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Professor Ziman paints a broad picture of modern science, and
of its relations to the world in general. He sets the scene by the historical
development of scientific research as a profession, the growth of scientific technologies
out of the useful arts, the sources of invention and technical innovation, and
the advent of Big Science. Then among current problems, he discusses the economics
of research and development, the connections between science and war, the nature
of science policy and the moral dilemmas of social responsibility in science.
Each topic is introduced by reference to easily understandable
particular historical or contemporary examples, with a large number of illustrations
chosen to bring out the concreteness and reality of science as a human activity.
In this way, abstract academic or ideological themes are avoided until the reader
has had the opportunity to appreciate the nature of the phenomenon and the practical
issues that arise from them. In a final section, Professor
Ziman gives a chapter-by-chapter list of suggested topics for oral and written
discussion, intended to provoke critical, sceptical attitudes to simplified solutions
to real issues, and comments briefly on relevant books and other sources.
The author is Melville Wills Professor of Physics in the
University of Bristol. |
