Why does the World of today doesn't produce more Individual genius, Inventors that the 17th century for exampl

Question

Today technology is every where, fruit of the genius mind of the past who help asemble it.But why we don't seam to produce more man like Einstein,Newton, Copernicus,Pascal,Galileo.

We will take the example of European kids, since the genius noted above, mostly come from Europe. European kids of today are taller, eat better than kids of the time of Newton, so why can't we have more people of the stature of Einstein.

In fact Newton was a premature baby who weight very little at birth.Einsteins family suffer from a form of autism and one of his son didn;t survive to adult age.

Answer 1

Good question...So here's a good answer.

Even though conditions are better and we should have healthier, more productive brain potential...Deprivation and strife are some of the prime motivators for achievement.

Take, for example, Paris Hilton...Her parents (or her parents parents, I don't know anything about the Hilton family,) were shrewd minded and financially adept, social graces and suavete were no doubt important in gaining the Hilton fortune.
But poor Paris, in spite of having all the genetic potential of her family is an ignorant c#nt, who can't even make a collect phone call without assistance, even just after being showed how...How is this possible? Because SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO DO SQUAT...Her needs are taken care of, she's a princess, and since she doesn't lack for anything, her personal ability lacks for almost everything...

Those who are less fortunate must work harder. Hard work, be it mental or physical, makes a person strong and capable.

In the times of Newton and Galileo, things were a lot harder. Minds and bodies were tested, and those who could not achieve were often condemned to a desperate struggle for survival.

Now, we are living in a time of great prosperity. Even the homeless can now be morbidly obese. The easy accomplishments have already been dicovered (I'm sure there are plenty of people who could invent a steam engine out there, but with the internal combustion engine already there, why bother?) Now all the undiscovered mysteries of physics, mathematics, and technology must be built on "the shoulders of giants" (as Newton said,) but the giants are now stacked so high, that few can make the climb...You could spend a lifetime studying the accumulated knowledge of science and, even with a genius intellect, only be able to grasp the merest fraction...So we specialize, and even then there is so much known that the knowledge beyond has eluded many attempts to find, suggesting that the means of discovery are still outside our current collective grasp.

Basically, in a time when new discovery needs a new approach, and more work than ever...The difficulty outmatches the determination of our already prosperous society.

Answer 2

The breakthrough discoveries in the last 50 years have occurred in biology and medicine not physics. Physics is a mature science and as such the unanswered questions are difficult but the applications are many. Since the discovery of DNA our knowledge about biology has been moving forward at a rapid pace but only with hindsight will the key discoveries be identified and celebrated. Newton, Copernicus, Pascal, and Galileo were not idolized by the public in their lifetime and Einstein was only because of the atomic bomb.

Answer 3

There's still plenty of discoveries going around, though they are mostly built on knowledge acquired in the last century. Researchers are waiting for new breakthrough in the coming years. Discoveries usually work like that, great breakthrough on which everyone add a little, then another great breakthrough.
Nowadays, there is a little problem with that, if you try to build up on someone's discovery you'd better have deep pockets or work on freely given knowledge because the number of patents you have to pay for just to use a little bit of knowledge is staggering. The double click of the mouse was patented, there were attempts to patent the humane genome and someone even went so far as to patent the mexican yellow bean, which had existed for thousands of years. So instead of working in your own laboratory you work in a multinational company and discover things, for the company. You might be famous among your peers but your name won't be known to the public.

Answer 4

Genius is still out there, though as someone pointed out, it's frequently submerged in group efforts.

However, individual genius of the special sort you used to illustrate your question is more difficult in a stultified academic/scientific world.

Likely there's, today, some moral-equivalent of two bicycle mechanics out there trying to find the secrets of heavier than air flight, while the moral equivalent of Lord Kelvin and the leading scientists of the world pronounce it 'impossible'.

Many of those bicycle mechanics will fail. Many will be simply wrong in what they're attempting to do. Others won't find the key, though they might be right.

But the kinds of discoveries and innovations you've asked about will require those bicycle mechanics of the present and the future. Minds unable to be controlled by the leading minds of science pronouncing what is possible, what is impossible.

One of the interesting things about the Internet is scouting around blogs and websites, trying to find those bicycle repairmen. A lot of what they're doing isn't genius, maybe qualifies as insane.

We'll only know if they succeed. If they fail, it's the dustbin alongside all those guys who tried and failed before the Wright brothers.

Answer 5

Motivation.

Need.

Necessity is the mother of invention. When people see things as being necessary invention occurs.

I think invention and creativity is a somewhat cyclical process. There are new inventions out there that are groundbreaking. Some nanotechnology used for medical and other purposes is astounding. But the needs vs wants seem to breed a different sort of invention.

Answer 6

I miss the polymaths. There's a shortage of people who have a broad knowledge of a variety of subjects. I think it's our society of "specialization", individuals are encouraged to be hyper knowledgeable in one subject, so they lack the ability to think of new applications for other disciplines. Also our celebrity culture where stupidity seems to be a virtue, you could probably name dozens of reality TV "stars", but how many cardio-thoracic surgeons? Some like Paris Hilton seem to have made a career out of being vacuous narcissists, who lack even basic life skills (how the hell she got a drivers licence in the first place is beyond me)

Innovation also seems to be the preserve of multinationals. partially due to the expense of r&d and patenting.
However, Trevor Baylis, (independent) inventor of the "Clockwork" radio, was approached by various battery companies and asked to keep quiet as a successful clockwork radio may damage battery sales.

Answer 7

The Wright Brothers - Orville and Wilbur - tested flew first airplane on a beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina 105 years ago today.

Answer 8

actually we do. The only reason why we dont hear about them so much is because there are 6 billion people and the world is huge. Think about it even on the 17th century i bet not many people knew who those people were. The only reason why we know them is because they have some kind of theory written down or books written down that archeologists fond. maybe ths same thing will happen centuries after.

Answer 9

Science was a gentleman's pursuit in the past. Today it is the product of corporations and universities. Also, our culture today does not celebrate acheivement, it celebrates celebrities. It's not true that great scientific discoveries are not being made today. You just have to dig through the hollywood garbage to learn about them.

Answer 10

We do have genius like them, but now instead of the idvidiual working for themselves and creating things under their own names, these people are controled by companys that get credit for their work. There are new products coming out all the time, but do you ever hear about who designed it, or invented it, no just the company that manufactures it.