Chapter One Response

Reading this article brought back many fond memories of when I was a child grappling with the thoughts of “Why do I have to take science?” and more recent thoughts like “I’m an English major...why?” This is where I found the article to be particularly interesting in how it ultimately debates those very questions, and similar questions universities deal with on a continuous basis concerning the weight of science vs. just about everything else. This led me to hearken back to literature classes not so long ago and the relevance of this issue throughout the years. I was reminded of authors like Sir Francis Bacon and his attempts at applying the scientific method to his essays (and just about everything else). Bacon was a staunch supporter of the use of the scientific method almost to the point of absurdity which satirists like Swift would later come along and attack as the direct cause of the world’s lack in common sense. During the Victorian Age there were the epic battles between Arnold and Huxley as to which types of college level classes should carry more weight in a universities cannon. All of this conjured up years ago in an article all too relevant today. Still, where there is the strong argument for the need of science in the think-tanks of humans, there is also a blatant need to attack at the end of the article. Although I agree with pretty much all Mr. Darksyde had to say, I feel that the strong and plausible argument that was made in the first half of the article was slightly compromised by the last half.

When one sits down and really thinks about it, especially as English majors, it is amazing just how much the structures of how we do research intertwines with that of science. In an age when technology is steaming to the forefront of society, it is important for us all to have a well established foot in the land of science; but when cold-hard facts begin to take too much of a toll on everyday life it is good to know that we also have a freer foot in the land of literature.