Why is Science Important?

The Why science is important? website is a collection of thoughts from scientists, public figures, and the general public.  The primary video on the website presents some interesting views looking to answer the question of why science is important.  Two things stood out to me from the video.  Firstly, one view that particularly stood out is that 'science let's us see superstition for the disempowering nonsense that it is'.  However, science is not a single entity and what is meant by science can be construed in different ways.  Hence, science, when not very well understood and used by others who avoid objectivity (just like superstition), can also be disempowering nonsense.  People may rely on secondary sources, such as the media, to keep up with scientific research and not look to find out more through other sources.  Also, scientists are not infallible and are open to making mistakes themselves.


Secondly, another aspect of the video that stood out is that the narrator often refers to science as a 'method'.  Again this argument relates to my previous point that science is not a single entity.  Science is multi-faceted and if anything, commonly consists of a multitude of methods.  A simple example is that in making a cake, there can be a number of approaches and the results may be different each time.  There could be a recommended recipe to follow, but you will never know if there is a better way if you do not try other approaches.  Check out Chapter One (The Nature of Science) of Science for all Americans that highlights some important characteristics inherent to understanding science as a discipline and common misconceptions people can have about science.  Some examples of these characteristics of science as a discipline are that science demands evidence, science demands a mixture of logic and imagination, science tries to identify and avoid bias, and science is not authoritarian.  Prof. Joe Schwarcz, a public figure on scientific literacy, highlights some common misconceptions people can have through some interesting examples.
 
Despite my points above, the question of why science is important is still a very worthwhile question to attempt to answer in that it clarifies what you see science as and in turn, how you may interpret it.   It is an exceptionally important question to answer in relation to education, where students can commonly see science as irrelevant and lacking little connection to everyday life.  Students have the right to ask such questions and should be encouraged to.  Only then can students truly begin to appreciate what they are learning (the affective domain as described as part of Bloom's taxonomy).

My personal view of why science is important is that it it is a human activity that endeavours to answer the big questions (the hows and the whys) of the world and beyond in an objective manner, seeking evidence from physical to chemical to biological processes.  Humans, by nature, display many characteristics such as curiosity and creativity, and it in science that such characteristics can flourish.  As Einstein put it, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious" and there is still plenty of mystery in science.


Images taken from http://opencage.info/pics.e/large_9888.asp and http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-2200500024