I'm finding it interesting that we have a better understanding in some ways but we've also lost a lot of what we knew culturally. Germ theory is a great example. The ancient Hebrews had a lot of rules that took into account germ theory without the explicit knowlege of germs. The Romans also understood sanitation and waste management. Then we forgot it and if you look back, it was just 100 years ago when we 'rediscovered it' and started cleaning up our cities and streams.
It was just 150 years ago that we discovered germ theory again and started washing hands after touching dead bodies and it was largely opposed by the scientists of the day.
Even now, we have a nearly religious fidelity to science, trusting it will solve everything with the right medicine and yet we are also learning that the true supernatural is sometimes the best solution. Mental health comes to mind here. Religion is one of the best therapies for mental health, not science and drugs.
"ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY years ago, Max Planck observed that science advances one funeral at a time. This would seem to argue that with the extension of working life of individual scientists, the advancement of science would be slowed. Fortunately, other factors have tended to compensate for the traditional influence of scientific conservatism.
The past century has seen a global reduction in formality in research and higher education, particularly with online alternatives. We have nearly universal literacy, combined with flexible, cheap, efficient computer-based education guided by artificial intelligences. Nearly everyone has access to free online education through the doctoral level, with mastery-based certifications that include practica and internships. International accreditation is common, as is the identification and subsidy of higher achievers. All this means that senior researchers are no longer also the gatekeepers to educational resources. This has helped to circumvent the stasis that might otherwise result from a higher proportion of elderly scholars and researchers." 2076, Memoirs of a Mad Scientist
I dunno, judging by today's AI progress and the near-constant hype, I'd say we're doing mass burials these days! (Google just killed OpenAI, which killed Google two days earlier, right after it was itself killed by Anthropic.)
I'm not sure it counts if the ideas are immediately resurrected, though. That's what the company tug-of-war is like, right? It's like watching the US stock market over the last week!
Yeah my comment was definitely meant in a tongue-in-cheek way, seeing how every release, no matter how minor, has hype gurus yelling about how "THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING" and "PRODUCT X JUST DESTROYED PRODUCT Y"
The volatility between the companies and parallels in stocks are certainly connected, too, although right now the tariffs are the only game in town. Still, the seesawing? That's gonna continue on both fronts, I bet.
I'm finding it interesting that we have a better understanding in some ways but we've also lost a lot of what we knew culturally. Germ theory is a great example. The ancient Hebrews had a lot of rules that took into account germ theory without the explicit knowlege of germs. The Romans also understood sanitation and waste management. Then we forgot it and if you look back, it was just 100 years ago when we 'rediscovered it' and started cleaning up our cities and streams.
It was just 150 years ago that we discovered germ theory again and started washing hands after touching dead bodies and it was largely opposed by the scientists of the day.
Even now, we have a nearly religious fidelity to science, trusting it will solve everything with the right medicine and yet we are also learning that the true supernatural is sometimes the best solution. Mental health comes to mind here. Religion is one of the best therapies for mental health, not science and drugs.
In fairness, so are lobotomies. Very little complaining from lobotomy patients!
We do tend to cycle through things, learn lessons and then forget them. Nowhere is this more visible than the long term view of the US stock market.
LLM as a working approach shows no signs of abandonment.
"ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY years ago, Max Planck observed that science advances one funeral at a time. This would seem to argue that with the extension of working life of individual scientists, the advancement of science would be slowed. Fortunately, other factors have tended to compensate for the traditional influence of scientific conservatism.
The past century has seen a global reduction in formality in research and higher education, particularly with online alternatives. We have nearly universal literacy, combined with flexible, cheap, efficient computer-based education guided by artificial intelligences. Nearly everyone has access to free online education through the doctoral level, with mastery-based certifications that include practica and internships. International accreditation is common, as is the identification and subsidy of higher achievers. All this means that senior researchers are no longer also the gatekeepers to educational resources. This has helped to circumvent the stasis that might otherwise result from a higher proportion of elderly scholars and researchers." 2076, Memoirs of a Mad Scientist
Another great example of why one should always read the comments here!
I dunno, judging by today's AI progress and the near-constant hype, I'd say we're doing mass burials these days! (Google just killed OpenAI, which killed Google two days earlier, right after it was itself killed by Anthropic.)
I'm not sure it counts if the ideas are immediately resurrected, though. That's what the company tug-of-war is like, right? It's like watching the US stock market over the last week!
Yeah my comment was definitely meant in a tongue-in-cheek way, seeing how every release, no matter how minor, has hype gurus yelling about how "THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING" and "PRODUCT X JUST DESTROYED PRODUCT Y"
The volatility between the companies and parallels in stocks are certainly connected, too, although right now the tariffs are the only game in town. Still, the seesawing? That's gonna continue on both fronts, I bet.