SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY — HAFSTAD 211 



I became aware of the definition, "Life is struggle," and in my day 

 we were so reactionary that we even came to accept it. It also be- 

 came clear to me that the struggle was for an intangible something 

 called "progress." This was a much more elusive concept and one 

 which I have found intriguing even up to this day. Somewhat 

 surprisingly, I learned that the idea of progress was itself a relatively 

 recent concept in human affairs. Still more significantly, it was not 

 accepted without considerable opposition and conflict. People were 

 burned at the stake ! All this, of course, is spelled out in the literature 

 and is particularly well summarized in the too little known book by 

 Professor Bury (4). The important fact which emerges, however, is 

 that the idea of progress and the development of technology are in- 

 extricably interlinked. As stated by Mees, "Technology is at once 

 the source and the justification for the idea of progress." (5) That 

 this is true seems to be accepted by scholars throughout the world 

 as is evidenced, for example, by the determination of the underde- 

 veloped countries to industrialize. The fact seems to be accepted 

 everywhere except where it should be most obviously true and that is 

 here in our own United States. Here in our society we demand 

 progress — in fact, we seem to take it for granted as a law of nature — 

 but there are influential people who seem to be doing their best in 

 our education process to escape or circumvent science and technology, 

 which alone can make progress possible. 



Perhaps I have overstated my case. Let us hope so. But a re- 

 view of some recent evidence may give us a perspective in which 

 to view the problem. In a recent study of high-school students re- 

 ported from Purdue (6) it was found that — 



14 percent of the students think there is something evil about 

 scientists. 



30 percent believe that one cannot raise a normal family and 

 become a scientist. 



45 percent think their school background is too poor to permit them 

 to choose science as a career. 



9 percent believe that one cannot be a scientist and be honest. 



25 percent think scientists as a group are more than a little bit 

 "odd." 



28 percent do not believe scientists have time to enjoy life. 



35 percent believe that it is necessary to be a genius to become a 

 good scientist. 



27 percent think that scientists are willing to sacrifice the welfare 

 of others to further their own interests. 



This is indeed a devastating comment, either on scientists or on 

 our educational process, or both. With this the attitude among 

 students, can there be any mystery as to why there is currently a 



