Some people think that too much money and time have been allocated to scientific research. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Parts of society have strong opinions about the importance of scientific research in the modern world. “Science” is a very broad field, but I am going to argue that much current scientific exploration represents a waste of energy and wealth that could better be used

elsewhere

. To support

this

view, I will consider two major fields that I strongly believe are highly wasteful of financial resources and the time of the talented.

First,

I firmly believe that much current medical research represents a huge misuse of resources. Medical research and development are driven by the profit of drug companies, not human's needs.

For example

, many of the chronic illnesses of rich countries,

such

as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis are a result of lifestyle choices. Rather than spending billions on new medicines, people should be encouraged to make better choices - but there is little profit in

this

for companies. At the same time, millions of people still die in developing regions because they do not have access to the basics for healthy living,

such

as clean water, antibiotics and vaccinations. These could easily be provided with the funds currently used for investigation into lifestyle illnesses.

Secondly

, another of the largest areas for scientific inquiry is into weapons and military equipment. Again, I think that much of

this

expenditure is unnecessary, and authorities can and should opt out of

this

arms race.

For instance

, some of them develop nuclear weapons mainly to prove their military might and to deter their imaginary enemy,

while

these weapons would hardly be used one day. If the nation stop or just reduce investment in

such

fields, it would definitely both save a lot of capital and free talented person to put their energy into more socially useful areas,

such

as improving the basic living conditions of the population, and

this

would be a "war" well worth fighting.

To conclude

, I believe that far too many resources are currently allocated to "science" and there is a widespread belief, false in my opinion, that anything called "scientific" must be good. I do not think

this

is true and I think that much current spending is wasteful and many talents could better be deployed

elsewhere

.