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In every generation there have been great minds that could reshape the world. Tesla & Edison gave the world electricity, Von Braun & Goddard brought us to space

by jostmey 12y ago

In every generation there have been great minds that could reshape the world. Tesla & Edison gave the world electricity, Von Braun & Goddard brought us to space, and Oppenheimer unleashed the atom bomb. The question has always been will society support what these people can offer us. The answer is 'not always'. Take genetic engineering for example. Recombinant Genetic Engineering has been around since the 70's but society never fully embraced its applications. The current generation seems to be more preoccupied with social media and video games and less with pushing the boundaries of scientific and technological achievement (in my personal opinion).

FD3SA 12y ago
The current generation seems to be more preoccupied with social media and video games and less with pushing the boundaries of scientific and technological achievement" This is because the current generation has been dealt the worst deck since the Great Depression. Education, housing and healthcare costs have skyrocketed while wages have remained stagnant. Social trust has been eroded by corrupt public institutions and markets (big banking, big law, big corp and big politics all in bed). This generation has dealt with their realities quite calmly in my opinion. Any other would've been rioting in the streets by now.
- jacobr1 12y ago
  > Any other would've been rioting in the streets by now. This seems likely because is absolute terms the current situation is a relatively comfortable one. While being underemployed, having a huge debt load, high cost of living and observing corruption clearly sucks, if you are still housed clothed and fed, if you still have general liberty and democratic enfranchisement (albeit perhaps seemingly with less impact) you are in a generally good shape by any historical standard. The costs of civil unrest are high. Direct injustice needs to occur (outside of a mob situation), social injustices just don't seem sufficient.
  - eli_gottlieb 12y ago
    The levels of homelessness and malnutrition are actually at historic highs for the post-WW2 Western world.

by jostmey 12y ago

FD3SA 12y ago

The current generation seems to be more preoccupied with social media and video games and less with pushing the boundaries of scientific and technological achievement" This is because the current generation has been dealt the worst deck since the Great Depression. Education, housing and healthcare costs have skyrocketed while wages have remained stagnant. Social trust has been eroded by corrupt public institutions and markets (big banking, big law, big corp and big politics all in bed). This generation has dealt with their realities quite calmly in my opinion. Any other would've been rioting in the streets by now.

jacobr1 12y ago
> Any other would've been rioting in the streets by now. This seems likely because is absolute terms the current situation is a relatively comfortable one. While being underemployed, having a huge debt load, high cost of living and observing corruption clearly sucks, if you are still housed clothed and fed, if you still have general liberty and democratic enfranchisement (albeit perhaps seemingly with less impact) you are in a generally good shape by any historical standard. The costs of civil unrest are high. Direct injustice needs to occur (outside of a mob situation), social injustices just don't seem sufficient.
- eli_gottlieb 12y ago
  The levels of homelessness and malnutrition are actually at historic highs for the post-WW2 Western world.