👏👏👏 An all-time classic article by you just in time for Rosh Hashanah, Daniel! You remind us why science and technology whatever their faults, are great things. We human beings were once at the mercy of the environment. Now we have the ability to mitigate its effects, help feed ourselves all year round and even control the environment itself. That was all thanks to the brilliant minds in the scientific community like Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Dr. Jonas Salk, Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Rosalind Franklin, Niehls Bohr, Nikolai Tesla, Jane Goodall, Ada Lovelace, Johannes Kepler, Nicolaus Copernicus, Archimedes, George Washington Carver, Gregor Mendel, Carl Linnaeus, Rene Descartes, Alexander Graham Bell, Aristotle, and Thomas Edison. Much like how monotheistic religion has as an element of faith in it, so does science and technology. We must have faith they can help us achieve a brighter, happier and more prosperous future. Climate Change should not be viewed as the destruction of nature but rather as nature striking back. Science and technology CAN help us combat and weather the storm (no pun intended) of Climate Change! Those stuffy left-wing academics and activists who dream to return to the “simplicity and tranquility” of a “simpler time” where nature was king before civilization came about have no idea what they’re talking about! Shanah Tova, Daniel!
Fascinating essay, Daniel. You make a great case for not regressing back to any kind of an idyllic and mythical past. Using somewhat different vocabulary, here's how I would (mostly) agree with you: Unlike other creatures on the planet, we humans are blessed with an extraordinary mind- one capable of complex analysis, description and- innovation. This has allowed us to develop (albeit glacially and over a couple of millennia) extraordinary tools, techniques and technologies that extended our limbs, senses, nervous systems and minds. This allowed us break out of the cyclical tyranny of nature and chart our own path- developing complex social and civilizational structures and systems. I agree with you that we are so much better off as a species for this.
Having said that, despite our brilliance, I do believe that we haven't been wise to the implications and consequences of many of our innovations on the planet. Worse still, we have paid scant attention to how they affect our relationships with each other, our tried and tested social systems, and even the health and suppleness of our minds. Our future, I believe, will depend on whether we have the wisdom and even self-restraint to discern and choose pathways that what will enhance our humanity. If our intellectual, emotional and creative exuberances get the better of us, I worry that we will be sorry.
Fascinating essay, Daniel. You make a great case for not regressing back to any kind of an idyllic and mythical past. Using somewhat different vocabulary, here's how I would (mostly) agree with you: Unlike other creatures on the planet, we humans are blessed with an extraordinary mind- one capable of complex analysis, description and- innovation. This has allowed us to develop (albeit glacially and over a couple of millennia) extraordinary tools, techniques and technologies that extended our limbs, senses, nervous systems and minds. This allowed us break out of the cyclical tyranny of nature and chart our own path- developing complex social and civilizational structures and systems. I agree with you that we are so much better off as a species for this.
Having said that, despite our brilliance, I do believe that we haven't been wise to the implications and consequences of many of our innovations on the planet. Worse still, we have paid scant attention to how they affect our relationships with each other, our tried and tested social systems, and even the health and suppleness of our minds. Our future, I believe, will depend on whether we have the wisdom and even self-restraint to discern and choose pathways that what will enhance our humanity. If our intellectual, emotional and creative exuberances get the better of us, I worry that we will be sorry.
What crude, ignorant, self-important, unscientific, magical thinking stream of dreck. Please read about the topic before you post. You're embarrassing yourself. Recommend "Under a White Sky" by Elizabeth Kolbert. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_a_White_Sky
Ah, you who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
and you are left to live alone
in the midst of the land!
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah. (Isa. 5.8-10)
L'shanah Tovah! Daniel. I guess I owe you an apology for the first sentence of this comment not being as gentle and kind as it could have been.
👏👏👏 An all-time classic article by you just in time for Rosh Hashanah, Daniel! You remind us why science and technology whatever their faults, are great things. We human beings were once at the mercy of the environment. Now we have the ability to mitigate its effects, help feed ourselves all year round and even control the environment itself. That was all thanks to the brilliant minds in the scientific community like Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Dr. Jonas Salk, Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Rosalind Franklin, Niehls Bohr, Nikolai Tesla, Jane Goodall, Ada Lovelace, Johannes Kepler, Nicolaus Copernicus, Archimedes, George Washington Carver, Gregor Mendel, Carl Linnaeus, Rene Descartes, Alexander Graham Bell, Aristotle, and Thomas Edison. Much like how monotheistic religion has as an element of faith in it, so does science and technology. We must have faith they can help us achieve a brighter, happier and more prosperous future. Climate Change should not be viewed as the destruction of nature but rather as nature striking back. Science and technology CAN help us combat and weather the storm (no pun intended) of Climate Change! Those stuffy left-wing academics and activists who dream to return to the “simplicity and tranquility” of a “simpler time” where nature was king before civilization came about have no idea what they’re talking about! Shanah Tova, Daniel!
Lovely statement Noah. I hope that Jonathan W below reads it. He seems to think I'm anti-Science!
From Ashok:
Fascinating essay, Daniel. You make a great case for not regressing back to any kind of an idyllic and mythical past. Using somewhat different vocabulary, here's how I would (mostly) agree with you: Unlike other creatures on the planet, we humans are blessed with an extraordinary mind- one capable of complex analysis, description and- innovation. This has allowed us to develop (albeit glacially and over a couple of millennia) extraordinary tools, techniques and technologies that extended our limbs, senses, nervous systems and minds. This allowed us break out of the cyclical tyranny of nature and chart our own path- developing complex social and civilizational structures and systems. I agree with you that we are so much better off as a species for this.
Having said that, despite our brilliance, I do believe that we haven't been wise to the implications and consequences of many of our innovations on the planet. Worse still, we have paid scant attention to how they affect our relationships with each other, our tried and tested social systems, and even the health and suppleness of our minds. Our future, I believe, will depend on whether we have the wisdom and even self-restraint to discern and choose pathways that what will enhance our humanity. If our intellectual, emotional and creative exuberances get the better of us, I worry that we will be sorry.
Fascinating essay, Daniel. You make a great case for not regressing back to any kind of an idyllic and mythical past. Using somewhat different vocabulary, here's how I would (mostly) agree with you: Unlike other creatures on the planet, we humans are blessed with an extraordinary mind- one capable of complex analysis, description and- innovation. This has allowed us to develop (albeit glacially and over a couple of millennia) extraordinary tools, techniques and technologies that extended our limbs, senses, nervous systems and minds. This allowed us break out of the cyclical tyranny of nature and chart our own path- developing complex social and civilizational structures and systems. I agree with you that we are so much better off as a species for this.
Having said that, despite our brilliance, I do believe that we haven't been wise to the implications and consequences of many of our innovations on the planet. Worse still, we have paid scant attention to how they affect our relationships with each other, our tried and tested social systems, and even the health and suppleness of our minds. Our future, I believe, will depend on whether we have the wisdom and even self-restraint to discern and choose pathways that what will enhance our humanity. If our intellectual, emotional and creative exuberances get the better of us, I worry that we will be sorry.
What crude, ignorant, self-important, unscientific, magical thinking stream of dreck. Please read about the topic before you post. You're embarrassing yourself. Recommend "Under a White Sky" by Elizabeth Kolbert. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_a_White_Sky
Ah, you who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you,
and you are left to live alone
in the midst of the land!
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah. (Isa. 5.8-10)
L'shanah Tovah! Daniel. I guess I owe you an apology for the first sentence of this comment not being as gentle and kind as it could have been.
Unscientific? Read Noah's comment.
On an interesting point, your comment made me smile as it is rather like John Adam's review of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
Shana tova Miryamne!