The Value of Research

This is a very interesting clip from a discussion between Professor Randall and an online site called LipTV. The purpose of the discussion was to explain the benefits of science research that does not lead to immediate goals so “science for its own sake”. Professor Randall does a great job of articulating the importance of science and not only for its material short term gain.

I think this short clip sums up a lot of what we talked about with Poincare. Even though science research is very tangible unlike some high-level conceptual Mathematics, it might not always demonstrate its point such as the drunk flies that we talked about. However, maybe these drunk flies will help us 100 years down in the future and we will be glad that we conducted what seemed like such inane research at the time.

I really enjoy her overall point that the study and research of science, even if it is abstract and theoretical. I think that it is important to study and to appreciate all the knowledge that the study of science can lead to. Even if the sole reason of the study is for pleasure and appreciation, I think that is still a worthy goal.