Recently there has been increased concern as to whether research conducted as proposed on human beings may interfere with their human rights and values. The decision to conduct research or not is a matter of weighing any possible risk versus the potential gain. We obviously must try to minimize the risk and maximize the gain. If we stop research, we become captives of the status quo and might still assume that mentally retarded children are dangerous or gifted children physically weak- There are pressing social problems that will be acted upon, either with or without the benefit of research—problems such as infantile autism, the alienation of youth, or the maximization of productive thinking. One purpose of research is to strip away our illusions about such issues and replace them with useful facts and ideas, fly doing so we can fulfill our commitment to the next generation.