When some of the greatest feats of man are devolution

[Solie123]

6 Scientists Who Regret Their Greatest Inventions

I found this article this morning, I thought it was quite interesting in a very depressing way. It so horrible to see our world's greatest mind's come up with innovations in hopes of betterment of our society and humanity as a whole, to instead their creations to be turned into a tool for the destruction and devolution of man... Nothing in science is guaranteed to result in the benefit of mankind.
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Arthur Galston was an American botanist who devoted his career to helping plants grow. He focused on synthesizing triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), a hormone that sped up the flowering of soybeans, but would defoliate them in higher concentrations. What he didn’t expect was that biological warfare scientists would find his research on TIBA and use it to formulate a chemical weapon. What they created was Agent Orange, and it was used to destroy enemy crops in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It did. It also caused birth defects for hundreds of thousands of children, and lifelong health problems for an equal number of adults. Galston regretted that his research had been used that way and lobbied to end its use from 1965 until its ban in 1971. He felt guilty about how his research was used for the rest of his life, even though he knew he wasn’t to blame for its misuse.

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My spiritual pain is unbearable. My heartache unbearable. I keep having the same insoluble question: if my rifle deprive people of life, and therefore I, Mikhail Kalashnikov, ninety-three years old, the son of a peasant, and Orthodox Christian according to his faith, [am] responsible for the death of people, even an enemy?

 

[Keit]

When I was a child I was really fascinated with the concept of science, and in my mind I had a highly idealized image of what a scientist should be. Well, the image wasn't too different from all the "official" proclamations scientists usually make. That scientists should strive for constant curiosity and creativity of the mind. That a scientist should be open to a possibility of being wrong, and be ready to modify his or her theory accordingly. That science should be used for the betterment of mankind and all the living creatures on this planet, and beyond. And so on.

Yeah, I know. So naive and childish of me.

Losing this image was a gradual and painful process. Even until now I can't really understand how people can forge or manipulate scientific research and stand in front of the audience and lie about it with a straight face. It's like for the child part of me it's a much greater betrayal than if a politician would do the same.

Luckily not all scientists are like this, but they quickly become a vanishing breed. Undoubtedly for them knowledge that their work causes suffering is by itself a source of great anguish.

As for others, who have no problem with working on those things, Francois Rabelais said:

“Science without conscience is the soul's perdition.”