Is Science a Boon or Bane?

Every coin has two faces. The same science which has been of such great
assistance to mankind has another face. Science which has forgave us with
development, progress, expansion and growth has also brandished us with
hostilities, destruction, violence, and ruined.
We are in the age of science and technology. Man cannot live without the aid
of science. Science has so much engulfed our lives that nothing can take
place in our day to day work without the help of science. Our food, transport,
learning, administration, recreation and social life are all linked with science
in various ways.
There is a drastic change in the lives we are leading today and that we had
30 years ago. Science has changed the face of the world with great
advancements being made in every field.
Science is the foundation to life and everything in it. To basically sum up
science, it usually explains the "why?" factor. Without science, we do not
have the knowledge or understanding of today's creations. Without physics,
we lose the understanding of gravity, motion and energy. Without Biology,
we would not understand life and how it is sustained. Without Chemistry,
there would be no understanding of non-living materials and things that help
contribute and take away life.
Science had made life easier for man. Thanks to science we can travel from
one corner of the world to another within seconds. Transportation has
become a million times easier due to science and technology. Because
science invented various means of transport such as cars, buses, train, truck,
aeroplane, ships, submarines, etc. Science had also invented many means of
entertainment and communication like Radio, TV, Tape Recorder, Cinema,
VCR, Computer, Telephone, Mobile phone, etc.
Through telecommunication and technology, science has brought the world
closer. Today a man in India can communicate through the internet to a
person in another nook of the world. Science has truly made us say that this
is a small, small world.Infact; the world has become so small for us that we

have started exploring the space and are even thinking of settlements on
Mars and Moon.
Science has done a great service to mankind by giving birth to medical
technology. Today, science has greatly augmented the longevity of life. Once
incurable diseases like small-pox, malaria, cholera, TB, etc. Have completely
been eradicated and dreaded maladies like Cancer are no longer without a
remedy. Science had invented many machines to diagnose critical disease
like X-Ray, ultrasonography, CT-Scan, MRI, etc. Medical science is so much
advanced that the average life of an Indian has risen to 62 years from 35
years.
Electricity, as a source of energy, has revolutionized the world. Science has
contributed to the success of our green revolution and now we have enough
food for all. We have enough clothing and better shelter too. All this is
possible, because of science so a common man has to conclude that science
is a boon to mankind.
There is the other side of the coin also. That is the other point of view. It is
science, which gave birth to destructive weapons like dynamite, guns, rifles,
rockets, atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, etc. It is science that gave electrical
power and nuclear power. If nuclear power is used for peaceful purposes,
there is no need for fear. But after all it is human to err. Can anyone say that
there is no chance of the destruction of a Hiroshima or a Nagasaki being
repeated? If that happens, will not science be a bane of humanity?
Gone are the days when peace used to prevail throughout the world. Today a
gun booms in one corner of the world or another every day. Wars are fought
between countries for years and years together at a stretch. Families are torn
apart and friends are lost forever, never to be reunited .By giving birth to
weaponry, war craft and armaments it can be indisputably said that science
is the root of battles, armed conflicts and international disputes.
Leaving that apart, another creation of science is pollution of the
environment. Industrialization with the aid of science has polluted air, water,
food and the atmosphere. The ozone layer is giving threatening signals. So
here is a case for man to consider science as a cause of ruin.

Science is like a knife. A knife can be used to cut vegetables. The same knife
can also be used as a lethal weapon .In the same way science can be used
as a tool for the development but like every coin has another side, science,
when it is in wrong hands can be abused. The exploitation of science can
result in several disastrous consequences like nuclear wars, catastrophic
pollution and ruinous bloodshed.
Man is a rational being. He can safeguard himself against all odds. That is
how he was able to conquer and control all other creatures in the world.
When the universe reveals more secrets to man by means of science, there
is hope that the present man will become a superman and eventually science
would be only a boon and not a bane of his life.
Science has provided us both the type of ways but it depends on our sense
how we can use the science. We need to use the science for human welfare
not for destructive cause. By proper use of science, earth can be heaven but
by misusing science it will not take a second to become hell. . Hence we can
state indubitably that science is a great boon for humankind, but when it is
misused it can prove to be the most worst of banes.