and death of millions during the World War One and World War Two, and we are clearly informed what a atomic bomb take to Japanese people in 1945.  If we really love our life and this world we live in, such wars and today's nuclear power weapon should be dismissed. And to prevent the culture and ethics and value of human being, clone technology should be strictly limited. Thus, scientists need to care that whether their interests will take harm to society and others.


There is another reason further support the conclusion that scientists should not completely run after their interests. As we know, scientific research is just a branch of fields people involve,  both the researches and scientists themselves are not independent from other parts of society. Study is funded by government, in other words, by tax payers, or funded by certain individuals, and scientists are admired by other people. For this reason, scientists should impose some kind of obligation on them. They should try their their effort to solve some serious problems which threat human lives. For example, today's environment problems, resources shortage, global warming are needed enough attention of talented scientists, even they are not interested in it. So, obligation sometimes are more important than interests.

From what has been discussed above, we know that, interests are important for scientists, but they also should care whether their interests will harm society and people. Moreover, if necessary, scientists need pay priority to obligation rather than interests.