# Scientific Research Has Made Humanity Healthier and More Prosperous by James J. O'Donnell > “American science in the near half-century since has done wonderful things—but we train fewer scientists every year, we can't fill secondary school classrooms with trained science teachers, we cannot support the building of research facilities in our universities, and the mass media and the houses of congress are full of scientific illiterates. Scientific research will not fix all humankind's problems—but so far it has made us healthier, better fed, more prosperous, and better able to achieve the potential of human intelligence and human society than my grandfather's generation could have imagined.” > **— James J. O'Donnell**, *2003, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Edge response](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11213) — Edge published this passage in its 2003 Annual Question collection, *WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB*. - **Exact archived wording:** “American science in the near half-century since has done wonderful things—but we train fewer scientists every year, we can't fill secondary school classrooms with trained science teachers, we cannot support the building of research facilities in our universities, and the mass media and the houses of congress are full of scientific illiterates. Scientific research will not fix all humankind's problems—but so far it has made us healthier, better fed, more prosperous, and better able to achieve the potential of human intelligence and human society than my grandfather's generation could have imagined.” - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2003 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2003 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/AI-Science Doomers and Anti-Science Doomers|AI-Science Doomers and Anti-Science Doomers]] - **Article:** [[articles/The End Is Near — AI Doom, Anti-Science Panic, and the Primates Who Sell Technological Exile|The End Is Near — AI Doom, Anti-Science Panic, and the Primates Who Sell Technological Exile]] - **Article:** [[articles/The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime|The New Dictionary of the Machine Regime]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/American Association for the Advancement of Science|American Association for the Advancement of Science]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/American Association for the Advancement of Science|American Association for the Advancement of Science]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “American science in the near half-century since has done wonderful things—but we train fewer scientists every year, we can't fill secondary school classrooms with trained science teachers, we cannot support the building of research facilities in our universities, and the mass media and the houses of congress are full of scientific illiterates. Scientific research will not fix all humankind's problems—but so far it has made us healthier, better fed, more prosperous, and better able to achieve the potential of human intelligence and human society than my grandfather's generation could have imagined.” — James J. O'Donnell, 2003, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-james-odonnell-science-healthier-prosperous ```