What has happened to innovation? We seem to have hit a
plateau when it comes to innovation. Sure, we still have new inventions coming
around, but those tend to be rehashings of what we already have. In 1903,
fixed-wing, self-propelled flight was obtained. Sixty-six years later we were
able to put men on the moon. The imagination of those times thought we’d all be
in flying cars, or have jetpacks, or be exploring space with manned missions by
now. Forty-four years after the moon, and we have faster planes and faster
cars, but we’re still burning fossil fuels, NASA is all but shut down, and
computers are more sophisticated. We’ve basically been working on improving the
wheel all this time.
Are we merely in a lull, or is this it? Scientists and
science fictionists tell us that one day we’ll explore the stars, colonize
other planets, and leave our solar system. They tell us we need to do this
before we exhaust the Earth. Honestly, I don’t see us reaching beyond the moon
in my lifetime. It is going to take innovators like the men and women of 150
years ago. We need people that are going to dream big and make it happen.
Personally I see us going the way of the movie Idiocracy. People seem to
be becoming dumbed down. Entertainment seems to be the driving force behind
people’s actions. Even a cursory glance at Twitter or Facebook will show how
rampant stupidity is. Common knowledge, history, grammar, and even current
events seem to be a mystery.
I unfortunately didn’t figure out until after high school
that I enjoy learning. History has become interesting to me. Higher math could
be of more use at times. Science is fascinating. Where was that eagerness when
my only responsibility was to learn? I look around and see kids not caring
about learning, but about hanging out with their friends or just doing nothing.
