(BQ) Is it possible that a book of readings can help you develop your writing skills and guide you to success in your composition course, providing a rich and diverse collection of different kinds of essays, and essential to anyone seeking to pursue extensive studies in Writing in general. | SCIENCE AND TECHNOILOGY live, unmistakably, in an extended era of scientific discovery, the benefits of rmc:n we reap on a daily basis. The last half of the twentieth century yielded organ transplants, nuclear power, color television, polio vaccine, the discovery of DNA, lasers, space travel, space stations, ftoppy disks, VCRs, pocket calcu- lators, and the Internet. But along with those advances came complications: nuclear war, ozone depletion, oil spills, nuclear accidents, space disasters, and various epidemics. The beneficial and the catastrophic seem entwined, the causal r elationships between them not always clear. Because there is something powerfully seductive about cell phones, iPods, plasma television screens, faster and faster computers, the Internet, life-saving vaccines, alternative sources of electrical power, and faster cars and airplanes, we often fail to notice the spin-offs-the complications and consequences. We've grown accustomed to living in a bigger-bang-for-the-buck kind of culture, and we naturally enjoy conveniences and efficiency. Science, creativity, and discovery lie behind these sweeping scientific and cultural changes. A century ago, when the breakthroughs started to occur, it seemed as if science might bring us everything we ever dreamed of. Some thought of science as a new religion. At that moment of change, we could sit back · ln Wonder and amazement, dazzled by the events and the products that matena1· · 1zed before us. The first moon walk was a momentous occasioncelebrated across the world. Now we hardly notice the liftoffs in Florida, and When we remember, we remember most profoundly the moments when things Went awry and lives were lost. We tend to forget that behind all of these molnentous occasions, there is a long trail of scientific discovery, a group of dedicated, creative men and women finding secrets, discovering hidden natural lv g-overn onr lives. often without onr knmuina 1t 442 C H A PTE R 1 1 S CIENCE AND .
