Luddites unite!

[redbrunja]

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My answer is a very qualified but resounding YES. 

First of all, I don't want to see any BSG-finale moronic rejection of life-saving technology or refusal to allow science to advance – but I would adore it we thought hard about whether or not certain advances would better our lives.

I already think that a lot of people's quality of life has been degraded by our (United States, speaking from what I know) dependence/addiction to television and computers, our screwy relationship with food, the loss/absence of a decent food culture, and a stunted interaction with nature and our own bodies. Right now there are already movements working against these trends (the Slow Food Movement, No Child Left Inside) and I would like to see more of them, until our culture has a balance between interacting with technology and interacting with the larger world.

Comments

[qualapec.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. I think that TVs and computers are great communications devices and I would never recommend humankind return to sticks and stones and the Pony Express, but I agree very much that our culture needs more balance.

I'm taking an environmental issues class right now, and while a lot of it is about the intrinsic value of nature (the idea that nature simply has the right to exist), I also think that environmental policies will not ultimately be successful unless people really learn the value of having vegetation around and appreciate it. Children in particular need to have fun experiences in wild places and just learn how BADASS the environment is.

However, this question brings up something that I also think is important: the flawed American view of science and how it ultimately stands in the way of progress. As a culture, we don't have a very good understanding of science or its value. I think most of the population has an automatic aversion to the idea: either it's seen as an enemy of their faith or they think scientists are insane, antisocial people who are so driven by their ambition that they forsake human morality.

I think of "I Am Legend" *SPOILERS FOR IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT* (the movie, I haven't read the book), where a cure for cancer leads to a zombie/vampire apocalypse. Big surprise, the answer at the end has strong divine connotations. It's a good example of a theme I see throughout our culture: scientist has accomplished something that seems really cool, turns out that that achievement is unnatural and leads to the collapse of civilization, God helps people find cure. It's a trope that bothers me so much.

That's one reason why I REALLY like the series Sanctuary on SyFy. Amanda Tapping's character is amazing- she's a brilliant scientist who uses her immortality and vast knowledge in a way that will genuinely improve the lives of others. I feel she does so many things that run counter to popular beliefs about science, but lo and behold, she's still portrayed as a hero.

Basically, I think we need more portrayals like THAT to remind people that science isn't some complex, unapproachable thing that just wants to ruin our fun and/or destroy us all with it's "arrogance".