issue40 【today is the day】第五次作业 by revealing

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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."

Should scholars and researchers be concerned with the value of their work to the large society? Which are more important, pursuits of individual interests or contributions to society? Obviously, people will find it almost impossible to come to an agreement on the highly controversial issue. In the last analysis, I am more inclined to support the title of the statement.

To begin with, individual interests can incite people's creativity, originality and inspiration, which are crucial factors for academic discovery. The distinguished scientist Albert Einstein once said:"Interest is the best teacher." The history of science is deplete with examples that scholars pursue their interests, even some of which seem idiosyncratic, and gain success eventually. Achievements usually come from interests and efforts on them, rather than from the purpose for contributions to society. A kettle of boiling water inspirited Watt the invention of steam engine, who had never thought that his tiny interest would lead the significant Industry Revolution. A dropping apple incited Isaac Newton the curiosity of gravity, whose theory of universal gravitation made a great contribution to physics and astronomy. And so on. Such interests might seem unusual, because ordinary people would seldom pay attention to these and would even laugh at the so-called silly interests. In fact, what scientists are pursuing is to explore the unknown frontiers of the world, which means scientists themselves are also not very sure what they would discover, so no mention what impact on society their discoveries will have. Therefore, most innovations are born by interests, not by the wills to contribute.

In addition, what is also worth noticing is that serious interests make study and research more effective and more efficient. According to a recent study conducted by the sociology department of Peking University, about 86 percent of the professors who were surveyed indicate that they prefer to do research on their interests. One of the reasons they suggest is that they feel more relaxed and freer to pursue their own interests; the goal for the benefit and profit of the larger society gives them excessive pressure and regulation which would surely decrease the efficiency. Therefore, we should give more choices for scholars and researchers to decide what they will specialize in and we should make an atmosphere of academic freedom. Moreover, it is unreasonable to compel scientists to do research which has no concern with their interest. For example, if Marie Curie was commanded to study medicine because of its value, our history would be rewritten. Perhaps this assumption is hyperbole, but the fact is that rigid regulations might waste the intellectual talents of scholars.

Nonetheless, admittedly, as a famous saying goes, “going too far is as bad as going not far enough." The time and energy in one's life is limited, while his or her interests may be infinite. If scholars pursue their individualities too much, they would have insufficient time to do more important research. Besides, most scientists do researcher at taxpayer expense thus they have responsibilities to contribute our society to some extent. Moreover, the pursuit of individual interests by scientists should not consist of treacherous and evil ones that may damage the well-being of society. Therefore, scholars should call for a balance between society demands and individual interests.

To sum up, there are several other aspects relevant to the issue under discussion, which, unfortunately, I have no time to explore in detail here. It is more likely that people will be never able to come to the same conclusion on the complex issue due to their different experiences and conflicting values. Nevertheless, public awareness of the major concerns in the argument addressed above will probably contribute to the thorough understanding of the challenging problem.