I genuinely can't wrap my head around your perspective on genetics. Literally everything we know about genetics was learned after 1922. What we knew in 1920 might get you through the first half of a one or two week high school lesson on genetics.
> The main progress during the last 100 years has been in practical engineering, with much less progress in basic science.
I actually think the situation is entirely reversed.
The progress from 1822 to 1922 was largely engineering. The industrial revolution cause a violent and visceral change in the way that people experienced everyday life.
Take genetics. In 1922 we didn't know that DNA existed. Or, we kind of has a vague sense. Since then, we: discovered the structure of DNA, sequenced the first human genome, and now for less than a month's wages & a vial of spit you can get a whole genome fastq. And that's just genetic sequencing. We have also learned a mind-boggling amount about how DNA interacts with other biological processes. And that's just genetics. Proteins. Neuroscience. The vascular system. The list goes on and on. Just in life sciences.
And the (bio)engineering implications of that vast amount of scientific discovery are immense. More impactful but not as visceral as a railroad or an airplane.
Scientifically, the progress from 1922 to 2022 is incredible compared to the progress from 1822 to 1922, but the engineering progress of 1822 to 1922 was much more visceral. Not even more significant in terms of lived experience. Just more visceral.
> The main progress during the last 100 years has been in practical engineering, with much less progress in basic science.
I actually think the situation is entirely reversed.
The progress from 1822 to 1922 was largely engineering. The industrial revolution cause a violent and visceral change in the way that people experienced everyday life.
Take genetics. In 1922 we didn't know that DNA existed. Or, we kind of has a vague sense. Since then, we: discovered the structure of DNA, sequenced the first human genome, and now for less than a month's wages & a vial of spit you can get a whole genome fastq. And that's just genetic sequencing. We have also learned a mind-boggling amount about how DNA interacts with other biological processes. And that's just genetics. Proteins. Neuroscience. The vascular system. The list goes on and on. Just in life sciences.
And the (bio)engineering implications of that vast amount of scientific discovery are immense. More impactful but not as visceral as a railroad or an airplane.
Scientifically, the progress from 1922 to 2022 is incredible compared to the progress from 1822 to 1922, but the engineering progress of 1822 to 1922 was much more visceral. Not even more significant in terms of lived experience. Just more visceral.