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In his work, Science: The Glorious Entertainment, Jacques Barzun claims that science has become a producer of distress and disturbance, while its technology has created a sense of human helplessness as we attempt to control nature and the world around us. Barzun claims that man observes science as the only reliable source of explanation on this earth, yet as we continue to learn more and more, we are brought back to the belief in God. The readers mind is tugged in a number of directions as the author touches upon several subjects in order to establish a deep thought process and critical thinking within the reader. The reader attempts to reason and answer some of Barzun's open-ended questions, only to find that they are confusing and unanswerable. We cannot define science or many of the other subjects mentioned in this piece, for they cannot be completely grasped and are ultimately unattainable.
Barzun's book begins with a description of culture as a large pumpkin, which is hard to penetrate and understand. Our culture, like that of a pumpkin, has many enormous uncharted hollows and it is full of many seeds (ideas) that will lead us down several different unknown paths of excitement and wonder in the future. Barzun mentions C. P.
Snow and disagrees with his claim that we are a society of two cultures. The author feels that Snow is wrong in his assumption that mankind is separated into two cultures that are being separated further and further. Barzun states that if we assume two cultures, then most of the population is left out of Snows definition, for we are not all merely scientific or non-scientific. The author backs his claim with evidence that we, as one single culture, came from a set of common roots and ideas that have grown to encompass all of mankind.
Barzun brings up a question, asking if specialization is merely a system that serves the individual and if it will continue to grow until man eventually no longer has a desire for a larger brotherhood? Questions like the last are asked throughout the work, and the reader can find no definite answer. Technology becomes his focus later in the book, and he discusses our love and hatred for machines. Barzun claims that we feel that machinery confines us, pushes us around, and frustrates us greatly at times. However, we are also very proud of the machinery we have created, and we revel in its benefits. We find a certain joy in creating something with our own hands, through long struggles of toil and effort, yet we discover another happiness when watching a machine methodically stamp out a pristine copy of the same item.
I have come to the understanding that we are confused as a society. We love handiwork because we feel that we have accomplished something, but our desires are for the perfection of a machine. Our love / hate relationship with machinery is shown by the simple act of camping. Many of us depend greatly on technology, yet sometimes we become sick of our dependence and want to escape. So what do we do?
Many of us go camping roughing it becomes a pleasure to us as we attempt to escape from the amenities of our world. Barzun claims that our attachment and wonder of science is a result of our earlier attachment with machinery and invention. Science is constantly changing, and our opinions and theories adapt to new findings on a day-to-day basis. In science we strive to attain concrete answers, when deep down we know many of our questions never will be completely answered. Even when our society tries say that something is or is not science we have trouble.
Therefore, Barzun concluded that rather than defining something as science, we should define science itself as uniform throughout the world, encompassing all things. Barzun believed that everything is science, and that all things (from Wordsworth's literature to the invention of simple machines) are science. Science to Barzun is universal. It should be somewhat mysterious, for we could never hope to fathom all the wonders of the world around us. As we begin to understand one minor concept of science, we are drawn to something much larger, and our minds are led into a deeper state of confusion. As we learn more and more about the world around us, we are overcome by the confusion and frustration of what we do not know.
The usual way of thinking about science and technology is that there is only one path, one method, one way. If we look back at the history of discovery, we find that this assumption to be untrue. Inventions and theories have been developed through a number of paths. In fact, history shows that there is no one correct path to the uncovering of some of sciences greatest wonders.
Science continues to tickle the mind and tug our thoughts. Barzun stated that, Every scientific statement remains tentative forever we do not know: we can only guess. This statement holds a great deal of truth, for it is in our nature as humans to always be searching for the answers. As we continue to look into each new uncharted hollow we are going to find something new and intriguing. Over time, our guesses become guided by our supposed unscientific faith in laws and theories, and we will progress to a society coming to the realization that science can never be finalized.
Through several analogies and comparisons, Barzun illustrates many concepts and questions of science and technology to the reader. He supports his claims however, most of his evidence is based merely on his opinion alone. He assumes that the reader will take his word as final, without regard to their own opinions or those of others. Although his thesis is unclear, he does bring up several interesting points about how our society thinks and perceives the world around us. Barzun stimulates the readers own personal thought processes by asking inquisitive questions and then leaving them open-ended. Although engaging the reader through questions is good, the reader desires to occasionally see answers to the posed questions.
At times, Barzun goes off on such a tangent of questions (without answers) that the reader tends to become confused and he / she loses track of the initial motives of a chapter. Due to the lack of specifics, the author never truly reaches a conclusion other than that there can be no real conclusion with science. The author does observe science and technology as the only reliable sources of reason. Barzun is quite effective in getting the reader to think and question the domains of science. He does not want society to divide ourselves through specialization and books like that of The Two Cultures by C.
P. Snow. Science: The Glorious Entertainment asks us to think of all cultures together as one. We regard science, mathematics, literature, athletics and art as part of the same whole. The book requires a dedication of time and deep thought. If time and effort is put into this book, the reader will gain a whole new view of science, technology and the world around him.
As stated earlier, Barzun leaves many of the answers to us, the readers. We are responsible for attempting to fill the gaps of the unknown in this enormous pumpkin of our culture. Science: The Glorious Entertainment by Jacques Barzun raises questions about the driving force behind man in his search for answers in science. Barzun also questions whether science and technology are a help or hindrance to our present culture. The author claims that our theories and views of science will continue to change as we gain more and more knowledge.
Science will never be finalized, and we will continue to search endlessly without definite answers to our ultimate questions. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Science The Glorious Entertainment
