01-03-2014, 05:37 PM
HOTPE - I like to quote Carl Sagan in cases like this:
"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."
There is another quote of Sagan's that I think is particularly relevant to this island because of recent events, at least in my opinion:
"“We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.”
I'm not sure sure I'd go as far as Sagan on this, but the combination of science, technology and ignorance is a problem and I see it every day unfortunately. I'm not advocating a return to simpler times, quite the reverse, but if the ignorance part can't be fixed, which is probably education, then I'm troubled about the future. I find that scarier than things like Fukushima and climate change.
"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."
There is another quote of Sagan's that I think is particularly relevant to this island because of recent events, at least in my opinion:
"“We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.”
I'm not sure sure I'd go as far as Sagan on this, but the combination of science, technology and ignorance is a problem and I see it every day unfortunately. I'm not advocating a return to simpler times, quite the reverse, but if the ignorance part can't be fixed, which is probably education, then I'm troubled about the future. I find that scarier than things like Fukushima and climate change.