The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1934. IS SCIENCE GUILTY?

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19987, 20 December 1934, Page 8

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1934. IS SCIENCE GUILTY?

During the last few years, science lias been arraigned before 1 lie bar of public opinion, to quote an expression used by Sir -Tames Jeans, and many critics who are inclined to attribute to science such economic woes as unemployment. Sir James, who is one of the foremost scientists in the world, contradicts the charge, and declares not without reason, that a country which called a halt to scientific progress would soon fall behind in every other respect as well: in its industry, in its economic position, in its* defences, and not the least important, in its culture. Indubitably, these things would happen; but in connection with the influence on our social structure, science might be blamed for not supplying labourcreating inventions as fast as it produces labour-saving inventions. AVitli one hand, science supplies a machine which creates employment for thousands of people, whereas with the other hand it supplies a machine which puts thousands of people out of work. As an instance, the motorcar industry was largely labourcreating, but science did not stop there. Experts immediately set about applying labour-saving machinery in the industry. In a British motor car factory in 1922, ■55 people were employed for every ear produced in a week; but in 1923, the number employed for the same work was 24, in 1926, it was 12, in 1927 it fell to 10, and this year the number is eight. AVe And,'too, that in 1880 115 minutes were required to manufacture a certain engine part, while in 1930 the same ftnrt could be made in 7.7 minutes. Such ligures would give the impression that science merely invented a labour-creating industry only to take away that industry’s labour-giving benefits. But, if more figures from the same factory are examined, it is found that the impression is wrong, because, while a total of 3197 "people were employed in 1922, the number has increased, in spite of the depression, until this year it is 16,000. Thus it is evident that the amount of guilt which can be attributed to science is doubtful and obscure, because by inventing labour-saving machinery science has cheapened the product and extended the market and as a result, in some well-known cases, has created more employment. Nevertheless, discoveries are not made with any degree of regularity and naturally the advanced provisions of science aro often difficult to assimilate. That is, of course, the difficulty that confronts all economic planners, because they cannot know what advance in invention will be released next, and further, they cannot know therefore, how that invention will affect their plans. “Unhappily,” says Sir James Jeans, “no amount of planning can arrange a perfect balance. No one can control tlie direction in which science will advance; the investigator in pure science does not know himself whether his researches will result in a mere labour-saving device or a new industry.” And Sir James raises another view of the problem when he says, that human nature changes very slowly, and tends to lag behind human knowledge which accumulates with amazing rapidity. That is, from those who have gone before, comes knowledge which grows and multiplies; but human nature is prone to remain the same, a constant thing which is subject to weaknesses and the liability to err. Moreover, another factor stands in the way of plans, for men are not machines. Perhaps therefore, there is much in the contention held by Sir James that it is not less but more science that is needed. To exemplify the point, it might be said that during recent years science has turned more and more to the study of man himself —what he is and what he could be —and from such subjects as biology and psychology are gradually coming secrets about humanity. Some day man might fully know himself and then only will he he able to regard himself as a stable basis for reasoning, and then only will he be able to model science to suit his make-up, and effectively control the ever-increasing powers that have been released by his own ingenity.