Historical human progress, a squishy concept that I remain of two minds about, definitely expresses itself most apparently in technological advances, many if not most of them offshoots of weaponry research. That said, have to ask, what exactly is progressive about becoming more efficient at the capacity to collectively off ourselves?
So-called progress often is anything but. Despite the more obvious advantages that our shiny new technological toys afford us, I suspect that long after we are in our graves the species may well die of the ultimate culmination of such "progress." This is not an original idea. The prospect of the Singularity becomes less theoretical and more real with each passing day.
I'm no Freudian, but to gainsay that sex and its expression plays a central role in the nature of the historical "plot," as you put it, is to miss the forest for the trees--or confuse the one for the other.
The question remains, if History rhymes, what does it rhyme with? (Itself?) T
biology as it is memory. The evidence of learning from the past clearly lies in technological advances, often in, or stemming from, weaponry. Whereas, the plot as it were in history comes from either erections... more
This is clearly a discussion between/among man children: it's all about historical advances = better weapons. Seriously? Real "progress" or "advance" in human society is founded on things like FARMING,... more
both as a student of history and a 71-year-old still possessed of a goodly portion of his waning wits--I see absolutely no reason to believe that the ultimate culmination of our so-called progress--a concept... more
that whether we are talking about "advances" in species-ending weaponry, or in AI--as you are aware, the two are clearly closely connected--I fail to understand how focusing on such "progress," which is... more