Science and Civilization
Science; something you probably know as facts to be memorized and tests to be taken. Something that most students view as little more than a nuisance. Something that is often overlooked in history books. Something that people don't regard as a critical part of the lives they enjoy. Something that people do not believe is responsible for the luxuries we take for granted. And yet, something that has contributed more to the betterment of the human experience than anything else.
Science and language are two of mankind's greatest treasures. Science allows us to understand. To learn things. To find the truth. To avoid leaps of logic. The ability to determine the truth about things that for so long were inaccessible mysteries, coupled with the ability to pass findings from one mind to another through language and preserve ideas by writing them down, is the dynamic trio that has allowed our species to progress more in our last 300 years than in our first 300,000. Mankind's ability to work together and to use reason is what allowed us to out-compete all opposing species during prehistoric times. One human is no match for a woolly mammoth in any physical metric. Five humans, working in tandem and coordinating their strikes through communication, will overcome any animal in nature. This illustrates that mankind has survived the test of time simply because of our ability to use language. But is surviving enough?
Humans don't just want to survive, but to prosper. Communicating with one another is what has allowed humans to survive. Communicating with one another, using science to find truths, and recording those truths in a universally accessible format is what has allowed mankind to prosper and thrive unimaginably in the past 300 years. The process of recording scientific findings is not to be overlooked. Animals do not have the ability to communicate in the complex way that humans do, and they certainly do not have the ability to record knowledge in such a way that future generations will be able to access what past generations have learned. In such a manner, generation after generation dies off with no improvement whatsoever. Humans, with our exceptional mental capacities, have learned to record knowledge in such a way that future generations could access it, use it, and build upon it. In such a manner, almost every single human being on Earth can access the recorded knowledge of the past 7,500 generations. This formula will never fail us. The answers to so many of the problems that plague the world today can only be found by humans working together and using science to find truths.
The following chart expresses the scientific progression of mankind;
The real 'explosion' of scientific progress occurred during the Renaissance, a time in which humanity was awakening from the dark ages. The dark ages themselves were a time in which mankind stopped recording knowledge in a way that could be preserved for generations. We should count ourselves lucky that the dark ages ended and were followed by the Renaissance.
Mankind, by almost every conceivable metric of civilization, has improved in a direct correlation with science. Essentially, as science progressed, 'good' things like global health increased, while 'bad' things like child mortality decreased. The following data, gathered by OurWorldInData.org, makes evident the improvement of mankind that occurred in a very correlative way with the improvement of science.
Life expectancy has increased significantly in all types of countries since the increase in scientific progression:
Child mortality has decreased significantly across the globe since the increase in scientific progression:
Deaths caused by famine have decreased significantly since the period of rapid scientific progression:
The state of the economy has increased significantly since the rapid progression of the scientific pursuit:
It is clear based upon the data, which illustrates a clear correlation between an increase in science and an increase in human prosperity, that mankind owes to science the prosperity that many take for granted. It is true that the process of individuals using science to find truths, and contributing those truths to the collective mind of humanity, is what will continue mankind's prosperity. It is also true that if people stop subscribing to this process, mankind will stagnate. It is up to the individual to celebrate science as something which is synonymous with human progression; progression in all aspects of civilization.