The beauty and benefits of science in the world are stressed heavy throughout “Necessary Edges,” by Yo-Yo Ma and “Science Is Not Your Enemy,” by Steven Pinkerton.  Yo-Yo Ma elaborates on the necessity that art is to science in benefitting both fields potiential, especially when he states, “STEAM will help us get there by resolving the education problem. Kids will then go to school because it is a passion and a privilege, not a requirement.” (Ma).  Yo-Yo Ma dove right in to explain the benefits of the arts being incorporated into a STEM curriculum, which would then help increase the productivity and learning for the future goals science can reach. Steven Pinker followed a more damaging yet also angelic path of exploring science. He initially described the age science in as , “an extraordinary time…Intellectual problems from antiquity are being illuminated by insights from the science…Powerful tools have been developed to explore them” (Pinker). He initially thought science was in its prime, that it had all it could need to break through to the next level of development in this modern world. The initial description by Pinker and Ma’s belief that art and science are relying on each other to be able to grow exponentially are somewhat parallel, but also polar opposites.  They see great promise in the use of science in the world, but the way they believe to benefit, or what their, “next step” should be are what drive their arguments apart.

While I personally was not a fan of Steven Pinker’s article, “Science Is Not Your Enemy” I still was able to connect it to elements in both my personal life, and the world. In the first instance, when Pinker stated, “The mindset of science cannot be blamed for genocide and war and does not threaten the moral and spiritual health of our nation” led me to be instantly connected to the current state our country is in. Current president, Donald Trump believes climate change is not real, refuting the claims by the very large majority of scientists who support the existence of it. He claims it all to be, “fake news” and in any instance of cold weather, claims that could not happen if climate change did in-fact exist. The next connection I was able to make, was more of  a personal one. When Pinker stated, “We have the works of the great thinkers and their heirs, and we have scientific knowledge they could not have dreamed of” (Pinker) I instantly was reminded of something my grandfather constantly reminded me about. My grandfather, who loved the outdoors, loved god, and above all loved a healthy earth, would be talking like he was on a soap-box about how in my generations life, we need to utilize everything we have to save Earth. He understood the importance the application of science would play in saving Earth and did not want his belief to be muted, because we all knew he was right. We have so much knowledge and capability to do more than ever imagined in the field of science, and to not grow that capability and expand the knowledge we have, in a safe and humane manner, would be a big mistake. The application and use of science is important in this day and age, whether you be a climate change denier, or a an advocate for the sciences for saving us, you can not deny the importance that science has in this world for us.