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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxi!houxm!ihnp4!ihuxm!gjphw
From: gjphw@ihuxm.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Nuclear fission and values
Message-ID: <618@ihuxm.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Oct-83 15:12:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxm.618
Posted: Mon Oct  3 15:12:36 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Oct-83 01:26:35 EDT
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 42



   If I might wade in on two topics near to my heart:

 1. This first is in support of an item from M. Majka (ubc-visi!majka).  Among
   other interesting topics, Francis Bacon wrote an essay discussing the way
   science is done by people.  The ideal method would be to make preliminary
   observations, formulate a hypothesis, conduct controlled experiments in an
   effort to find contradictory evidence, and publish your results.  Behold the
   traditional scientific method!  Unfortunately, he decided that what usually
   happens is that an individual forms a theory based upon his/her prejudices,
   conducts experiments to support the theory, then claims to have found truth.
   Personal values are a significant factor in science, and the best way to
   handle this is to become aware of the unconscious processes that are
   involved.

 2. The second item is in criticism of a comment made by D. Anthony (unc-c!dya)
   concerning the development of nuclear technology from value-free scientific
   judgments.  For a few years, I was associated with Brookhaven National Lab
   on Long Island (in a non-technical capacity, though I was a graduate student
   in physics at the time).  BNL has operated nuclear research reactors for
   several decades for neutron physics studies.  The opinion among the few
   neutron scientists that I had the opportunity to encounter was that nuclear
   power was a good idea until it was taken over by industry.  In the
   beginning, nuclear scientists and engineers were in the process of trying to
   discover optimum techniques for generating electrical energy from nuclear
   fission and gave some thought to the waste problem.  When it became almost
   practical, business picked up the further development of nuclear power
   plants.  Since it is the primary goal of business to offer a product at the
   lowest cost, the rather high-priced development of reactors was cut in favor
   of lower cost designs.  The "lowest bid" philosophy of some large companies
   brought out nuclear power generation before its time.  Since then, the
   production of power by nuclear reactors has been very political and value-
   laden.

 Live long and prosper!
-- 

                                    Patrick Wyant
                                    AT&T Bell Laboratories (Naperville, IL)
                                    *!ihuxm!gjphw