I am Sorry to You on Behalf of all the Living and Departed Scientists, Technologists, Engineers, Medicinists for Our STEM Commissions and omissions.

On behalf of the global scientific, engineering, technology and mathematics community, including all STEMs present and departed, I would like to apologize for our mistakes and omissions. I have been reflecting on the state of the world today and realised that all the major problems the world is facing now can be tracked back to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, meaning that we the scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are collectively responsible for what is happening today especially the major problems that we are facing.

Our Commissions

Let me start with our commissions. Our scientific, technological and engineering exploration and discoveries have improved the quality of human life. That is given. Science has always been the bedrock on which economic development is built. We have been responsible for discovering the mechanisms behind illnesses and disease and produced treatment protocols and medicines. We have been able to develop the means of travel and transport. We have made the world a small place where people of different races can meet at will. The benefits that we have brought to the world are tremendous. We have solved many problems like no other set of disciplines in the world.

On the negative side, our scientific, technological and engineering feats have created huge problems and thrown the world into turmoil.

1.?????? Nuclear science has led to the production of nuclear weapons whose impact on humans and the planet is catastrophic.

2.?????? Science has led to the production of weapons and technologies of war, making the world safer than it would have been without those weapons.

3.?????? Science has been behind some of the world’s pandemic when dangerous experiments have escaped the bounds of our “controlled environments.”

4.?????? Some scientific thinking has gone so far as to become dangerous and threatening to humanity and the world.

5.?????? Medical science is now being abused and use to kill and main humans instead of preserving and improving lives. Poisoning of other people using all sorts of poisons is not a common feature especially in politics.

Without the dangerous products of science such as weapons of war, our politicians would have poor means and less confidence to start and propagate wars. These politicians would be less aggressive and less dangerous. It is very ironical that as humans, we are now spending trillions of dollars producing means of war and billions funding wars. Wars, in the end, are about humans killing humans. This is a very sad phenomenon.

Our scientific inventions are now also at the core of our most serious environmental challenges including climate change. Even given that science, technology, engineering and medicine do work at the problems they create, politicians and other non-scientists then hinder the ability of the STEMs to address the problems. We see this with climate change where environmental politics are hindering effective climate action.

The Omissions

Science, engineering, technology and mathematics are not just subjects. There are many aspects of STEM that are transferrable and of universal application. For example, scientific thinking and the scientific method (also called the scientific approach), which is a specific way of addressing issues and solving problems. Scientific thinking or the scientific approach has universal application and can be used to improve, in a drastic way, performance and results in areas outside STEM including in business, organisations and economic realms. The same applies with mathematical thinking. Many companies, organisations, businesses and economies struggle in effectiveness, in solving problems and achieving goals because they do not use STEM thinking and a STEM approach.

STEM thinking and the STEM approach to solving problems and achieving goals are the most powerful because they seek precision and are results-focused. In addition, they are processes-based and methodical. In science, we do not encourage hit or miss and thoughtless trial-and-error approaches to solving problems and achieving goals. We encourage pure thinking instead of hypnotic use of knowledge. We do not encourage deception and guesswork. This is why STEM remains the lead disciplinary set in addressing the world’s challenges and solutions.

The world will become a better place if we liberalise STEM thinking and introduce it in our everyday lives and also in managing and leading our companies, organisations, businesses and economies. There is no area of life that is immune from benefitting from STEM thinking.

1.?????? Let’s promote STEM for everyday use

2.?????? Lets promote STEM for business

3.?????? Let’s promote STEM for economic management and economic development

4.?????? Let’s promote STEM for sustainable development

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?Simon Bere, 2024