DEBT TO THE PAST: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Year Published: 1960s

Description: Debt To The Past: Science And Technology is a short 1960s educational film from the Moody Institute of Science that recaps the developments from the past that have helped lead to the modern development in science and technology. The film opens with several quick shots of institutes of research: Brookehaven National Laboratory where scientists fire streams of proton bullets at nuclear targets; Lamont Geological Observatory where men work with carbon 14 and burn ancient wood (00:37); UCLA Medical Center where a monkey is used to study functions of the brain; Palomar Mountain Observatory in San Diego, CA and Owens Valley Radio Observatory in Big Pine, CA, where astronomers study space (01:27); and, lastly, the Smithsonian Jungle Laboratory in Panama. At a lagoon in Mexico, scientists photograph specimens of Anableps dowei, a four-eyed fish (03:00). The fish swim in the murky waters of the lagoon. An illustration is used to show the anatomy of the Anableps’ eye (04:37). An illustration shows viewers the 13th century English philosopher Roger Bacon, also known as “Doctor Mirabilis” (05:50). Other illustrations depict some of the men who contributed to the advancements of science and technology, including Galileo, Copernicus, and Sir Isaac Newton (11:18). The film features footage of some of the wonders of the ancient the world, including the Great Sphinx and pyramids at Giza (06:28), small boats sailing on the Nile near Luxor, and the Parthenon of the Athenian Acropolis (08:30). The film then shows an early model of a plane (11:37), a modern passenger plane, and a radar dish. Then the film cuts to shots of various scientists in their respective laboratories or testing facilities conducting research. A NASA rocket blasts off (12:44). Men work with early computer models (13:18). The film concludes with footage showing the potential for destruction through technology in the form of an atom bomb detonation (14:12) and the potential for violence of mankind in the form of police forcefully dealing with protestors, to highlight the importance of teaching young people how to safely advance science and technology—the film’s final shots are of students studying at their desks.