Should there be a limit to technological advancements?
Answers
Answer:
Yes. And no.
Yes because, it is a “limit” that we impose upon ourselves.
And “No,” because the limit is a moving target and our perception of the limit will change; and also, over time, our technology will change, to encompass a greater and greater capability. I see this question/answer as a measure of the growth of humanity, and its control over itself and its environment.
(By the way: I do not put an apostrophe in [its] because the [its] without apostrophe already holds the meaning of possessive. In the unusual case of {its}, the use of {it’s} means not possessive case, but means only that it is a contraction of “it is” which naturally drops down to “it’s” … and therefore, “it’s” cannot be used as the possessive form; the possessive is then, by default, held to be “its”. Yes, I know, this is not what most people expect. However, it is the way all previous writers in English used it, so if you pick up an old book and read through it, you will find that:
it’s … means “it is…” (the contraction form) and
its … means “that which belongs to it.” (the possessive form)
I put this forward for the edification of those few who may further their research by reading older books. This is the way they used … its … versus …it’s … and, hey, it is an exception to the rule. Get used to it. English has more than its fair share of exceptions to the rule. That’s what makes it one of the more challenging languages to deal with, on the planet.)
(I wish we still had Latin.)
Back to the question: Ancient written records document the efforts by earlier scientists to explore throughout the world, including vast distances, the smallest elements of matter, and the broadest expanse of living beings.
My definition of “scientist” is slightly broader than today’s current expectation.
All scientists seek the truth.
All scientists seek to develop a theory to describe and explain an observed phenomenon.
All scientists seek to “prove” the theory, by means of “experiments” which test the theory in every way possible.
All scientists seek to verify the theory by encouraging other scientists to test the theory in every way they can imagine.
All scientists agree that a theory is useful if it predicts a phenomenon which is later observed to be actually present. ( Albert Einstein and his prediction of precession of Mercury is an example)
Most important, all scientists agree that a methodology of observation must be available to, and usable by, all other scientists.
This last one has proved to be a hindrance.
Ancient scientists did not have microscopes, or telescopes to improve the limitations of the human eyeball. But they had something else.
Certain yogic practices, developed through meditation, could improve the perceptive abilities of the human observer.
Using these perceptive abilities, a scientist could observe objects far away; or, could observe objects down to the tiniest levels.
Even more important, these scientists could train their students to gain the same abilities, and those students could then verify for themselves the same things that their teachers had observed. In this way, the scientific advancements of the ancient scientists were verified, and advanced, by the generations that followed.
Such ancient observations have been captured, have been repeated, and have been replicated by following generations of scientists; and their results were eventually captured in written form, such as in many of the religious documents held sacred by the Hindu religion … and others, such the Buddhist.
Concentrating on the Hindu, its written body of knowledge holds a preeminent place among all ancient bodies of knowledge, in that it is by far the largest. Much yet remains to be translated into English, I am told.
Among the English-speaking cultures, the Hindu written records are dismissed as being simply the pre-religious traditions of an ancient people. There is an unspoken assumption that anything the ancients did could not possibly be scientific, therefore must be ignored by scientists.
This is a grave error.
Much of what is retained in the ancient Hindu, and even Buddhist, religious texts, is the result of serious scientific effort by many ancient scientists.
Much of this information was put down by men (and women) who studied the ancient traditions and went on to explore for themselves, through the powers of the mind, and during meditation, the experiences reported by their predecessors.
This record of information has been categorically denied by today’s scientists solely on the one stipulation that they themselves cannot do it.
Today’s scientists deny proof which comes from a meditative practice, because today’s scientists don’t meditate