SPEAKING IN THUMBS (PART I)

“Science Makes Life a Whole Lot Better” 

By Akin Ojumu

Subtly – but surely – time takes its toll on all of us and we all age before our eyes. Like the small hand of the clock, we know it’s happening, but cannot see it happening.

With age comes change. As one day morphs into the next day, and the baton of life is passed from year to year, it’s amazing how much change each transition brings. The hairlines recede, the waistlines bulge spilling over the waistband, and the eyes squint real hard needing prescription glasses in order to see.

As we change, so does the world around us. There is a constant metamorphosis of language, the continuous evolution of knowledge, and the rapid advancement in technology.  The world we live in increasingly gets more complex and complicated. And successive generations of mankind find their world light years ahead of the world in which their parents lived.

Persistently, the world, through science and philosophy, seeks solutions to the challenges of the natural habitat. Through science, man is able to develop the tools with which nature is subdued, and the landscape of human existence is transformed. More than ever before, our society relies on philosophical rumination and scientific illumination to provide the evidence that explains the phenomenon of being. We turn to science to explain supernatural events, and with philosophy we create rules for civil engagements.

The human mind – that mystery beyond comprehension, the puzzle that is impossible to solve – is not at all immune to change. On the contrary the mind is the foundation of all the changes that we see. The mind is the seat of change, and it is from the inward part that all changes begin.

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Our thoughts and thought processes have become more sophisticated and refined. In a post-modern world, the goal post of what is considered “normal” continually shifts and turns each and every day. The ancient boundary of acceptable norm, set by generations before us, is in a perpetual state of evolution. 

The days of absolutes are long gone, replaced by a dispensation of relativism. Once accepted truths have been jettisoned and the erstwhile benchmark of human relationships have long been abandoned. The world, instead, embraces facts based on scientific evidence and philosophical underpinnings. An altar has been raised for sacrifices to be brought before the gods of theories and logic. Scientists receive laurels for their great inventions, philosophers are crowned for their wisdom, and they are both worshiped as demigods among mere men.

To be fair, science has done a lot of good for this world. We are all witnesses to the impact of scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements on our society. The world is a better, cleaner and healthier place today than it was just a few years ago. Life expectancy has more than doubled for most people, as a result of better health and healthier lifestyle. 

Science has found answers for many erstwhile deadly diseases. To a large extent the natural elements have been tamed – well, except in the perpetually underdeveloped nations of Africa. Science helps introduce efficient and effective processes and procedures to every area of human endeavor. The efficient and effective processes enable us all to live more productive lives.

The world has come a long way from striking stone against stone in order to produce fire. Horses and bogeys, as the sole and fastest means of transportation, have given way to fast cars, high speed trains, and supersonic jets. We no longer use birds as our mail carrier because better and faster means of communication have now been developed. Global position systems, GPS, have since replaced homing pigeons as our navigation systems. 

Music technology has equally evolved from graphophone, gramophone, and vinyl records played on turntables to cassette players, CD players, Walkman, MP3, and iPods that plays through wireless EarPods.