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Show .Politicians Abuse Science, Shneour Says Bv SUSAN WILLIAMS Chronicle Staff Writer . 1ecture was presented by Dr. A Shneour to the University - Club last week. What was a lecture on the "Origin of , was changed to other topics 1 as the "Age of Biology" as Uns in the 20th century. " Shneour said a Chicago meetly meet-ly of The American Physical So-! So-! , m January brought out that sics is in trouble. Student en-Lent en-Lent in Physics plummeted; Lcial support of scientific en-JaVor en-JaVor is being decreased. These cblems have reached crisis pro- iAt the Chicago meeting Dr. Fred jovle of Cambridge said the surge f technological advancement in America since World War II has used up the reservoir of knowledge that had. accumulated in the last century. He said this is because, the present method of scientific planning plan-ning is done by politicians. "Politicians "Poli-ticians are usually expert in only one thing: winning elections. They should stay out of science." Science Neglected, Abused "All of science is affected by its .neglect and abuse," said Dr. Shneour. "This is reflected in the kind of treatment science is getting from our government tcday. Many research grants are considered extendable ex-tendable in the face of 12 to 18 billion dollars appropriated for science each year. But this is a false and misleading figure as most cf this money goes for development of militarily-applicable endeavors. Only a tiny fraction of this money goes for basic academic research. However, it would be unfair to b'ame President Johnson or Congress; Con-gress; they just reflect wide spread opinions. It is obvious that scientists have failed in educating the American Ameri-can public in the evaluation of science. sci-ence. Stresses Science Dr. Shneour stressed the importance import-ance of science as a strength in America. "The United States cannot can-not continue as a leading power in the world without strength in science," sci-ence," he said. "We want to keep ahead of Russia, but we want to do it in a way in which we have a chance to win. They are behind us in biology now. At the turn of the century the Communists came into power in Russia and meddled with the theories of the scientisis and changed them. Here is an example of how the ideas of the scientists changed because the politicians got involved. The U.S. is ahead now, and what the countries should do is cooperate with each other. The resaurces of one country are not enough for all that needs to be done in science. Patriotism Invents Weapon "Biology is a subject that concerns con-cerns itself with anything in the interest of man not against him. No scientist will invent weapons by himself it is patriotism that scientists work for; it is patriotism that causes them to create destruction. destruc-tion. For example, the Atom Bomb was created in the name of the people the people wanted it. There is no one to blame but our- selves. Dictatorships have failed to produce an Atomic Bomb on their own. The Russians developed the Sputnick, but this was from o 1 d ideas not from any ideas they had brought about. No matter how powerful a dictator may be, he cannot can-not order a major discovery on a five-year plan. Great ideas need an atmosphere of freedom in order to ilourish. Our main stay is the phrase from the "Declaration of Independence" 'life, liberty and the pusurit of happiness'. With the expansion of science, we can change the earth and increase the life span of man from 60 or 70 years to 100 years. This will make people more concerned with our planet, since they are going to be involved with the world for a longer time. Also, a communication with other planets will develop shortly. This might give us a clue to avoid atomic de' struction within our planet. Here, the dignity of man will reach the intended significance. Too Big In 1945 the first atomic explosion marked the end of the Atomic Age rather than the beginning, and it offset the Age of Biology. Advances in biology will probably affect our society more than we can imagine. The only problem is that science is getting too big. Big science, including includ-ing big money, lost part of sciences' value. The freedom to think inefficiently, ineffi-ciently, wastefully and incoherently is very important. Creativity is something you don't do at a desk from 9 to 5. Great discoveries are lj sometimes made on fishing trips. "The next big step in science will l be done in neurochemistry the :; chemistry of consciousness. We will be able to conquer the mysteries of '". memory, mental diseases and the processes of the mind. We will also ij have greater supplies of medical:; necessities and artificial organ h banks. This will be another step to-ward to-ward longer lives. There is no reason rea-son why we can't live forever. This will put us closer to the conquest of death. "In conclusion, the Age of Biology offers us hope because it truly ushers in the Age of Man." |