2. SCIENCE AND THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS

by Professor M. S. Thacker

(Presidential address to the United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology, held at Geneva in February, 1963.)

In saying that the world is at a crossroads created by science and technology - roads leading on the one hand to peace and plenty and on the other to ruin and famine - I know I am not the first. But mankind cannot afford to hesitate in indecision. There is really only one choice for us. We must begin to move along the road to a better future for all the peoples of the world and we must do this now.

By the end of this century, the population of the world may have been doubled. In attempting to ensure food, clothing and a dignified standard of life for this enormous host of people we must use every weapon that science and technology can give us. There are obvious difficulties for the less developed areas in doing this - for example, lack of capital, differences in social structure and inadequate knowledge. Our strategy to overcome these difficulties must be total. We have to look at world problems as a whole. Piecemeal improvements, though valuable, are simply palliatives or alleviations. They cannot get to the heart of the situation. We must, therefore, try to better our understanding of the complex interactions between the multitude of development activities. We already know the great gifts that science and technology can bestow on all nations. If we are made wiser by a constant appreciation of the complexities of what we are attempting, the faster we shall move towards a solution of the really imperative problems that confront us everywhere.

(from New Scientist, 14th February, 1963)