Has science really made us better off? - General

The reason we are all using the fucking internet to discuss this right now is because scientists invented it. So yes, science has made us better off.

[QUOTE=kidwithsword;17550224]The reason we are all using the fucking internet to discuss this right now is because scientists invented it. So yes, science has made us better off.[/QUOTE] Hahahaha :v:... are you serious? We're better off being on here instead of actually making better use of our time?

Without all these 'materialistic' things that OP describes, we would eventually be killed off as a race by the other animals who do all they can to survive

[QUOTE=sltungle;17549142]Uhh, the speed of light doesn't change.[/QUOTE] Yes it does.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17551102]Yes it does.[/QUOTE] Over time perhaps (although as far as I'm aware that's only theoretical), but visible light isn't gonna suddenly travel faster than gamma rays through total vacuum for no reason whatsoever.

[QUOTE=sltungle;17551120]Over time perhaps (although as far as I'm aware that's only theoretical), but visible light isn't gonna suddenly travel faster than gamma rays through total vacuum for no reason whatsoever.[/QUOTE] I meant in a medium. I didn't know you were referring to a vacuum only.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17551125]I meant in a medium. I didn't know you were referring to a vacuum only.[/QUOTE] Isn't it still technically travelling at the same speed, just instead of travelling in a straight line it's either bouncing about between particles, or getting absorbed then remitted?

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17551102]Yes it does.[/QUOTE] Do different mediums actually slow it down, or does they just alter it's path so that it's taking a slightly zig-zagged path through the same distance?

[QUOTE=lmaoboat;17551138]Do different mediums actually slow it down, or does they just alter it's path so that it's taking a slightly zig-zagged path through the same distance?[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure it has to do with the light being absorbed and reemitted by the particles in the medium. I think the light doesn't technically ever slow down but for all purposes of observation it does.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17551179]I'm pretty sure it has to do with the light being absorbed and reemitted by the particles in the medium. I think the light doesn't technically ever slow down but for all purposes of observation it does.[/QUOTE] Let's ask aVoN. I'm sure he'll know. On technicalities we're both right an wrong (about the speed of light changing (assuming that the whole being absorbed/remitted stuff is correct).

[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;17541960]Besides medicine, do things like space travel, electricity, and cars really make our lives much better?[/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [quote]couldn't we get along without it for thousands of years?[/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [quote]I think that looking for extra terrestrial life is really the biggest waste of money ever.[/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [quote]Do we really need to know if there are aliens on other planets?[/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [quote]will it benefit us at all?[/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [quote]with evolution (I believe in evolution) do we REALLY need to know how humans were created? is it REALLY that important? [/quote] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] Yes, electricity, cars etc. do make our lives much better. Try living out in the country for a few years like a savage, then get back to us. By that I mean eat berries, live in trees, kill then eat animals with your bare hands. Oh yeah, and fire is technology too, so no cooked meat for you. Clothing as well. As for extraterrestrial life, I think the real reason space travel and astronomy is carried out is so that if, one day, our planet becomes inhospitable (global warming, nuclear war, or just gets boring to live on) we can move to another planet, and perhaps expand an empire across the stars. We're really just looking for planets that can support life, and if there are extraterrestrials there, then that's just an added bonus. Evolution is paramount for us to not only see where we came from, but to also see where we're going. We can evaluate current trends (longer lives, better food, medicine etc.) and see where we [b]may[/b] be going in the long run. I personally see the human body getting weaker as time goes on, and our brains becoming larger as we rely more on technology and our intellect to live our lives.

[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;17541960]Besides medicine, do things like space travel, electricity, and cars really make our lives much better? couldn't we get along without it for thousands of years? I think that looking for extra terrestrial life is really the biggest waste of money ever. Do we really need to know if there are aliens on other planets? will it benefit us at all? with evolution (I believe in evolution) do we REALLY need to know how humans were created? is it REALLY that important?[/QUOTE] god knows all. Also, curiosity is what fuels our space explorations.

OP is a complete fucking retard apparently.

In some cases, the science is the lesser of two evils. Take swine flu, for example. Why would scientists just sit around and let people suffer from it when they have the ability to (attempt to) manufacture a vaccine?

[QUOTE=M4rQu5;17548845]Do you remember the Chinese? They lived happily along with themselves and didn't go for the hunt of colonies. Why can't we?[/QUOTE] Remember the Chinese? You say that like something happened to them.

[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;17541960]Besides medicine, do things like space travel, electricity, and cars really make our lives much better? couldn't we get along without it for thousands of years? I think that looking for extra terrestrial life is really the biggest waste of money ever. Do we really need to know if there are aliens on other planets? will it benefit us at all? with evolution (I believe in evolution) do we REALLY need to know how humans were created? is it REALLY that important?[/QUOTE] Science is made for furthering the knowledge of the Human race, if we didn't have science at all, you would not be posting on this site, you wouldn't have a home to live in, you wouldn't be able to drive to a store and buy milk and cookies for whatever reason. Yes, it is important to know where we came from, it is the very core point of science to KNOW things based on the evidence. If we looked at life with a:"Oh dude, I'm like, alive, why do I need to learn shit", then the human race will die out before you can say pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. Also, you don't have to believe in evolution, you accept it. Belief is accepting something without evidence. [editline]06:08PM[/editline] [QUOTE=sltungle;17551120]Over time perhaps (although as far as I'm aware that's only theoretical), but visible light isn't gonna suddenly travel faster than gamma rays through total vacuum for no reason whatsoever.[/QUOTE] Light travels slower in glass and oxygen than it does in a vacuum.

[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;17552244]Remember the Chinese? You say that like something happened to them.[/QUOTE] Communism.

Yes.

People reach to become more powerful, and as some say: Knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we control, therefor we achieve by researching, testing and investigate everything around us, be it the moon, space, life on earth, diseases, it helps us in some way. [editline]08:33PM[/editline] [QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;17551314][img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/box.png[/img] Yes, electricity, cars etc. do make our lives much better. Try living out in the country for a few years like a savage, then get back to us. By that I mean eat berries, live in trees, kill then eat animals with your bare hands. Oh yeah, and fire is technology too, so no cooked meat for you. Clothing as well. As for extraterrestrial life, I think the real reason space travel and astronomy is carried out is so that if, one day, our planet becomes inhospitable (global warming, nuclear war, or just gets boring to live on) we can move to another planet, and perhaps expand an empire across the stars. We're really just looking for planets that can support life, and if there are extraterrestrials there, then that's just an added bonus. Evolution is paramount for us to not only see where we came from, but to also see where we're going. We can evaluate current trends (longer lives, better food, medicine etc.) and see where we [b]may[/b] be going in the long run. I personally see the human body getting weaker as time goes on, and our brains becoming larger as we rely more on technology and our intellect to live our lives.[/QUOTE] Wish I could rate you funny and agree in the same time.

[QUOTE=will721;17542628]Actually I believe we are better off with just about every scientific field except medicine. Now before you rate be boxes, I am focusing on drugs and diseases. Not surgical procedures, anatomy, or the study of the human bodies. With current drugs we can fight off just about every disease known to man. Everything from the sniffles to some forms of cancer. But, at the same time, diseases do not go away just because you create a vaccine. Instead they adapt and mutate into a new much more deadly strain which in turn causes more deaths. Certain diseases, (like the influenza) are key examples of this. Instead of people dealing with the disease and being sick for a few days on bed rest, they are taking the faster and easier way out by taking medication. This is what causes it to adapt so that it can spread in different ways, or have much more aggressive symptoms. As a result instead of the more basic strains of the flew which left you in bed for a day or two with a glass of your favorite orange juice, new strains developed which lasted weeks with more severe symptoms. Then as you keep popping pills you again recover faster only for it to mutate from a low threat pain in the ass to a life threatening disease. This cycle keeps going until you have "swine flu", "bird flu", and large epidemics of diseases immune to all current vaccines killing thousands. Mind you this excludes certain diseases like Polio, but you get the point. AIDS and SARS are a result of this. Some believe this is also how most STDs were formed.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately you can't halt a specific field. For example all research into nuclear power is also beneficial to the creation of nuclear weapons. We couldn't halt advancement in medicine alone without also halting much of physics and chemistry, which would halt other things in turn. This is why all related fields of science are at similar levels of knowledge.

of course we need to search for extra terrestrial life. the earth wont be able to sustain humanity for much longer, and were gonna have to travel to other planets for colonization. other life on planets could mean a possibilty that the planet could sustain people

Without the vast benefits of science, i'd be willing to bet most of the members of FP wouldn't be alive.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17542012]He asks, via the internet.[/QUOTE] :salute: (I was wishing that was an emote)

No... Just no...

If your so butthurt over it go live with PETA.

[QUOTE=doommarine23;17548674] Basically, with out Science we'd live pathetic one dimensional lives.[/QUOTE] what there was technology and science even way before the middle ages

[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;17542103]do we need to communicate? or do we need all that knowledge?[/QUOTE] Yes we do need to communicate. You belong to a hyper-social race buddy get over it.

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;17554060]Without the vast benefits of science, i'd be willing to bet most of the members of FP wouldn't be alive.[/QUOTE] Or able to be sustained for life.

Science seems to have BLINDED us. *Sings "She Blinded Me With Science." *

[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;17541960]Besides medicine, do things like space travel, electricity, and cars really make our lives much better? couldn't we get along without it for thousands of years? I think that looking for extra terrestrial life is really the biggest waste of money ever. Do we really need to know if there are aliens on other planets? will it benefit us at all? with evolution (I believe in evolution) do we REALLY need to know how humans were created? is it REALLY that important?[/QUOTE] you don't seem to bright