Figures about science, or how statistics help to understand the scientific potential of a country. The Greatest Scientists in History

According to UNESCO, the number of scientists in developing countries is growing, but women scientists remain in the minority Paris, November 23 – As the number of scientists in the world increases, the number of scientists in developing countries increased by 56% from 2002 to 2007. This is according to a new study published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (ISU). For comparison: over the same period in developed countries, the number of scientists increased by only 8.6%*. Over five years, the number of scientists in the world has grown significantly - from 5.8 to 7.1 million people. This happened primarily due to developing countries: in 2007, the number of scientists here reached 2.7 million, compared to 1.8 million five years earlier. Their share of the world now stands at 38.4%, up from 30.3% in 2002. “The growth in the number of scientists, especially notable in developing countries, is good news. UNESCO welcomes this progress, even though the participation of women in scientific research, which UNESCO has visibly promoted through the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women and Science Prizes, is still too limited,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. The greatest growth is observed in Asia, whose share increased from 35.7% in 2002 to 41.4%. This happened primarily due to China, where over five years this figure increased from 14% to 20%. At the same time, in Europe and America the relative number of scientists decreased, respectively, from 31.9% to 28.4% and from 28.1% to 25.8%. The publication cites another fact: women across all countries on average make up just over a quarter of the total number of scientists (29%)**, but this average hides large variations, depending on the region. For example, Latin America is far beyond this figure - 46%. Parity of women and men among scientists was noted here in five countries: Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela. In Asia, the proportion of women scientists is only 18%, with large variations across regions and countries: 18% in South Asia, while in Southeast Asia it is 40%, and in most Central Asian countries it is around 50%. In Europe, only five countries have achieved parity: the Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova and Serbia. In the CIS, the share of women scientists reaches 43%, while in Africa it is estimated to be 33%. Along with this growth, investment in research and development (R-D) is increasing. As a rule, in most countries of the world, the share of GNP for these purposes has increased significantly. In 2007, on average, 1.74% of GNP was allocated to R-D for all countries (in 2002 - 1.71%). In most developing countries, less than 1% of GNP was allocated for these purposes, but in China - 1.5%, and in Tunisia - 1%. The average for Asia in 2007 was 1.6%, with the largest investors being Japan (3.4%), the Republic of Korea (3.5%) and Singapore (2.6%). India, in 2007, allocated only 0.8% of its GNP for R-D purposes. In Europe, this share ranges from 0.2% in the Republic of Macedonia to 3.5% in Finland and 3.7% in Sweden. Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland and Switzerland allocated 2 to 3% of GNP to research and development. In Latin America, Brazil leads the way (1%), followed by Chile, Argentina and Mexico. In general, with regard to R-D expenditures, they are concentrated mainly in industrialized countries. 70% of global spending for these purposes comes from the European Union, the USA and Japan. It is important to note that in most developed countries, R-D activities are financed by the private sector. In North America, the latter finances more than 60% of such activity. In Europe its share is 50%. In Latin America and the Caribbean, it is typically between 25 and 50%. In Africa, on the contrary, the main funding for applied scientific research comes from the state budget. These data indicate a growing focus on innovation in a broad sense in many countries around the world. “Political leaders appear to be increasingly aware of the fact that innovation is a key driver of economic growth, and are even setting specific targets in this area,” says Martin Schaaper of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, one of the authors of the published study. “China is the best example of this.” , which provided for the allocation of 2% of its GNP to research and development by 2010 and 2.5% by 2020. And the country is confidently moving towards this goal. Another example is the African Science and Technology Action Plan, which allocates 1% of GNP to R-D. The European Union’s goal of 3% of GNP by 2010 is clearly unattainable, since over five years the growth was only from 1.76% to 1.78%.” **** * These percentages characterize the dynamics by country. In comparative data on the number of scientists per 1000 inhabitants, the growth will be 45% for developing countries, and 6.8% for developed countries. **Estimates based on data from 121 countries. Data are not available for countries with significant numbers of scientists, such as Australia, Canada, China, the USA and the UK.

Partly for this reason, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tracks degree completion in 40 of the world's most developed countries.

The OECD published its report “Industry, Science and Technology in 2015” (Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2015). It provides a ranking of countries based on the percentage of people earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM disciplines) per capita. So it's a fair comparison between countries with different population sizes. For example, Spain ranked 11th with 24% of degrees in science or engineering.

Photo: Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters. Students take an entrance exam at a university lecture hall in the Andalusian capital Seville, southern Spain, September 15, 2009.

10. In Portugal, 25% of graduates receive a degree in a STEM field. This country has the highest percentage of PhDs among all 40 countries surveyed - 72%.

Photo: Jose Manuel Ribeiro/Reuters. Students listen to a teacher in an aeronautics class at the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training in Setubal, Portugal.

9. Austria (25%) ranks second in the number of candidates of science among the working population: 6.7 women and 9.1 men doctors of science per 1000 people.

Photo: Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters. Student Michael Leichtfried from the Virtual Reality Team at Vienna University of Technology places a quadcopter on a labeled map.

8. In Mexico, the rate increased from 24% in 2002 to 25% in 2012, despite the elimination of government tax incentives for investment in research and development.

Photo: Andrew Winning/Reuters. Medical students practice resuscitation during class at the National Autonomous University School of Medicine in Mexico City.

7. Estonia (26%) has one of the highest percentages of women with degrees in STEM fields, 41% in 2012.

Photo: Reuters/Ints Kalnins. Teacher Kristi Rahn helps first grade students during a computer lesson at a school in Tallinn.

6. Greece spent only 0.08% of its GDP on research in 2013. This is one of the lowest rates among developed countries. Here, the number of graduates with degrees in STEM fields fell from 28% in 2002 to 26% in 2012.

Photo: Reuters/Yiannis Berakis. Amateur astronomers and students use a telescope to view a partial solar eclipse in Athens.

5. In France (27%) most researchers are employed in industry rather than in government agencies or universities.

Photo: Reuters/Regis Duvignau. A member of the Rhoban project team tests the functions of a humanoid robot at a LaBRI workshop in Talence in southwest France.

4. Finland (28%) publishes the most research in the field of medicine.

Photo: Reuters/Bob Strong. Students take a nuclear engineering class at Aalto University in Helsinki.

3. Sweden (28%) is slightly behind Norway in terms of computer use at work. Three-quarters of workers use computers at their desks.

Photo: Gunnar Grimnes/Flickr. Stockholm University campus in Sweden.

2. Germany (31%) ranks third in the average annual number of graduates with degrees in the sciences in STEM - about 10,000 people. It is second only to the USA and China.

Photo: Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and Education Minister Annette Schavan (back second from left) observe laboratory technicians at work during a visit to the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin.

1. South Korea was among the countries with the largest decline in the number of degree recipients, from 39% in 2002 to 32% in 2012. But the country maintained its leading position and tops the OECD's list of the smartest countries.

Photo: Reuters/Lee Jae-won. A student in Seoul attends a white hat hacking competition jointly organized by the Korean Military Academy and the Ministry of Defense and National Intelligence Service.

What does the ranking of countries developed in the field of science look like in general:

OECD

Source: Washington Profile
http://www.inauka.ru/science/article65711.html

Material sent by A. Kynin

RAND named 16 of the most promising areas of scientific and technological development. These include: cheap solar energy, wireless communication technologies, genetically modified plants, water purification methods, cheap housing construction, environmentally friendly industrial production, “hybrid” cars (that is, using not only gasoline, but also electricity as fuel, etc. .), medical preparations of “spot” action, artificial production of tissues of a living organism, etc.

The main conclusions of the report: there are no signs that the pace of scientific and technological progress will slow down in the next decade and a half. Each country will find its own, sometimes unique, method of benefiting from this process. However, this requires many countries around the world to make significant efforts. At the same time, a number of technologies and discoveries could potentially pose a threat to human civilization.

The countries of North America, Western Europe and East Asia will continue to play the leading role in global scientific and technological progress. China, India and Eastern European countries are expected to make steady progress over the next decade and a half. Russia's position in this area will be slightly weakened. The gap between the leaders and the technologically backward countries of the world will widen.

The report included an overview rating of modern scientific and technological capabilities of the countries of the world, within which factors such as the number of scientists and engineers per 1 million population, the number of published scientific articles, expenses on science, the number of patents received, etc. were analyzed. In preparing the rating Data from 1992 to 2004 were used. According to this rating, the United States has the greatest potential in creating new materials and technologies, as well as their application in practice (received 5.03 points). The United States is far ahead of its closest pursuers. Japan, which ranks second, has only 3.08 points, while Germany (third) has 2.12. The top ten also included Canada (2.08), Taiwan (2.00), Sweden (1.97), Great Britain (1.73), France and Switzerland (1.60 each), and Israel (1.53).

Russia was the first among all post-Soviet states and took 19th place in the final ranking (0.89). It was ahead of South Korea, Finland, Australia, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Italy. In turn, Russia turned out to be more successful than states with traditionally strong science, such as Belgium and Austria. Ukraine is in 29th position (0.32), followed by Belarus (0.29). They were ahead of the Czech Republic and Croatia. Estonia is in 34th place (0.20), Lithuania is in 36th (0.16), Azerbaijan is in 38th (0.11). These countries have surpassed China, India, South Africa and Brazil, which are quite powerful in a scientific and technological sense.

Uzbekistan took 48th place and became the first country in the overall standings whose scientific and technological potential is measured in negative values (-0.05). It is adjacent to Latvia (-0.07). Moldova is in 53rd place (- 0.14), Armenia - in 57th (- 0.19), Turkmenistan - in 71st (- 0.30), Kyrgyzstan - in 76th (- 0.32), Tajikistan - in 80th (- 0.34), Kazakhstan - on the 85th (- 0.38), Georgia - on the 100th (- 0.44). The last places in the ranking are occupied by countries such as Eritrea, Chad, Laos, North Korea, Gabon, which each scored 0.51.

However, according to the report’s authors, the situation will change somewhat in the next 14 years. They analyzed the situation in 29 states that represent different regions of the world, including the USA, Russia and Georgia. The ability of certain countries to adapt scientific discoveries was assessed on a 100-point scale. According to this forecast, the USA, Canada and Germany (received the highest ratings) will act most effectively in this area. Israel, Japan, Australia and South Korea scored 80 points each. China - 53, India - 48, Poland - 38, Russia - 30. Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Turkey - 22 points each, South Africa - 20, Indonesia - 11, Colombia - 10. The group of outsiders included Georgia, Pakistan, Chad, Nepal, Iran, Kenya, Jordan, Fiji, Dominican Republic, Egypt and Cameroon - 5 points each.

Also, on a 100-point scale, the obstacles that scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs have to overcome when raising funds for scientific developments, their introduction into production and use by the population were assessed (100 points - the maximum possible obstacles). Here, the best situation is in Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan and South Korea, which received 30 points. The USA and Israel have 40, Poland has 60. Russia, Georgia and other states included in the rating received 70 points each.

According to the authors of the report, Russia will be relatively successful in applying new technologies in practice in the fields of healthcare, environmental protection, and security. Its results in the development of agricultural areas, strengthening the armed forces, and improving the functioning of government bodies will be less impressive. In all these areas, it will be ahead of not only industrialized countries, but also China, India and Poland. In turn, Georgia's prospects are very vague in all areas.

World Science

According to the Institute of Statistics, at the end of 2004 there were 5 million 521.4 thousand scientists in the world (that is, 894 researchers per 1 million inhabitants of the Earth). The world spent $150.3 thousand a year on the work of one scientist. The lion's share (almost 71% of scientists) work in industrialized countries of the world. There are 3,272.7 scientists per 1 million inhabitants of these states (374.3 per 1 million inhabitants of poor countries, respectively). A scientist living in a “rich” country is financed much more generously: $165.1 thousand is allocated per year for him, while his colleague in a “poor” country in the world receives $114.3 thousand. The most numerous scientists are from Asia (more than 2 million). ), Europe (more than 1.8 million) and North America (almost 1.4 million). At the same time, in South America there are only 138.4 thousand, in Africa - less than 61 thousand.

There are 700.5 thousand scientists working in the countries of the former USSR, most of them (616.6 thousand) are concentrated in countries located in Europe - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, a paradoxical situation arises: there are many scientists in the former USSR, but they are funded much worse than their colleagues in Europe, Asia and North America. For example, there are now 2,979.1 scientific workers per 1 million residents of European states that were formerly part of the USSR, and there are noticeably fewer per 1 million citizens of the European Union - 2,438.9. However, $177 thousand per year is spent on one European scientist, and on one Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moldovan, etc. scientist. - only $29.1 thousand. The situation with the financing of scientific research in the post-Soviet states of Central Asia is probably the worst in the world: here $8.9 thousand per year is spent on one scientist - in the countries of tropical Africa - $113.9 thousand. 8.9% of the total currently work in Russia number of scientists in the world. According to this indicator, Russia ranks fourth, behind only the United States (22.8% of researchers), China (14.7%) and Japan (11.7%). However, in terms of funding, Russia is clearly losing. It spends $30 thousand on one scientist, while the USA - $230 thousand, China - $88.8 thousand, Japan - $164.5 thousand. The UNESCO Science Report - 2005 indicates that in 2002 In 2018, the world spent 1.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on scientific purposes, which is approximately $830 billion. At the same time, funds for science are spent extremely unevenly. The most funds are allocated for scientific research in North America - 37% of total global spending. In second place is Asia (31.5%), in third is Europe (27.3%). Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 2.6% of global spending on these purposes, Africa - 0.6%. In recent years, research and development expenditures in the United States and Canada have declined slightly (in 1997 they accounted for 38.2% of the global total). Europe's share has similarly decreased, while Asia has seen a steady increase in allocations. For example, a number of Asian countries, such as Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, spend more than 2% of their GDP on science. India has come close to them. Accordingly, the industrialized countries of the world receive the maximum return from investments in science. “Poor” countries account for just over 7% of the total number of patents issued in the world for inventions, despite the fact that the total spending of developing countries on science and technology exceeds 22% of the world total. The report indicates that in most industrialized countries of the world, the state provides no more than 45% of scientific budgets. The remaining funds come from the commercial sector. For example, in 2002 in the United States, 66% of scientific investments and 72% of scientific research were carried out by private firms. In France, business accounts for 54% of investments in science, in Japan - 69%. In turn, in India the “business component” does not exceed 23%, in Turkey - 50%. In the period from 1990 to 2004, the weight of the United States in world science gradually decreased, while the weight of the countries of the European Union and the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, etc.), on the contrary, increased. This conclusion was made by the American company Thomson Scientific, which analyzes trends in the field of academic science. At the end of 2004, the United States accounted for approximately 33% of all scientific research (38% in 1990), the European Union - approximately 37% (respectively, 32%), the Asia-Pacific region - 23% (15%) . Russian scientists published 3.6% of the total number of scientific papers, scientists from the remaining 14 post-Soviet states - another 1%. In 2004, European scientists published approximately 38% of the total number of scientific works in world periodicals, US scientists - about 33%, and scientists from the Asia-Pacific region - more than 25%. Asian scientists are most productive in the fields of physics, materials science, metallurgy and electronics. European scientists - in rheumatology, space, endocrinology and hematology research. The US excels in social science research, aerospace and biology. The top ten countries that published the most scientific papers between 1990 and 2005 are the United States, England (with Scotland not included in the top ten), Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Switzerland. On the other hand, experts from the consulting firm Global Knowledge Strategies and Partnership argue that Europe’s advantage over the United States in terms of the number of scientific publications is far-fetched. American scientists maintain undisputed leadership in the number of publications in leading scientific journals and in the level of their citations. In addition, a significant part of US scientific publications does not come to the attention of the general scientific community, since up to 50% of all expenditures on science and technology in the United States come from the military sphere. The top twenty most frequently cited scientists whose works were published in 2005 included two Russians. Semyon Eidelman works at the Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics. G.I. Budkera, and Valery Frolov at the California Institute of Technology. They are both physicists. The twenty include 10 scientists working in the USA, 7 working in Japan, and one each working in Russia, Germany, Great Britain and South Korea. In 2005, the largest number of patents for inventions were received by Japan (300.6 thousand), USA (almost 150 thousand), Germany (47.6 thousand), China (40.8 thousand), South Korea (32.5 thousand), Russia (17.4 thousand .), France (11.4 thousand), Great Britain (10.4 thousand), Taiwan (4.9 thousand) and Italy (3.7 thousand). The majority (16.8%) of patents were issued for inventions in the field of computers. The top three also include telephony and data transmission systems (6.73%) and computer peripherals (6.22%). It is curious that in 2005, American physicist James Huebner, an employee of the military research center Naval Air Warfare Center, expressed a hypothesis that conflicts with generally accepted ideas about science. In his opinion, technological progress peaked in 1915 and then slowed down sharply. Hübner made his conclusion based on the following calculation. He used a list of 7.2 thousand major inventions and innovations (contained in the encyclopedia "The History of Science and Technology", published in 2004 in the USA), which was compared with the dynamics of the world population (for example, the wheel was invented when the world population did not exceed 10 million people) - the peak in the number of new inventions was noted in 1873. The second criterion was US patent statistics, also compared with the country's population. Here, the number of patents issued peaked in 1912. Nowadays, the number of new inventions and innovations, according to Hübner, is comparable to the era of the so-called “Dark Ages” (the period of European history that began after the collapse of the Roman Empire and lasted until the Renaissance).

“At present, we all realize,” wrote the German philosopher K. Jasners, “that we are at a turning point in history. This is the age of technology with all its consequences, which, apparently, will leave nothing of everything that man has acquired over thousands of years in the field of work, life, thinking, and in the field of symbolism.”

Science and technology in the 20th century became the true locomotives of history. They gave it unprecedented dynamism and placed enormous power in the power of man, which made it possible to sharply increase the scale of people's transformative activities.

Having radically changed his natural habitat, having mastered the entire surface of the earth, the entire biosphere, man has created a “second nature” - artificial, which is no less significant for his life than the first.

Today, thanks to the huge scale of economic and cultural activities of people, integration processes are intensively carried out.

The interaction of different countries and peoples has become so significant that humanity in our time represents an integral system, the development of which implements a single historical process.

1. FEATURES OF MODERN SCIENCE

What is the science that has led to such significant changes in all of our lives, in the entire appearance of modern civilization? Today she herself turns out to be an amazing phenomenon, radically different from the image of her that emerged in the last century. Modern science is called “big science”.

What are the main characteristics of “big science”?

A sharp increase in the number of scientists.

Number of scientists in the world, people

At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. about 1 thousand

In the middle of the last century, 10 thousand.

In 1900, 100 thousand.

End of the 20th century over 5 million

The number of people involved in science increased most rapidly after the Second World War.

Doubling the number of scientists (50-70s)

Europe in 15 years

USA in 10 years

USSR for 7 years

Such high rates have led to the fact that about 90% of all scientists who have ever lived on Earth are our contemporaries.

Growth of scientific information

In the 20th century, world scientific information doubled in 10-15 years. So, if in 1900 there were about 10 thousand scientific journals, now there are already several hundred thousand of them. Over 90% of all the most important scientific and technological achievements occurred in the 20th century.

This enormous growth of scientific information creates special difficulties for reaching the forefront of scientific development. A scientist today must make great efforts to keep abreast of the advances that are being made even in his narrow field of specialization. But he must also receive knowledge from related fields of science, information about the development of science in general, culture, politics, which is so necessary for him for a full life and work, both as a scientist and as an ordinary person.

Changing the world of science

Science today covers a huge area of knowledge. It includes about 15 thousand disciplines, which are increasingly interacting with each other. Modern science gives us a holistic picture of the emergence and development of the Metagalaxy, the emergence of life on Earth and the main stages of its development, the emergence and development of man. She comprehends the laws of functioning of his psyche, penetrates the secrets of the unconscious. which plays a big role in people's behavior. Science today studies everything, even itself - its emergence, development, interaction with other forms of culture, the influence it has on the material and spiritual life of society.

At the same time, scientists today do not at all believe that they have comprehended all the secrets of the universe.

In this regard, the following statement by the prominent modern French historian M. Bloch about the state of historical science seems interesting: “This science, which is experiencing childhood, like all sciences whose subject is the human spirit, is a belated guest in the field of rational knowledge. Or, better to say: a narrative that has grown old, vegetated in an embryonic form, for a long time overloaded with fiction, even longer chained to events that are most directly accessible as a serious analytical phenomenon, history is still very young.”

In the minds of modern scientists there is a clear idea of the enormous possibilities for the further development of science, a radical change, based on its achievements, in our ideas about the world and its transformation. Special hopes are placed here on the sciences of living things, man, and society. According to many scientists, achievements in these sciences and their widespread use in real practical life will largely determine the features of the 21st century.

Transformation of scientific activity into a special profession

Science until recently was a free activity of individual scientists, which was of little interest to businessmen and did not attract the attention of politicians at all. It was not a profession and was not specially funded in any way. Until the end of the 19th century. For the vast majority of scientists, scientific activity was not the main source of their material support. Typically, scientific research was carried out at universities at that time, and scientists supported their living by paying for their teaching work.

One of the first scientific laboratories was created by the German chemist J. Liebig in 1825. It brought him significant income. However, this was not typical for the 19th century. Thus, at the end of the last century, the famous French microbiologist and chemist L. Pasteur, when asked by Napoleon III why he did not make a profit from his discoveries, answered that French scientists considered it humiliating to earn money in this way.

Today, a scientist is a special profession. Millions of scientists nowadays work in special research institutes, laboratories, various commissions, and councils. In the 20th century The concept of “scientist” appeared. The norm has become the performance of the functions of a consultant or advisor, their participation in the development and adoption of decisions on a wide variety of issues in society.

2. SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Science is now a priority direction in the activities of the state.

In many countries, special government departments deal with the problems of its development; even presidents of states pay special attention to them. In developed countries, 2-3% of the total gross national product is currently spent on science. Moreover, funding applies not only to applied, but also to fundamental research. And it is carried out both by individual enterprises and by the state.

The attention of the authorities to fundamental research began to increase sharply after A. Einstein informed D. Roosevelt on August 2, 1939 that physicists had identified a new source of energy, which made it possible to create an atomic bomb. The success of the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb, and then the launch of the first Sputnik by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, were of great importance in recognizing the need and importance of public policy in the field of science.

Science can't get by today

without the help of society or the state.

Science nowadays is an expensive pleasure. It requires not only the training of scientific personnel, remuneration of scientists, but also the provision of scientific research with instruments, installations, and materials. information. In modern conditions, this is a lot of money. Thus, just the construction of a modern synchrophasotron, necessary for research in the field of elementary particle physics, requires several billion dollars. And how many billions of these are needed to implement space exploration programs!

Science today is experiencing enormous

pressure from society.

In our time, science has become a direct productive force, the most important factor in the cultural development of people, and an instrument of politics. At the same time, its dependence on society has sharply increased.

As P. Kapitsa said, science became rich, but lost its freedom and turned into a slave.

Commercial benefits and the interests of politicians significantly influence priorities in the field of scientific and technological research today. He who pays calls the tune.

A striking evidence of this is that about 40% of scientists are currently in one way or another connected with solving problems related to the military departments.

But society influences not only the choice of the most relevant problems for research. In certain situations, it encroaches on the choice of research methods, and even on the assessment of the results obtained. Classic examples of science policy are provided by the history of totalitarian states.

Fascist Germany

A political campaign for Aryan science was launched here. As a result, people devoted to Nazism and incompetent people came to lead science. Many leading scientists were persecuted.

Among them was, for example, the great physicist A. Einstein. His photograph was included in an album published by the Nazis in 1933, in which opponents of Nazism were presented. “Not yet hanged” was the comment that accompanied his image. A. Einstein's books were publicly burned in Berlin on the square in front of the State Opera. Scientists were forbidden to develop the ideas of A. Einstein, which represented the most important direction in theoretical physics.

In our country, as is known, thanks to the intervention of politicians in science, on the one hand, they stimulated, for example, space exploration and research related to the use of atomic energy. and on the other hand, T. Lysenko’s anti-scientific position in genetics and speeches against cybernetics were actively supported. Ideological dogmas introduced by the CPSU and the state deformed the sciences of culture. man, society, virtually eliminating the possibilities for their creative development.

From the life of A. Einstein

The fate of A. Einstein testifies to how difficult it is for a scientist to live, even in a modern democratic state. One of the most remarkable scientists of all time, a great humanist, having already become famous at the age of 25, he had enormous authority not only as a physicist, but also as a person capable of giving a deep assessment of the events taking place in the world. Having lived for the last decades in the quiet American city of Princeton, engaged in theoretical research, A. Einstein passed away in a state of tragic break with society. In his will, he asked not to perform religious rites during the funeral and not to arrange any official ceremonies. At his request, the time and place of his funeral were not announced. Even the passing of this man sounded like a powerful moral challenge, a reproach to our values and standards of behavior.

Will scientists ever be able to achieve complete freedom of research?

It's difficult to answer this question. For now, the situation is that the more important scientific achievements become for society, the more dependent scientists become on it. This is evidenced by the experience of the 20th century.

One of the most important problems of modern science is the question of the responsibility of scientists to society.

It became most acute after the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. How responsible are scientists for the consequences of using their ideas and technical developments? To what extent are they involved in the numerous and varied negative consequences of the use of scientific and technological advances in the 20th century? After all, the mass extermination of people in wars, the destruction of nature, and even the spread of low-grade culture would not have been possible without the use of modern science and technology.

This is how former US Secretary of State D. Acheson describes the meeting between R. Oppenheimer, who headed in 1939-1945. work to create an atomic bomb, and US President G. Truman, which took place after the atomic bombing of Japanese cities. “Once,” recalls D. Acheson, “I accompanied Oppy (Oppenheimer) to Truman. Oppy was wringing his fingers, saying, “There’s blood on my hands.” Truman later told me, “Don’t bring that fool to me again. He didn't drop the bomb. I dropped the bomb. This kind of tearfulness makes me sick.”

Maybe G. Truman was right? The job of a scientist is to solve the problems that society and the authorities set for him. And the rest should not concern him.

Probably many government officials would support such a position. But it is unacceptable for scientists. They do not want to be puppets, meekly carrying out the will of others, and are actively involved in political life.

Excellent examples of such behavior were demonstrated by outstanding scientists of our time A. Einstein, B. Russell, F. Joliot-Curie, A. Sakharov. Their active struggle for peace and democracy was based on the clear understanding that the use of science and technology for the benefit of all people is possible only in a healthy, democratic society.

A scientist cannot live outside of politics. But should he strive to become president?

The French historian of science, philosopher J. Salomon was probably right when he wrote that O. Copt “is not the first of the philosophers who believed that the day would come when power would belong to scientists, but he, of course, was the last who had reason to believe into this." The point is not that in the most intense political struggle scientists will not be able to withstand competition. We know that there are many cases when they receive the highest powers in government agencies, including in our country.

Something else is important here.

It is necessary to build a society in which there would be a need and opportunity to rely on science and take into account the opinions of scientists when solving all issues.

This problem is much more difficult to solve than forming a government of doctors of science.

Everyone should mind their own business. But being a politician requires special professional training, which is by no means limited to acquiring scientific thinking skills. Another thing is the active participation of scientists in the life of society, their influence on the development and adoption of political decisions. A scientist must remain a scientist. And this is his highest purpose. Why should he fight for power?

“Is the mind healthy if the crown beckons!” –

exclaimed one of Euripides' heroes.

Let us remember that A. Einstein refused the offer to nominate him as a candidate for the post of President of Israel. The vast majority of real scientists would probably do the same.

Aristotle (384–322 BC)

Aristotle is an ancient Greek scientist, encyclopedist, philosopher and logician, founder of classical (formal) logic. Considered one of the greatest geniuses in history and the most influential philosopher of antiquity. He made a huge contribution to the development of logic and natural sciences, especially astronomy, physics and biology. Although many of his scientific theories were disproven, they greatly contributed to the search for new hypotheses to explain them.

Archimedes (287–212 BC)

Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician, inventor, astronomer, physicist and engineer. Generally considered the greatest mathematician of all time and one of the leading scientists of the classical period of antiquity. His contributions to the field of physics include the fundamental principles of hydrostatics, statics, and the explanation of the principle of lever action. He is credited with inventing innovative machinery, including siege engines and the screw pump named after him. Archimedes also invented the spiral that bears his name, formulas for calculating the volumes of surfaces of revolution, and an original system for expressing very large numbers.

Galileo (1564–1642)

In eighth place in the ranking of the greatest scientists in the history of the world is Galileo, an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He has been called the "father of observational astronomy" and the "father of modern physics". Galileo was the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies. Thanks to this, he made a number of outstanding astronomical discoveries, such as the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, sunspots, the rotation of the Sun, and also established that Venus changes phases. He also invented the first thermometer (without a scale) and proportional compass.

Michael Faraday (1791–1867)

Michael Faraday was an English physicist and chemist, primarily known for the discovery of electromagnetic induction. Faraday also discovered the chemical effect of current, diamagnetism, the effect of a magnetic field on light, and the laws of electrolysis. He also invented the first, albeit primitive, electric motor, and the first transformer. He introduced the terms cathode, anode, ion, electrolyte, diamagnetism, dielectric, paramagnetism, etc. In 1824 he discovered the chemical elements benzene and isobutylene. Some historians consider Michael Faraday to be the best experimentalist in the history of science.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931)

Thomas Alva Edison is an American inventor and businessman, founder of the prestigious scientific magazine Science. Considered one of the most prolific inventors of his time, with a record number of patents issued to his name - 1,093 in the United States and 1,239 in other countries. Among his inventions are the creation in 1879 of an electric incandescent lamp, a system for distributing electricity to consumers, a phonograph, improvements in the telegraph, telephone, film equipment, etc.

Marie Curie (1867–1934)

Marie Skłodowska-Curie - French physicist and chemist, teacher, public figure, pioneer in the field of radiology. The only woman to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields of science - physics and chemistry. The first woman professor to teach at the Sorbonne University. Her achievements include the development of the theory of radioactivity, methods for separating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two new chemical elements, radium and polonium. Marie Curie is one of the inventors who died from their inventions.

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)

Louis Pasteur - French chemist and biologist, one of the founders of microbiology and immunology. He discovered the microbiological essence of fermentation and many human diseases. Initiated a new department of chemistry - stereochemistry. Pasteur's most important achievement is considered to be his work in bacteriology and virology, which resulted in the creation of the first vaccines against rabies and anthrax. His name is widely known thanks to the pasteurization technology he created and later named after him. All of Pasteur's works became a striking example of the combination of fundamental and applied research in the fields of chemistry, anatomy and physics.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727)

Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, historian, biblical scholar and alchemist. He is the discoverer of the laws of motion. Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation, laid the foundations of classical mechanics, formulated the principle of conservation of momentum, laid the foundations of modern physical optics, built the first reflecting telescope and developed the theory of color, formulated the empirical law of heat transfer, constructed the theory of the speed of sound, proclaimed the theory of the origin of stars and many other mathematical and physical theories. Newton was also the first to describe the phenomenon of tides mathematically.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955)

Second place in the list of the greatest scientists in the history of the world is occupied by Albert Einstein - a German physicist of Jewish origin, one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, the creator of the general and special theory of relativity, discovered the law of the relationship between mass and energy, as well as many other significant physical theories. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Author of more than 300 scientific papers on physics and 150 books and articles in the field of history, philosophy, journalism, etc.