After the spark of self awareness it is man's inexorable quest for knowledge that separates him from the rest of the animal kingdom. However without self awareness there is no quest.

Hey Daddy didn't you read my address...."Out there somewhere beyond the doors of perception" and I am pleased to meet you.....just give me some courtesy and taste...

Agree that science can and has changed our local environment. Can you say, though that science has affected anything outside of our planet and moon? No. Science has power but the power of science is infinitesimally small compared to the power of the universe. All it would take to wipe out us and our science is for alpha centauri to go supernova. Done. Stick a fork in us.

Heck on an even smaller scale, a medium sized meteorite, the like of which impacts planets quite often, is all it would take to seriously jeopardize our existence if not wipe us off the globe completely.

Sure, you can argue we have made ourselves live longer, but does that really matter at all in the overall scheme? Does it matter if a human lives to 70 or two humans live to 35?

Ahh, but animals recognize themselves in the mirror, use tools, have complex communications with several words for the same meaning, have monogamous relationships, morn over the dead, and act selflessly for the good of the whole. And, aren't we one chomosome away from a pig or a fruit fly?
What is self awareness?

Science would become most important if we discovered a rock hurtling at us from a long ways away. Then science might actuallly save us.

Science has saved us countless times. Many a virus has tried to end our reign on the planet.

all this trite intellectualizing, oh dear! science is nothing more than the manifestation of curiosity, an innate part of the human condition, and to say that it is inconsequential is to in the same breath say that art and religion are as well. I've noticed a lot of mental masturbatory exercises recently on Man's place in the universe, how we are nothing, inconsequential, etc. I guess if that works for you, great. Personally, if you want to prove that your own existence has no worth, knock yourself out.

IMHO, the ultimate state of being human comes down to one thing: making the world a better place for the guy next to you. Voilà, you are instantly consequential. you are happier, the guy next to you is happier.

Don't diss science, tabs. Without it, you'd have no velcro for Mother to attach notes to your bibs. It would be back to pins and you know her aim ain't what it used to be. :eek:

Hey I dig where your comin from man :cool: and I agree with you observation. Science is relative to ones perception of the answers to the questions that were asked with hope of specific out comes and as such is biased by ones desire to obtain what he perceives to be truth and fact; all in a effort to organize the chaos that one perceives to exist in the great universe. This of course is all for not since about the time the true answer is realized (it's 42 btw) the ones will have extinguished themselves leaving behind only the scares of their scientific wonders; these to will vanish and in the end what comes after is what was before.
This is the secret history of time to come.

Or I could be totaly full of S*** :confused:

Science became important when it killed God.

Lol

Science didn't kill God. As soon as Cain killed Abel God went " oops, I'm outa here. Now what solar system was that other planet I built in".

won't take long to demolish tabby's premise:

science has produced a much greater understanding of conservation biology (which is used to protect thousands of entire species from going extinct) and of veterinary medicine (which keeps individual, non-human animals alive and healthy)

you also seem to mis-understand what science is - tho commonly thought of as a body of knowledge, science is actually a process -- it is a METHOD for discovering how the universe works.

Problem is, man thinks he has the answers, when in reality his best guesses are being presented as fact. Constant change is the norm.

Not very reassuring when common practices considered helpful can end up being worse for you/the environment in the end.

Shows the total shortsighted, lack of wisdom of the 'latest and greatest'. SmileWavy


KT

I am not being as macro as some think. The point is what is really important is being AWARE of what one is doing, and why one is doing what one is doing. Because a momentary slip of irrational behavior in this scientific age can end this beautiful strange trip man. That science becomes of secondary importance to being aware of human psychology, because science has progressed to the point of our being able to wipe ourselves out. We don't want no irrational episodes here man, it can ruin our day....dig?

Science and all the rest is a part that is all bundled up to create one big hugh human condition.

Change what does change have to do with anything othr than Obama or the coins I give a bum on the street corner with the will work for food sign? Change is a constant in any model.

Weren't some of the first nuke scientists worried about igniting the atmosphere during the first a-bomb test.

"Let's take a chance"... :rolleyes:


KT

I guess it's time for me to find a new job, since the supposed science that I do is useless. I thought it helped us find oil reserves to drill, but apparently not.

Tabs, can you suggest a new career for me? I'd like something that pays wells, allows me to stretch my intellect a bit, but...NO FREAKING SCIENCE!! I don't want to be part of the fake Illuminati group that claims that science is good for us...

So, aside from the fact that science is what is responsible for allowing us to live the way we do and for more than about 30 years before we die, what you, tabs, are saying (I think) is that science became obsolete when we invented a way to wipe ourselves out with the Bomb. At that moment it became more important for humans to learn to control their behavior, so as not to push the Button.

BUT: What of the approaching asteroid that's out there somewhere? It will wipe us out more efficiently than the A-bomb. Our behavior does not control the asteroid. In such a scenario, science is most important because it can either deflect the asteroid or at least help some humans survive and repopulate the world.

AND: The probability that a large asteroid will hit the earth someday is effectively 100%. The probability that humans will unleash enough A-bombs to equal the destruction of a large asteroid is less than 100%, IMHO. Therefore, science is more important.

Man has been able to live to 70 or 80 for the last couple thousand years. It's just now, more people live to that age than before.

Shouldn't we see people living to 100,150, 200 years old by now :rolleyes:

Oh, and in case you haven't visited a senior care home lately, it's quite a sad end.


KT