Eugene Gorbach: Topic 7: Are There Limits to Science?

	Whether there exists a limit to science is a 
question that has recently gained wide attention 
wthin the academic community.  With the foreseeable 
limit in sight for the further perfection of the 
speed of computer microchips (unless radical new 
technological/chemical transistor processes are 
invented), people begin to wonder if the similar fate 
is in sight for such sciences as physics, chemistry 
and anthropology.  	The presentation given in class 
touched on some of these topics, as well as 
discussing several perceptions of scientific 
“reality” that are prevalent today.  
	The limits of science, in my opinion, are 
infinite.  I firmly believe in the “Star Trek 
factor,” that is that almost anything that could be 
imagined can be eventually achieved by science.  
However, I do not believe that the pace of 
technological and scientific progress will remain at 
the current levels.  Perhaps as we become more adept 
in the age of technology, scientific advances spurred 
by the microchip revolution will slow down, or 
perhaps radical advances will spur the progress at 
even faster rate.  I do not, however, believe that 
there exist finite limits to science.  Just some 
argued that we had reached the end of mechanics-that 
is the physics of motion has been thoroughly 
understood-along came quantum mechanics and provided 
a new direction for research.  
	Science is like a tree, with its roots in the 
Baconian theories of rational experimentation and 
Cartesian dualism of the material reality of nature 
and science its bark as the scientific experimental 
tradition that grew out of this tradition and its 
branches as the different fields/directions of 
science.  Smaller branches split from larger 
branches, but the number of them cannot be predicted.  
Their potential is infinite and their limit is the 
sky.