issue40--超越自我小组

啊拉UID: 2527432

题目：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."
字数：617          用时：00:45:00          日期：2008-8-21 17:14:02

As the high development of science and technology today, scholars and researchers becomes the very important person in the society. Their studies and researches can always bring the new ideas and technology which may also bring a lot of convenient or profit. People begin to regard them as the man who can make contribution to the larger society by using their theories and intelligence. However, we should understand the situation: most of the scholars cannot make huge contribution to the larger society; they choose to research only because they are interested in the area. So I believe it is more important that scholars and researchers should pursue their individual interests.

The research can always bring a lot of advantages to the society. Government and people like the result which may bring the profit or at least useful. Watt's steamer is a good example. People can receive the merit of the machine directly for they found the life can be easier by using such machine: they can use steamer to apply power to their carriage but not the horse; they can put the steamer on the boat so the boat can run faster. The only thing most people concern is whether this research or study can bring them advantages or be useful.

So some researchers become the man who chase for the profit and result and this brings a lot of problems. They turn to believe pragmatism instead of the pure academic view. Only those result which can makes a contribution to the society can be accepted by the public. So the scholars and researchers start to reconsider about their situation: they begin to believe they need to make the useful technology or ideas. In fact, the development of new technology or the ideas is not easy. That is why some scholars became to cheat and plagiarize other's ideas. Here is the example: Zhou Zhenglong, who was prized by his great contribution to the research of an extinct tiger species, was proved cheating last year in China. He said he wanted to receive the good reputation and advantages from the public so he decided to make the fake materials and pictures about the tiger. Obviously, public's attention of the merit or the practicability influences the researchers and scholars.

So I believe that we should not concern only about whether the work make contribution to the society; what we should concern more is that they pursue their individual interests. As the famous Chinese scientist Chen Xingshen has ever said (and I paraphrase it):"The aim the research is to reach an convincing result." He believed that the result of the research and study should be convincing, but not useful. And in my opinion, a convincing result can be more attractive to the scholars because they chase for the truth. So forget about the advantages or profit it may creat to the society, what the scholars and researchers should do is pursuing their individual interests, because that is the way they like.

However, if the research seems to be unusual, especially illegal, we should restrict it. Those researches like process of producing drugs or the research of the deadly weapons should be forgot by the researchers, for they are dangerous to the whole society. Unfortunately, some of the researchers like to make such studies because the have the unusual or idiosyncratic interests. So the government should take actions to restrict these

In sum, I concede those researches and study which can make contribution to the society is alluring and excellent. However, what we need to concern more is the scholars and researchers’' effort in pursuing their individual interests. So people should to be more rational about the result of the studies or researches.