An essay from the 1830s asks “Why are not the sciences better understood?” Almost two hundred years later, I too ask myself this question. Our current era is a paradox of exponential scientific and technological advancements and seemingly willful scientific ignorance. In a day and age when scientific knowledge is literally at our fingertips, people remain unaware of basic information on subjects ranging from astronomy to biology.

Sometimes, this ignorance is actually harmful and perpetuates itself. At other times, it is simply odd I’ve come to realize things I think of as common knowledge are actually unknown to much of the population.

The admonishments found in this paper would apply equally today and will probably to continue to apply to every generation. Despite the consistent outcry that more people know reality televisions stars than basic facts about the world, the fact remains that entertainment will always have more of an allure than science.

And yet, science has become a part of our lives in a way that would have been impossible during this time. Things that we take for granted required science relatively unknown during this time: disease control, transportation, communication. The world has been transformed from a world explained by religion to a world explained by science. This transition happened gradually but not without some friction, friction that would have been very present at this time near the end of the industrial revolution.

The author may claim the sciences aren’t well understood, but the importance of science was beginning to be emphasized in education and for the “gentleman.” Science was beginning to drift slowly from its ivory towers, a process that is still ongoing.

Part of the public’s disinterest in science, then and now, was the idea that science was for “experts” or “geniuses.”

The idealizing of “geniuses,” usually though of a young and male, continues to shape scientific advancement and hinder potential breakthroughs. For every truly revolutionary thinker, there are hundreds or thousands of scientists slowly building up our current knowledge. And even those not working as scientists or researchers can support science in various ways and understand to some extend the current advances.

Public knowledge, and support, of the sciences is crucial to advancing society. Still, instead of decrying the present perhaps we should look to the past and see the patterns of successive generations. It’s also just nice to read about a generation other than the millennials receiving the exact same criticisms.