What is the future of science?

When we compare humans of today to the first humans some two hundred thousand years ago, all of the fundamental biochemistry inside our present bodies (compared to prehistoric bodies) has essentially remained the same. The laws of physics that are responsible for the miracle of life (an eigenstate of the universe) generated from that biochemistry haven't changed either. Our ancestors largely saw the same stunning star-scape that we do today. They saw the same sunsets and sunrises. They endured cold and hot weather, storms, drought, flooding, earthquakes etc. The primary difference between us and our ancestors is that we somewhat better understand the physical laws governing our natural world and have used this knowledge for our benefit as well as to our detriment.

This deeper understanding of the world in which we exist developed because of dedicated scientific inquiry which also prepares the inquisitive mind to benefit from serendipity. Science (natural philosophy) is a difficult teacher but the insights garnered from studying the amazing miracles occurring on a femtosecond basis in our universe are definitely worth it. We have garnered incredible insights about our world and have learned to harness nature; developing tools and machines that make our lives easier and more productive. At the same time, this knowledge, which has allowed us to become masters of Earth, has enabled us to create weapons of mass destruction (e.g. nuclear and bio weapons) that could destroy much of life on this planet. For me, understanding scientific phenomena not only helps me exist in this world filled with myriad uncertainty and challenges, but also inspires me as I better understand a beautiful created world and feel the Love that made it.

Nikola Tesla warned us that science without its primary aim dedicated to the betterment (and I would add enlightenment) of all humanity is but a perversion of itself. Beyond that, Tesla, ever the visionary, presciently predicted that wars would be fought by robots and wirelessly guided missiles based largely on technology (e.g. radio/remote control) that he developed. Today, his predictions have come true as a significant fraction of the war in Ukraine is being fought with remote-controlled drones and missiles.

Tesla envisaged that humans would consequently realize how futile wars were after human soldiers were replaced by robots, but he misunderstood how much human greed, fickleness and fecklessness factor into politicians' machinations. Science has been relentlessly used to develop weapons that kill evermore efficiently, clandestinely and destructively. Science has been used to illegally spy on ordinary unsuspecting citizens. Science has been used to develop toxic pesticides and genetically modified that are causing untold problems in the human food chain and supply. Science has also been likely used to develop potent and deadly strains of viruses. Yet, without science, we wouldn't have antibiotics, our electrical grid, abundant harvests, or much of our economy and most people living on this planet would not be alive.

Thus, science can be used for the good of all humanity or only for the benefit of a select few who secretively use it to control the rest. The problem with our "leaders” is that they are largely scientifically illiterate and don't realize how they are destroying science, by e. g. censoring scientists as they did during the COVID pandemic or by not supporting scientific research. Science, as an objective empirical field of human inquiry should never be politicized. Nor do our leaders understand the catastrophic consequences of their ill thought decisions using science as a means for conquest (e.g. creating bioweapons labs on Russia's border with Ukraine) instead of as a solution (e.g. climate change) as we are now in a new arms race with Russia and China.

God was never against giving humans knowledge and wisdom when they are ready to receive it. The problem is that Adam and Eve did not have the wisdom to use knowledge of good and evil properly; they were immature. God will share His secrets — including the physical secrets associated with the four dimensional universe He created for us — with those whom He trusts. These trustworthy recipients will use science to help all of His Creation. They will not use it to harm nature and thus act against His creation (destruction).

I think that we need to reassess the direction of science. While there will certainly be continued efforts to develop novel weapons going into the future as long as as humans are on this planet, there will be far more important problems garnered by our abuse of science which only scientists can solve such as climate change, preserving natural resources and cleaning up our poisoned ecosphere that threaten our existence. Will science be used to to help all humanity or selfishly destroy the world? This is the question of our century.