Things we take for granted
There're things we take for granted, like our way of thinking, that were not intuitive in generations past. To us, alternate ways of thinking are hopelessly out of date, and the ideas we work with right now are what we view as the only way to think. To deviate would not only be foolish, but impractical as well.
Our ideas work. Some of the concepts and beliefs of a world gone by may seem foolish to us, but at that time, those were the ideas that fueled their hopes and dreams. Little by little, those ideas were improved upon or discarded.
We are living in a borrowed world. We are living out the filtered dreams of our forebears. Their thinking, their struggles, permeate all the things we take for granted. It was their genius, their mistakes, that gave us this world we live in.
What can we leave to the future?
Humanity has made a lot of errors and has also done a lot of great things. It's easy to judge them now, when the consequences have all been laid bare, but we should also strive to understand their situation at the time.
So... I guess what I'm really saying is...
I'm not done studying Econ 109 yet.
Our ideas work. Some of the concepts and beliefs of a world gone by may seem foolish to us, but at that time, those were the ideas that fueled their hopes and dreams. Little by little, those ideas were improved upon or discarded.
We are living in a borrowed world. We are living out the filtered dreams of our forebears. Their thinking, their struggles, permeate all the things we take for granted. It was their genius, their mistakes, that gave us this world we live in.
What can we leave to the future?
Humanity has made a lot of errors and has also done a lot of great things. It's easy to judge them now, when the consequences have all been laid bare, but we should also strive to understand their situation at the time.
So... I guess what I'm really saying is...
I'm not done studying Econ 109 yet.