Ron Howard on Science and Technology | Breakthrough

Science is everywhere, and science and technology is moving at such a pace that it's a huge challenge to keep up with it. It's therefore all the more dynamic, all the more fascinating to try to capture a moment, understand it now, have it there for the future, and to celebrate this active quest to try to make these breakthroughs.

One of the things that we're discovering, of course, is that science is controversial. Anyone who is attempting to make a breakthrough is stirring controversy. Great science doesn't come cheap; it's an investment of individual lives, resources, and big decisions need to be made in order to facilitate these breakthroughs. That's always going to stir controversy.

When you want to change, that's unsettling to us human beings. Even if we could agree that there's a better outcome waiting for us there in the future, the path to get to that place can be a source of real anxiety, conflict, and rage. It's stunning what's happening. In fact, as human beings, we should be very, very proud of it.

What science and technology is achieving is remarkable. Yet sure, we're going to feel some trepidation, and we should. We need to be cautious at times and take real responsibility for the projects that we support and the individuals who we follow. But without a doubt, it's also to be celebrated. It's a very, very dynamic and exciting time.

Scientists and technologists could be heroes, but they tend to be more or less kind of invisible. Our episodes attempt to give them a microphone and understand what's making them tick as individuals, what's motivating them, what's driving them. Sometimes it's very surprising.