An intriguing article.
Quote:https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2...ess-stops/
What happens when society crumbles and progress stops
… "The End of Science was published in 1996, science has achieved nothing that
contradicts my dismal forecast.
Take physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson and that of gravitational waves confirm the
foundational paradigms of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Brilliant achievements,
sure, but they don’t fundamentally alter our view of the universe.
In their desperation to go beyond what we know, physicists are still pursuing string and
multiverse theories. But such ideas are as lacking in empirical evidence as they were 20 years
ago; in fact, they are yet to yield any testable predictions. Stung by this complaint, some
physicists have begun to argue that falsifiability – our best criterion for distinguishing science
from pseudoscience – is overrated. Not a good sign.”…
… "The US and Europe are pouring money into giant brain-research projects. But the vexed
question of how mental and physical states are related, known as the mind-body problem,
remains as baffling today as when Descartes pondered it in the 17th century. Some researchers
are so desperate that they are seeking inspiration from Buddhism, a 2500-year-old religion.”…
… "The outlook doesn’t have to be that gloomy, says Tim Jackson of the University of Surrey in
Guildford, UK, author of the 2009 book Prosperity Without Growth. Beyond a certain level of
material development, our well-being need not rely on making and consuming ever more stuff.
In this vision, prosperity does not have to be curtailed in a post-growth world: a sharing
economy, greater emphasis on renovation and refurbishment rather than making new things,
and more time spent on cultural activities are all ways of increasing value while maintaining
social cohesion and without consuming more.
That sounds utopian, and it would require revisiting assumptions that have underpinned
economic thinking for a century or more. We might all end up the richer for it, though. “It’s not
a trivial thing to achieve by any means,” says Jackson. “But we could have more fun with less
stuff.””
… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil 4:8 (ESV)