The part that science and technology have played in influencing the economic, social and political patterns of western society and in enriching the lives of its people has steadily increased during the last century. The scope and character of this influence have varied widely from country to country. Traditions, mores, maturity, size, patterns of education, and many other factors have been elements in bringing about the variations. The influence has probably been most profound in the United States, principally, I believe, because of its youth, size, and patterns of education. Beginning some four or five decades ago, my country has been transformed at an increasingly rapid tempo from primarily an agricultural society to predominantly an industrial one under the driving force of an expanding body of science and technology. So completely have they dominated the pattern of our growth that when the man in the street speaks of ‘progress’, he usually means scientific and technological progress.
