Whenever I hear that, the technology is not there yet or that scientists predict we may have the technology by x year, I wonder why is it so ? We have acess to the same materials on earth as before so how do we constantly find new ways to improve our tech and why does it happen in small doses over long periods of time ? Why can’t we develop technology now, that would otherwise take us 200 years or some ?
In: Technology
It’s not really constrained by *time* per se, it’s constrained by *knowledge*.
You can’t make a telescope until you know how to make lenses. You can’t make lenses until you know how to make glass. You can’t make glass until you know how to make a sufficiently-hot furnace. Etc.
So we have to develop technology step by step rather than all at once.
But the process can absolutely be sped up: if we trained and hired twice as many scientists and engineers (without sacrificing quality), we’d make progress twice as fast.
Latest Answers