Human achievement & breakthoughs have stagnated

[nofear88]

I have been thinking about this for a while now, in short I think we as a society, civilisation and as a species have stalled in technological, social and global development and evolution.

 

Sure there are some fields that we are excelling such as Social networking technologies where the big bucks are but that is the few things that most major groups and companies are most interested in..... where to make the money best.. then again... its always been that way.

 

I mean I see the world now and things like space exploration and exploitation have became unlikely. I disregard the Virgin Galactic thing as just souped up airoplanes tht can just go higher than normal planes but people are not truely in outerspace and fully experience the astronaught experience (space suit, space station etc) despite we do have the technology and history of sorts to make it happen. Yes Virgin plan to do this but 1. They are taking thier time and 2. Its still too damn expensive for us average joes.

 

Obviously the biggest reason of this is the global finanical crisis in what I am still supprised at has not collapsed yet (although the Euro currency thing may trigger something like it, thank Homer Simpson the UK stuck with the £)

This recession that is dragging on is the cause of our stagnation in scientific and technological breakthroughs due to funding being diverted else where to sustain other things like I dunno...

 

I think I am rambling on here but does anybody understand what I think I am talking about?

[HeyYou]

There hasn't been a major scientific achievement for quite some time. The government is only doing research on weapons, and exploration has fallen by the wayside. (space exploration is responsible for quite a few tech breakthrus....) If automotive technology had advanced as quickly as computers, we would be driving 200 MPH, and getting 100MPG while doing so...... Greed has taken over, and the mentality of "what will make me the most money RIGHT NOW." Long term planning is gone. Long term consequences are ignored. It's all about getting rich now, and staying that way......

[Syco21]

What was the last major scientific achievement, exactly?

[Thor.]

Hmm the Googles Self driving car is a good one..

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXylqtEQ0tk

 

Also dont trust mainstream news for science stuff, here is one usually unfiltered with lots of Global warming stuff to.

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/

 

 

Cold fusion is another one

 

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/450795-cold-fusion-now-a-reality/

Edited May 20, 2012 by Thor.

[AliasTheory]

What was the last major scientific achievement, exactly?

 

This. Are "major" things concepts such as Ohm's Law, the photoelectric effect, general relativity and maybe the Schroedinger equation?

 

I don't know what "recent" is as well. Achievements such as writing out the entire human genome (2001) and the Internet (1990s) I would classify as relatively recent. Social networking as aforementioned is an achievement too, which now (conveniently) runs our lives. I think the top quark was discovered at Fermilab quite recently too. The advancements in computer processing are all very recent too. Perhaps I don't need to describe it. Don't we laugh at the quotes spoken by people who tried to predict the future in this field?

 

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." 

- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

 

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."  - Bill Gates, 1981

 

What you see in the news also I say poorly reflects scientific achievement. It's mainstream. Looking in scientific journals would be the best source for new information.

 

So I wouldn't exactly say we are stalling in technological, social and global development and evolution. To furthermore attribute that all to the recession I think is an oversimplification, even if it is global. The same goes for the reason of human greed.

[HeyYou]

I don't see things like twitter, or facebook.... as "advances" really....... :)

[AliasTheory]

^ On a humorous note, yes, they all really seem to just serve as distractions to many of us. But technology is a tool, and it's how you use it. The fact that someone can just hop onto any computer and type up a post or update (or even from a phone) is certainly an accomplishment. Everyone and their dog seems to have a smartphone right now. :P

 

Hmm. Even if we say that the global financial crisis has been around from 2005 to the present, that doesn't leave a lot of room for scientific discovery. I think on average, a good benchmark might be every half a decade or maybe a quarter. It's too soon to tell, perhaps.

 

Also, I remember when thumbdrives were four gigs or eight gigs big and definitely larger...

 

http://i47.tinypic.com/2vwsrh4.jpg

 

I see the world of multi-threading getting some significant advancements in the future.

Edited May 20, 2012 by AliasTheory

[Syco21]

I don't see things like twitter, or facebook.... as "advances" really....... :)

They are advances in socialization. They allow us to connect to people all over the world. You may not be a fan of social media or the people that utilize it, but that doesn't change what it's done to shape this world. As I recall, it was social media that has lead to the many revolutions across this planet. Both violent and political. Social media has drastically changed the world for better or worse.

 

AliasTheory, don't forget FTL neutrinos! While the results are hotly debated, Personally...

 

Then there is the 3D transistor technology, quantum processing, single atom transistors and a host of other recent computer science developments. Maybe you don't consider these watershed moments, but no advancement appears that way while in it's infancy.

[AliasTheory]

AliasTheory, don't forget FTL neutrinos! While the results are hotly debated, Personally...

 

That was the big topic in my college quantum mechanics class earlier this year. Didn't the researchers admit that their results were erroneously concluded on their part?

 

Man, if FTL became the new thing to believe, so much of modern physics would have to be rewritten...

[Thor.]

I remembeer something about Cern mention about that, it doesn't look good though..

 

http://news.discover...ote-120404.html

Edited May 20, 2012 by Thor.