Every elements of the universe exhibits two faces, one is constructive side and other is destructive side. Every thing of the creations has its uses and abuses. It is human instincts, which govern its uses and abuse. What to say of the immense power which has been vested into the human hands by mammoth developments in the fields of science and technology. No doubt the Science and Technology furnishes the human life with luxury and comforts but the other face is like a menace to human existence. Humanity is transgressing at rapid pace all the hurdles posed by the nature, out of her due perseverance and dedicated focused efforts.
The enormous industrial growth has provided a vast range of commodities and objects to be consumed by the humanity. The range of products which science has gifted us is diverse and large.
The discovery and development of a large number of powerful energy sources-coal, petroleum, electricity etc have enabled humanity to conquer the barriers of nature. All this has facilitates the growth of fast modes of transport, which in turn has transformed the world into a global village.
Space technology, nuclear technology, medical technology, bio-technology etc, not a single aspect of human life and its surroundings has escaped from the preview of Science and Technology. The developments and advancements in each field are illustrious. Newer and newer advances are happening by the day.
Such has become the scope and expanse of science and technology and its impact on day –to –day life, that if one regresses into past he would not be able to co-relate the two epochs. The machines have been delegated a lot of critical work of the human brain.
The spectacles of Science and Technology are destined to throw off any person out of his senses and make him spell-bound. The power vested in human hands by science and technology is enormous and has thus posed a great responsibility on them.
As the saying goes in political parlance that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The same can be applied in the case of the power given by the science and technology. The gift of science and technology have been deliberately abused by the “powerful humanity, time and again.
There are natural side-effects of these gifts, but their deliberately misuse and abuse outweigh and evils of the side –effects, which could have been modified or at least minimized to a large extent otherwise. Human greed, selfish interest, lack of planning and myopic vision has all led to the abuse of science and technology.
Nuclear power, which is a very efficient and environmental friendly one and can salvage all the power crises of humanity, has had been abused to produce a massive stockpile of lethal weapons which have the power to destroy this planet multiple times. Nations wanted to dominate the world by the use of the gift of Science to dictate their terms and conditions to others. This laid the foundations for an arms race and proliferation of these weapons in the hands of less responsible hands. Today, nuclear weapons are seen as a deterrent. The frictions amidst the comity of the nations had never been so acute. The fear of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is fresh in the entire human race. Strides in science and technology have created enormous opportunities and have endowed humanity with marvelous power to transform the face of the world. The prerogative lies with the society as to how it is going to use this power. The leaders of the society have to channalise the direction. The use and abuse of the power of science lie wholly with the human psyche and consciousness. The scientific community and leadership have to tread the extra mile be elucidating and stressing the responsibilities on the part of the users. The masses are to be trained and educated and made responsibility for the overall success of the scientific era.