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by alevskaya 2523 days ago
Science hasn't stagnated yet. As someone with a long career in physics/biology, this attitude only reflects the myopia and ignorance of the people that hold it. We're in the middle of a revolution in our understanding of biological systems and our ability to engineer them. But because that field is so technical and intrinsically slower-paced people discount it in these discussions because they don't know anything about it.

There's much more to science and technology than "tech" companies.

3 comments

> There's much more to science and technology than "tech" companies.

Specific observation of mine is actually important tech takes decades to make it's presence felt. That's a totally different world than "tech companies" that are mostly fronts for ad dollar scams, casino's for international crooks, and laundromats for central bank money.

Lets talk solar panels, first developed in the 1950's. Variable Frequency drives first developed in the 1980's. Lithium Ion batteries developed in the late 1970's. All this stuff is decades old and still working it's way through the day to day infrastructure.

I feel like there are a bunch of biological and agricultural science stuff is coming, massive changes in the energy sector are coming, but it's painfully slow.

You seem very certain that today's tech companies aren't doing any real research, or if they are it won't have a significant impact. How could you possibly know this? It can't be learned from reading the news.
> All this stuff is decades old and still working it's way through the day to day infrastructure.

That's how science has always worked. It's rare to go from research to consumer goods in less than 10 years. Often it takes more.

Lasers were invented in the early 1960's. And there was a bunch of hype for half a decade. Dozen years later people were referring to lasers as a 'failed' technology.

Transistors invented more or less in 1947. Twenty years later in 1967 my parents bought a BW TV, with tubes.

LED's. First invented in 1927, practical devices 40 years later in the mid 1960's. Widespread use in lighting, not until 40 years after that.

Well, you always have to wait for the patents to expire. Then development can flourish, for a time.
The reproducibility crisis doesn't bother you?
It definitely hasn't stagnated. But maybe it stopped accelerating, contrary to predictions.