• Question: will we ever stop inventing things or will it just go on and on for eternity?

    Asked by mayakatz to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Laurel, Maria on 17 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Ceri-Wyn Thomas

      Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      The human capacity for innovation and invention is amazing. i think that as long as we exist we will invent technologies that make our lives on this planet more successful. Humans have an innate ability to problem solve. I think in the future we will use nanotechnology (where they construct incredibly tiny nanometer-scale structures) to do all sorts of things- including to our own bodies. i think we’ll invent new materials. I think robotics will be HUGE. Quantum computers will store and process more information than we can imagine. As long as there are questions to answer and problems to overcome- we will invent. Will it go on for eternity? Nothing on this planet will continue for eternity- we may become extinct just like other species and our sun will eventually die. But in the mean time we’ll invent plenty I think 😉

    • Photo: Maria Pawlowska

      Maria Pawlowska answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      I have a lot of faith in human technological ability and I think we probably will keep inventing things for a veeeeeeery long time to come.

    • Photo: Laurel Fogarty

      Laurel Fogarty answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Humans are amazingly good at inventing things. One of the most amazing things about our technology is that we can build on what others have done before (no other animal can do this!). The first computer was just a machine with cogs and wheels (called the difference engine- there is one in the Science museum in London if you have ever been there), people built on this idea, making circuit boards and screens inventing more and more parts until they came up with something like what you are looking at right now.
      Because humans build on ideas that came before, they can invent small things that make a huge difference. I think we will carry on building on ideas as long as we are here!
      On the topic of computers and inventions though, there is a law called Moore’s law which says that we invent computers that are twice as powerful every two years. That hasn’t stopped yet!

    • Photo: Bridget Waller

      Bridget Waller answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      I think humans will keep inventing for as long as they exist as a species.

    • Photo: Betul Arslan

      Betul Arslan answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      I think the answer is b) we will keep inventing. Do you know Carl Sagan? He is a hero of mine. I will send you a video of him now, this is how I start my day because it inspires me more than nothing. He says “our future will depend deeply on how we ‘understand'” 🙂

      Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc

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