Humans, how?

[Sayonara]

Science has exploded and now it seems its petering out. To give one example, medicine, before it was just Alexander Fleming with one petri dish (an exageration of course) now its giant pharmaceutical companies with giant amounts of cash. But they are making less discoveries than ever.

The rate at which discoveries are made using the scientific method is not related to the inherent value of that method.

 

To some extent we are limited by our tehnology, which is sort of ironic but there you go (as in your pharmaceutics example - there are only so many useful configurations of chemicals we can actually make right now). As detection technologies and soforth improve we will discover whole new worlds of things to poke around, and whole new ways of poking them.

 

We are, for example, on the thresholds of nanotechnology, stem cell medicine, and artificial intelligence - all of which will eventually revolutionise our civilisation.

[JaKiri]

Science has exploded and now it seems its petering out. To give one example, medicine, before it was just Alexander Fleming with one petri dish (an exageration of course) now its giant pharmaceutical companies with giant amounts of cash. But they are making less discoveries than ever.

 

Shock as 'easier discoveries made first'. It doesn't mean the scope of possible knowledge is any lest vast, or that innovation and discovery are slowing down.

[ecoli]

Knowledge is power. As humans develop better ways to comminicate knowledge, we will also get possesive over that knowledge. Knowledge is the way to make money. If I have a new invention that will enable me to travel throughout the universe, why would I share that knowledge freely, if I can sell it for a profit. (Not that I'm greedy, but I'm just trying to be realistic).

 

I have a feeling that as time goes on, information will start costing more. You'll see free information websites dissapear.

[Sayonara]

Knowledge is power.

Not necessarily.

 

I have a feeling that as time goes on, information will start costing more. You'll see free information websites dissapear.

You have missed the short-lived "pay per content" scare by about 3 years.

[Drug addict]

 

I have a feeling that as time goes on' date=' information will start costing more. You'll see free information websites dissapear.[/quote']

 

I can't really comment on the second part of that statement, but as for the first part, information is expensive at the moment, just look at the scientific publishing industry.

 

And if someone could explain to me why the publishing industry still exists as it does? As I understand it, the process is something like this:

 

- University does research, funded by Government (ok, I know there are some exceptions)

 

- Findings published in a journal

 

- University subscribes to journal, at large cost, again paid for by Government.

 

Can someone please explain to me why this model still exists?

[Nalos Surith]

Because people are money hungry (not to mention we need it to survive in this world). If something is a product it will be sold, someway or another regardless.

[[Tycho?]]

Knowledge is power. As humans develop better ways to comminicate knowledge' date=' we will also get possesive over that knowledge. Knowledge is the way to make money. If I have a new invention that will enable me to travel throughout the universe, why would I share that knowledge freely, if I can sell it for a profit. (Not that I'm greedy, but I'm just trying to be realistic).

 

I have a feeling that as time goes on, information will start costing more. You'll see free information websites dissapear.[/quote']

 

I disagree. It has always been true that knowledge has influence, and value. In todays world especially everyone realizes this, and with the wide availability of technology, a bit of knowledge is more valuable and dangerous than ever before.

 

Yet information is becoming more and more freely available. It has ballooned with the internet, and is still growing by leaps and bounds. Just look at wikipedia, totally free, its now the largest encyclopedia in the world. It seems people are more willing to share, as most people have no reason to hoard knowlegde.

 

(certain things, like miltary techonology, is and always will be more secrative)

[Zeo]

Since people started going away from the question as to why human's talk, let me offer my answer (though it's a bump).

 

I believe that humans have gained the ability to speak though a constant refinement of language. The same principle of refinement is still in place today, though we barely notice. Think back to the dawn of Man's intelligence. And really, it wasn't a dawn or anything. It's not as if Man just got up and started grunting and gesturing like crazy or something. It was a very long transgression, and involved a large network of gesturing. It also involved new types of memory, certain parts of the brain being implemented, certain parts of the brain developing out of mutation that were better equipped to deal with language recognition and facial and gesturial (not a word) recognition. So we can't truly say that Man suddenly started talking, or started coming up with words, but we can say that man did start grunting.

 

Let's say that 3 primal humans are hunting at night. it's really dark out, and their hunting a deer. (or whatever). They can't exactly gesture with their hands what direction they think the deer is in, so they can do a looow grunt.

 

ERGHHM! Or something like that. Maybe not that loud. But that's not truly the point.

 

My point is that Man did not suddenly just start talking, and he didn't just start grunting either. I'm sure that it took some innovative soul to start adding his/her grunts to their gestures about some piece of meat and where it was, or something like that.

 

 

About knowledge though: You have to remember that Intelligence (knowledge of enemy movements or other war related info) is rather vital to war. Knowing and understanding what your enemy is going to do can mean victory or defeat for a general who knows what their doing.

 

Another thing is scientific knowledge. Lately, it's become something of a status symbol for countries, based on research projects and what-not. Remember the Arms race between U.S. and the U.S.S.R.? So yes, knowledge is important.