Where can an individual most impact humanity?

[Mark1031]

Well I would've said science or philosophy since the ideas that arise from these endeavors are timeless as opposed to political and military actions that can often be transient. However, the more I think about it, the more I think that it is not the case. Most scientific discoveries would have occurred at about the same time without the individual who is ultimately given credit for the discovery. Examples are evolution, Darwin and Wallace; the calculus Newton and Liebnetz. It is even more the case today, as there are many more scientists, that most new ideas are arrived at at about the same time by multiple individuals. Thus, the effect of the individual, even though they may get tremendous credit and prizes for being first, is not that great. On the other hand political decisions made by an individual can sometimes be quite critical and lead to very different results. Imagine for instance that someone like George Bush was president during the Cuban missile crisis. Would any of us be here today? Would he have opposed the advice of the majority of his political and military advisers and not invaded or bombed Cuba, a course which we know now would have likely lead to a nuclear war?


EDIT: By impact on humanity I do not mean just in your lifetime but your impact summed over the course of all human existance (however long that may be).

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

I said other: Stealing a nuclear weapon.

 

[King Alexander]

You guessed it correct; Philosophy.

 

[joycem10]

Other - Business. Politicians come and go, the real power lies with corporations, the billions they control, and the influence that creates.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Other - Business. Politicians come and go, the real power lies with corporations, the billions they control, and the influence that creates.

I betcha more people know of Stalin then know of Carnegie or Vanderbilt.

 

[Mauer]

Other-Prayer, humility, and servitude towards all others. Yes even the French

 

[joycem10]

I betcha more people know who Bill Gates is than Stalin.

But the question is "impact society" not gain name recognition.

 

[betazed]

I did not vote because my option was not there. My choice would be "any". You can affect humanity being a scientist, a politician, a philosopher or a businessman or pretty much anything else. Whether you do or not depends on what exactly what you do. Lets consider scientists and politicians as examples (the logic is exacly the same for others).

Most politicians are mediocre at best. There lives are spent is making sure that they hold on to power. No wonder their effects are transient. However ruthless Stalin or Hitler were, overall their effects were transient. As a % of existing world pop at their times a lot of other politicians and tyrants (from all over history) have killed more. Who remembers them? What effects do they have today? However, from time to time some politcians and leaders are thrown into a really critical situation; those rare occurrences in history where there really can be a fork in our timeline. {Cuban missile crisis is possibly one of them. } The consequences of that probably effects humanity.

As for scientists I agree partly with Mark that most discoveries would have happened anyway. If the particular person had not discovered it somebody else who was contemporaneous would have. However, IMHO there are some (a very select few) who are truly genius. Science does stop and wait for them. With them science takes a quantum leap. Their discoveries would not have happened contemporaneously if they had not done it. It would have had to wait for another genius to come by. Since, the only field of science I am slightly knowledgeable about is physics I can illustrate examples from that. The ideas of General Relativity had to wait for years for someone like Einstein; the ideas of applying path integrals to develop QFT had to wait for Feynmann; the idea of applying global topological methods to GR had to wait for Penrose etc. etc. In each of these cases anyone could have applied those ideas decades before them. However no one did. Now once they have been done it seems obvious to us.

Hence, it does not matter in which field one is. There are some people who will leave a mark on humanity just because they are.

 

[Mark1031]

I agree that in almost any field of endeavor the great majority are mediocre at best but that there can be a few geniuses from time to time. It just strikes me that maybe particularly in modern times where human beings have the capacity to influence their environment to such a great extent that how we choose to organize ourselves is of more potential consequence. Also, when you look at the efficacy and rate of scientific progress in different societies much of that also depends upon the political structure of that society. It really required a weakening of the power of the church to lead to the Renaissance. Soviet era biology was totally destroyed by political ideology.

I agree that an individual can have impact on humanity in most endeavors but I think it leads to more discussion and more interest in the thread if you force people to make a choice.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Ideas impact humanity. Good ideas live forever.

 

[~Corsair#01~]

Politics and military should be seperate options, as should philosophy and literature.
I'd say politics, although the others can make a huge impact also.

 

[Free Enterprise]

It is hard to acquire new knowledge or technology if someone like Genghis Khan is destroying huge portions of entire civilizations. Politics and military may both be phenomenon that change frequently however they can aid, interfere, or destroy the other categories in the poll.

Of course one could accurately say that the source of politics and military action are:

Ideas impact humanity. Good ideas live forever.

Which might come at least partly under the rubric of Philosophy. However the good ideas do not cause the destruction or problems noted above.

 

[betazed]

It just strikes me that maybe particularly in modern times where human beings have the capacity to influence their environment to such a great extent that how we choose to organize ourselves is of more potential consequence. Also, when you look at the efficacy and rate of scientific progress in different societies much of that also depends upon the political structure of that society.

What you are basically saying is that social changes have a lasting effect on humanity and in our recent times the need for the social changes have become imperative. I agree; but can we pin down any lasting social change that has happened in history to a single person. Abraham Lincoln could not have abolished slavery from USA if half the country was not already for abolition of slavery. Nelson Mandela could not have ended apartheid if almost the whole world was not condemning SA also along with him.

Lasting social changes happens when a critical number of people consider an idea good and I doubt a single individual can do anything to get that critical number. In most cases disparate circumstances force some social change to come about. Some people get the credit for it because they have done more than anyone else have and not because they have done whatever is sufficient for the change.

but I think it leads to more discussion and more interest in the thread if you force people to make a choice.

Well, if you have to pin me down then I would vote science. Society, philosophy, politics can go this way and that and what we consider great today may not be great tomorrow. Todays tyrant is tomorrows messiah and vice versa. But, Maxwell's equations lasts forever and will always be true.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

@ Free Enterprise: The very best ideas dont require war (or b.s. from politicians).

 

[Free Enterprise]

@ Free Enterprise: The very best ideas dont require war (or b.s. from politicians).

You are right about this. I was only refering to the fact ideas are the source and cause of the other options on the poll.

 

[~Corsair#01~]

I betcha more people know who Bill Gates is than Stalin.

But the question is "impact society" not gain name recognition.

I'd say Bill Gates influenced society more than Stalin did. However, if not for Stalin, WW2 would have probably seen the end of almost of the entirety of Russia, and probably China too, so...

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Free, I think war is the result of a lack of ideas.

 

[CenturionV]

Philosophy. People interpret science, peace and war, and literature based on there current philosophy. Regardless of physical achievments, ideas last longer and are more influental than any single person, and any single person who effects great change, does so working on or with a certain set of philosophical goals and ideas.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

I was torn between Philosophy and Politics. I ended up choosing policts/military, because a lot of our history is altered by wars and conflicts started by politicians, and led by military leaders.

 

[JohnRM]

Other, Parenthood.