The speaker asserts that any immediate and practical application cannot be achieved with any certainty. Because of this existence of such unpredictable outcome, researchers should turn away these lines of research to those more uncertain basic science areas like physics and mathematics. If we are daunted by the smallest fraction of uncertainties, what we develop science for in the first place. Science becomes clear as we investigate more and study more. Besides, the author doesn’t fully understand the relationship between basic science and applicant research. They are important equally that we shall not recommend anyone to study one while slight the other.
It is possible to know the predictable outcome of many imminent and practical researches. The progress of these practices is achieved by currently necessary social needs. For example, the current society lacks in an effective method to cure diabetes mellitus once and for all. Driven by this needs, scientists can know what the current cure is lacking in and what next step medics can be going for. They can predict outcome like inventing some artificial organ to supersede the malfunction one. Also, the current society are wanting for new, safe and clean energy to prevent the worsening pollution and lessening coals. Driven by this needs, scientist can know what the current energy like oils, nuclear energy is troubling the earth, and what next new list of energy they might provide like shale gas. These practical things are always there for alleviating the troubling issues haunting the society and their outcomes are quite predictable.
Even for those researches that are not that clear and not that secure, we shall not be discouraged and turned back all to do basic researches. This is like that every time we are encountering any problems or unpredictable risks, we need to hold back. So even for the most commonplace things in our current society, like airplanes or trains, in their very beginning when Wright Brothers were about to invent them, we cannot say that because of danger and unsayable risks we should have prevent what we were doing. Then most of science and technology we have in our daily life are never existent. They are existed for people’s timid nature. What is science, the speaker has to understand. Science is to convert the most uncertain things into certain things. We made space shuttle in the pressure of explosion, we made computer in the strain of failure, all of these things which once had been vague were turned into the clearest things that transform our daily life.
The speaker doesn’t quite understand the relationship between basic science and applicant research. Basic science, as elusive as it may be, has the drive to be clear someday to serve for people. And applied science by virtue of years effort in those rudimentary researches hopes to apply to benefit the public. So if researcher should not take effort into fields with some unknown result, why would them go back to study something much more unpredictable and time-consuming?Both of the researches are equally important. What basic science to applied research is like what water to fishes. Without basic science, the applied researches have no life while without applied researches, the basic science have no vigor. They are mutually existent and supportive. We cannot say basic science overweigh the applied one and persuade scientists to snatch one while drop the other.