The science of give and take

THERE is an old Bengali saying that knowledge is a very special commodity: the more you give, the more you have. Science, broadly speaking, is the cultivation of that commodity. Scientists learn from each other, and knowledge grows by give and take. Although there clearly are scientists who are thinly disguised businessmen, the general culture of science is one of sharing, rather than buying and selling. I would like to argue that aside from the value of the specific fruits of that discipline—the accomplishments of science—the organising principles underlying it have something very substantial to offer in the battle against the terrible maladies of the contemporary…