When seeking truth, our society tends to assume that research results and experimental findings are incontrovertible. Yet scientists themselves are constantly disputing each other’s findings. How can something be considered true while it is actively being tested and revised? It is this paradoxical nature of scientific findings that confront students on entering college.

A recently introduced course in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Mapping Controversies, helps...

Engineers and scientists of the 21st century must develop an understanding of the political and social dimensions underlying their work. We believe these skills are fundamental to an MIT education, not peripheral.

—Vincent Lepinay, Science, Technology & Society