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What % of people are really responsible for progressing humanity?
467 sats \ 4 comments \ @stack_harder 4h AskSN
On the one hand, we have these genius scientists and inventors, building spaceships, and sending robots to Mars, then on the other hand we have, for example, Honey Boo Boo.
and it's pretty clear that the majority of everyday people are just living their lives, doing whatever, but clearly not doing science or things that arguable advance humanity.
but i wonder, what percentage do the 'gains' come from, classic 80:20 paretto principle, or maybe even smaller?
what % do you think?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic 29m
Let me get this straight, you are saying that science advances society and scientists are responsible for the advances. You mean like mRNA injections, gain-of-function experiments on already deadly diseases, misapplying PCR tests (according to Kari Mullis), atmospheric geoengineering and weather modifications and all the wonders of climate change science? Yeah, which portion of humanity are these genius scientists and inventors are advancing and helping or what kind of society will remain after they do their genius work. I guess Be-ill Gates could clue you in on the best uses of these genius scientists and inventors products, of course, for the good of humanity. I am always wondering who this humanity is?
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Aardvark 4h
It depends on your definition of progressing humanity. Those 3 genius scientists don't eat without the farmers, they don't build the rocket ships without the engineers. I imagine they need construction workers to build the scaffolding, truck drivers to bring the materials, janitors to keep the place clean. Etc etc etc.
I think humanity is a bit of a team sport, and anyone contributing is probably responsible for pushing humanity forward.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder OP 4h
it's a team sport, but each field of life, from farming to making movies, has a group of laser-focused people who invent new things or ways of doing things that explode productivity
the first guy who designed a superior farming machine would have been an example, while the old farmer pushing his horse along not wanting to know about machines would the counter-example. there are always people thinking about things and progressing things in their own field
a construction worker is vital, but he is working on a blueprint that has been designed by someone else. he's not inventing, he's following orders basically.
even in something like surgery, there are pioneers inventing and coming up with new ways and the general mass that is happy to keep doing the current way. which is fine, but doesn't progress the respective field .
some fields then have outsized impacts on humanity , like Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch who figured out how to extract nitrogen from the air and convert it into ammonia, which could be used to make synthetic fertilizers. the impact on feeding the world was massive
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Aardvark 3h
But the guy who invented the new farm equipment needed support in the first place. I understand that there are people who are exceptional, but none of them live in a vacuum.
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