00100		Victor Weisskopf's (14 April, p. 138) view of the relation of
00200	science to society is more convenient  than scientific.  It amalgamates
00300	those arguments which have served best to persuade politicians to expand
00400	the support of basic science, and it papers over issues that have shown
00500	a tendency to provoke conflict in the academic or other intellectual
00600	constituencies.  The following virtues have endeared this view to most
00700	senior basic scientists:
00800	
00900		1. The government gets to support science on an increasing scale
01000	without having to concern itself with the relative merits of different
01100	scientific enterprises.  The committees divide the money in a gentlemanly
01200	way according to seniority, scientific esthetics, and entrepreneurial
01300	skill.  
01400	
01500		2. Recognizing the existence of a social crisis brought on by
01600	technology in some unspecified way hopefully blunts the attack of
01700	eco-freaks and political radicals.
01800	
01900		3. The need for people trained in basic sciences to solve these
02000	problems protects the educational part of the scientific establishment.
02100	
02200		4. Recognizing the limits of science in dealing with human
02300	emotions mollifies the "humanists".
02400	(Tasteful biblical quotations increase the humanistic depth of the
02500	article.)
02600	
02700		5. Recognizing the limits of science in dealing with political
02800	and social questions avoids conflict with politicians.
02900	
03000		6. Since no-one can know how a piece of basic research will
03100	eventually benefit humanity, no-one is under any moral obligation to
03200	go out of his way to achieve any specific benefit in his research work.
03300	
03400		The fact that Weisskopf's views are convenient does not make them
03500	wrong, but I have the following specific criticisms:
03600	
03700		1. Weisskopf is quite right in his qualitative defense of basic
03800	science as having contributed to human welfare.  Unfortunately, he
03900	contributes nothing to the present quantitative argument about whether
04000	basic science should be supported enough so that everyone who wants
04100	to make a career in it and is qualified by present standards to do so
04200	should receive support.
04300	
04400		2. Technology also needs its share of geniuses.  Human welfare
04500	would advance much more rapidly if half the people at the highest levels
04600	of ability now devoting themselves to basic science, would devote their
04700	efforts to recognizing technological needs of society and fulfilling
04800	them.  This, rather than money, is the main cost of the present academic
04900	climate of opinion that regards pure science has higher than applied.
05000