Are We In Trouble?

By MATT B
Added: Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:04:05 UTC

Does anyone ever get the impression that the future of our species might be scientifically doomed?

We have come a long way since our ancestors. There have been set backs and dead spots along our development, of course, but the recent taming of another natural force, electricity, has pushed our advancements to new levels at amazing speeds. Perhaps this speed is too great for our still developing minds to handle.

We are now at a very unique time in our history. Our race is gaining insight to the bizarre actions of sub-atomic particles, unraveling the wonders of life, and exploring the cosmos to study the mysteries of space. We are gaining ever greater understandings of (our level of) reality.

The problem I see is a great divide occurring. I acknowledge that the subtleties and complexities of this idea are hard to fathom (for myself especially), so in the interest of time, I will adopt an overly simplified argument to get my point across. At one end of the extreme are the amazing scientists and thinkers who are making such extraordinary discoveries, and as a result, great technologies are emerging. On the other end of the extreme are the isolated people in our developed society who choose to follow the traditions and myths handed down for many generations from an ignorant past. Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes, on the vast spectrum of thought and perspective.

The trouble is, as our collective understanding of reality grows, it is hard for the "ordinary" person to keep up, especially when our latest discoveries are counter-intuitive to the world we seem to experience. As I see it, it is more difficult now than ever to become a scientist or thinker able to cope with all the knowledge we've acquired, to push the boundaries of our learning to the next level. All thinkers are "standing on the shoulders of giants," but it seems that the climb to the topmost set of shoulders is becoming increasingly difficult as this tower of giants continues to grow.

It is only with great intelligence, understanding, and perseverance that one can get to the higher levels of understanding in science. While there are many scientists/thinkers in many fields, I am specifically referring to the ones at the forefront of new discoveries.

This is where I see the problem occurring. Popular culture, in my opinion, has become a great detriment to the understanding of science and the natural world among the "average" population. Some scientific advancements have given us tools of entertainment that the average person uses to kill time in their life, leaving little time (or interest) in pursuing science. While the technologies of television, cell phones, and the internet are great advances in our development, I feel they are being abused by the "average" person. Television is a great medium for getting information (both audio and visual) to a large segment of the population, but it also allows people to turn off their minds and fall into senseless trances. The internet is an amazing source for global information and communication, but is littered with useless (though much utilized) time-killing elements. I am not saying that the tools themselves are bad, but the way in which they are generally used could be seen as wasteful. Basically, I am saying that our general population is addicted to shallow forms of entertainment.

So I propose: The divide is between the real scientists pushing the limits of our knowledge (which seems to be getting ever harder to do) and the general population succumbing to mental laziness or an inability to comprehend, seeking entertainment at the push of a few buttons (which is getting easier to do). Somewhere in the middle of this range lies most of us, but the scope is expanding, making differences between understanding even greater.

I could go on, but I do not want to bog down any readers with what will undoubtedly turn into a rant. I think I got my basic point across.

~~~

Please note: While I accept modern science and have a scientific point of view, I cannot claim to be very knowledgeable; I have many interests and it’s hard to get too deeply into any one thing. Also, I have grown up as a somewhat lazy person, perhaps due to being a television zombie myself for the first half of my life (I do not watch the television anymore, at all). I overcame this greatly a few years ago, and studied some mathematics and electrical principles (I am now an electrical engineer). But for other fields of science, I enjoy pondering and discussing them (after a brief understanding) more than studying them in depth (but if I had an extra twelve hours a day, this might change).

This is just my way of saying: Please be critical, but not unjustly so. (This is my first post here, by the way.)

Thank you for your time.

~~~

I would also wish to give Professor Dawkins great thanks for what he is doing for his fellow humans; you are an exemplary human being, sir.