In this chapter, you have been asked to think about the nature of science and the role that science
has played in American culture and the world at large. In particular, this chapter explores Americans' seemingly contradictory attitude toward science. On the one hand, Americans revere science and are in awe of its power to discover what as once thought un-knowable and do what was once thought un-doable. On the other hand, Americans fear the power of science to escape the control of human beings. The readings present a number of different voices, both scientists and non-scientists, as illustrated by the chapter's opening quotations. Consider why people -- including you and your classmates -- express such different attitudes toward something that is usually not thought of as controversial.
Some starting places:
What drives human beings to seek scientific knowledge of the world?
Whose interests should science serve?
What is the relationship between science and reality?
What is the relationship between science and reality, and what might be the real-world effects of particular scientific and technological change?
Some possible topics:
Try tracing the social consequences of science and technology in your novel.
Explore the metaphorical power of words and images in any one of the articles you have read. What is the purpose of the metaphor or image? How does a particular metaphor or image guide the way we think about a given topic?
Compare and contrast the major claims of any two writers. Weighing one set of claims against the other, which do you find to be the most persuasive. Why? Where might you need more evidence?
More starting places:
Bishop:
"We scientists can no longer leave the problem to others. Indeed, it has been ours to solve, and all of society in now paying for our neglect."
"Resistance to science is born of fear."
Turkle:
"The old AI debates were about the technical abilities of machines. The new ones will be about the
emotional vulnerabilities of people."
Tenner:
"Today's advanced cyborg technology is a harbinger of neither a utopian nor an apocalyptic
future."
You may use the above as starting places to focus your paper, or you may wish to develop your own
question for a focus and try to answer it. The final draft should be a minimum of 6 pages (double
spaced, MLA format with a Works Cited page).
A question worth answering:
An audience who could possibly care:
Due dates:
May 10: workshop drafts
May 15: Editing
Final draft due May 22.
You may email me question at janet.cross@.csun.edu or send questions to the class MOO list.