Critical Thinking assignment #8

The responsibilities of scientists are to basically see what the future holds for humanity. Whether the outcome is good or bad, scientists should always go forward with progress even if the consequences are disasterous for most of us. We need to explore our technology and see where it will take us. Oppenheimer's atomic bomb did nearly start a cold war, but a cold war is a lot of heated talking. The diplomats are able to sort the odds and ends out. The atomic bomb is extreme. But, if we do not explore science, other countries, possibily terrorists, can discover things that we would have no defense against because we might be afraid of the consequences. That was the reasoning for the atomic bomb, so the U.S. would be able to protect itself against anyone who threatened them. Another example of how science has made progress is the story in the graphic novel "Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", written by Philip K. Dick. Amazingly, the robot that was constructed, was made to look like exactly like a real woman. She even had human emotions, and fooled so many people. She was a robot, but it took close to one hundred questions to figure it out. With the other robots, it took only thirty questions. When watching the movie, it was next to impossible with the naked eye to determine whether or not she was a human. There is no telling how far science can go. We need to know, for our own good. And for the future of our planet. Science can come up with cures for diseases and give us the best technology. It can give put fear into us as well, with the atomic bomb, as an example. Or even robots that will hurt humans instead of helping them. But, just because the consequences may be awful, we still must figure out where science can take us. It will lead us into the next generation.