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本帖最后由 不服输的酸菜 于 2010-8-9 21:17 编辑
TOPIC: ISSUE31 - "Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial."
WORDS: 559
TIME: 01:10:00
DATE: 2010/8/9 17:14:11
The value of research is undeniable with regard to the development of societies. I agree that money spent on research is a good investment. However, when it comes to some research, whose potential benefit is too vague or harm may greatly hamper people in general pursuing welfare, we need to strike a balance and then take actions.
Money spent on research is worthwhile. It is human beings' curiosity and thirst for unknown kownledge that leads to research. Through research and exploring, human attempts to gain advancement and, at the same time, satisfy their nature need. Theoretically, we know little before we invest on research because genuine research is to explore and experience in new fields, in which no answer is presented. In this sense, deciding whether invest on research does not depend on its results but on human needs, both practical and idealistic ones. The purpose of research is to seek answers to our current problems and acquire information about the future development or potential situation, and ultimately, grasp solutions or reduce loss for possible difficulties. Looking back in human's history, it apparently manifests that research have a significant bearing on the advancement of the whole society and the convenience of today's life. It is by research and analysis the research results and then, again, research that human accumulate a myriad of knowledge and discovery countless mysteries of nature. Without research in the mechanism of thunder, there would be no lightning protection system; without research in the growing patterns of plants, there would be no high productivity of food; without research on population changing, there would be no on-time policies to meet the varying demands of market, let alone the stability of societies.
Nevertheless, this does not indicate that it is of necessity to spend money on all research. Generally, before certain research, researchers are supposed to equipped with sufficient information about the probable outcome of the research and the related situation. On one hand, with regard to research, whose potential benefit and harm can be, to some extent, predicted based on scientific methods, people should make sensible analysis and improve the research theory or methods in order to reach the goals, with most possible advantage and less possible disadvantage. An apt illustration involved the nuclear weapon research, which has brought about a storm of controversy. While the nuclear weapon may guarantee country safety to some degree, it also results in bigger threaten on the world's peace and people's welfare. Under this circumstance, it relies on our physicists, governers, sociologists and diplomats collaborating and evaluating the long-term and short-term situation of the world. On the other hand, research whose goals are too vague or benefit is too speculate, we must be circumspect. Take the Star Wars defensive plan as an example. Later facts have shown that this research was detrimental to then economic. Large amount of money has spent on it but the results do little good to both people' life and academic development. In my observation, the money spent on such research is unworthy and if it was spent on the immediate problems, such as education, medicine, or other societal respects, it should make a much more profound difference. Therefore, before research is decided, lots of prediction is needed.
To sum up, I totally agree that research is a good investment but we should consider its potential outcome before investment is done. |
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