Weaver • The Imperfections of Science 



whole of western society is increasingly 

 being split into two polar groups." 



The two cultures referred to by 

 Snow are formed, on the one hand, of 

 the scientist and the very few non- 

 scientists who have bothered to under- 

 stand science and its role in modern 

 life, and on the other hand, of the 

 literary intellectuals, the artists— in a 

 broad sense the humanists. Snow com- 

 ments that "thirty years ago the cultures 

 had long ceased to speak to each other: 

 but at least they managed a kind of 

 frozen smile across the gulf. Now the 



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politeness is gone, and they just make 

 faces." 



What we must do— scientists and 

 non-scientists alike— is close the gap. 

 We must bring science back into life 

 as a human enterprise, an enterprise 

 that has at its core the uncertainty, the 

 flexibility, the subjectivity, the sweet 

 unreasonableness, the dependence upon 

 creativity and faith which permit it, 

 when properly understood, to take its 

 place as a friendly and understanding 

 companion to all the rest of life. 



QUESTIONS 



1. List ten areas of accomplishment by 

 science and technology which are 

 cause for respect and admiration. 



2. List the five imperfections of science 

 as given by Dr. Weaver. 



3. Discuss the explaining and under- 

 standing roles of science. 



4. Which type of logic is superior — de- 

 ductive or inductive? Explain. 



5. Discuss the four requirements for a 

 good theory. 



6. What is the relationship of statistical 

 theory to reality? 



7. What is meant by "The Two Cul- 

 tures"? 



