Science is a world of discovery. It offers countless benefits and products to mankind and society. Discoveries and breakthroughs in science make our everyday lives much better. And, sometimes, science leads to weapons of war, and results in not-so-great benefits to mankind. Today is World Science Day for Peace and Development. The United Nations created this November 10 holiday to encourage us to better understand science. And it encourages us to use science for peaceful means and to aid in world development. While they are lofty goals, we certainly should use science to benefit man and his world.

Was the discovery of fire and the wheel sheer dumb luck? Or, did science come into play? We won’t debate this question. However, clearly science has benefitted mankind and society for thousands of years. It leads to the discovery of life-saving medicines like the polio vaccine and penicillin.  It creates useful products like our televisions and cellphones. We use scientific discoveries to drive to the grocery store and to blast off to the moon.

Scientific research and discovery come along at an ever-increasing rate. Scientific breakthroughs lead to tomorrow’s technology. The technology in turn leads to all kinds of new products. It obsoletes yesterday’s similar and more limited products. And, without a doubt, over time the new technology becomes more and more complex. It is getting harder and harder to understand the advanced scientific discoveries. It takes a scientific mind and degree to comprehend how and why it works. Many of us only know that a product does indeed work, Yet, we don’t understand the basics behind it.

Today’s scientific study and discoveries are tomorrow’s technology. This holiday was created to encourage us to better understand the science behind it all. Each year, UNESCO publishes a new theme for the year.