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SCIENCE 



Warren Weaver 



The Imperfections of Science 



Reprinted with the permission of the author 

 and publisher from Proceedings American 

 Philosophical Society, CIV (5), October 17, 

 1960. 



I propose to consider two questions. 

 First, why does science command the 

 respect, prestige, and admiration which 

 it obviously possesses? Second, does 

 science really deserve the reputation 

 which is often, if not usually, given to 

 it by scientists and public alike; and 

 is it not possible to take a more re- 

 strained, more candid, and, I believe, 

 more accurate attitude toward science 

 which honestly concedes certain lim- 

 itations? 



It may seem surprising, and even 

 trivial, to ask why science has so great 

 a reputation. We are, in the modern 

 world, completely surrounded by sci- 

 ence and by the technological achieve- 

 ments which science makes possible. 

 By this powerful partnership we are 

 warmed and cooled, clothed and fed, 

 protected, cured, transported, and en- 

 tertained. Science has made possible 

 color television and jets, dial telephones 

 across the continent and shortwave 

 radio across the oceans, polio serum, 

 hi-fi and stereo, heart, lung and kidney- 

 function machines which substitute 

 temporarily for our own damaged in- 

 ternal parts, electronic computers that 



play chess and compose music, satel- 

 lites about the earth and rockets to the 

 moon, automatization and microminia- 

 turization, machines that think and 

 which learn from experience (which 

 is more than some people do), nuclear 

 energy, and G.L. 76 in toothpaste. If 

 we have not yet conquered cancer, 

 cardiac disorders, and the degenerative 

 diseases of later life; if we are uncertain 

 about the genetic effects of long con- 

 tinued low doses of radiation; if we 

 miss recovering a nose-cone now and 

 then; if we are a little puzzled about 

 psychology and psychiatry and are not 

 yet sure whether the mind is in the 

 head; if we still have cavities in our 

 teeth, aches in our joints, and clocks 

 that won't run in our automobiles- 

 well, surely these are minor gaps which 

 will soon be filled in by science. 



Indeed, there is a good deal of evi- 

 dence that if science once chooses to 

 drive a path out into the wilderness of 

 ignorance, then, no matter where that 

 path is headed, there seems to be no 

 inherent limitation to the distance sci- 

 ence can penetrate, no limit to the 

 amount of experience that can be ex- 



