The work of the scientists, nurses, educators and philosophers will always be beaten to the spotlight by the latest phone, piece of news, fashion trend, pop song…
The ephemeral, shallow, immediate and pretty-looking things in life get all the attention; they are often also the most meaningless, unimportant, unhelpful and expensive things; and they do virtually nothing to move civilisation forwards.
The slower, deeper, bigger, more profound, long-term and harder-to-think-about things get none of the attention. The difference is, they are also the most meaningful, important, fruitful and (usually) inexpensive things; and they do everything to move civilisation forwards.
Politics, fashion trends, notifications and snapchat are examples of the former. Science, engineering and contemplation belong to the latter. Charlatans, con artists, people pleasers and industrialists belong to the former. Scientists, engineers, certain philosophers, certain journalists, ‘against-the-grainers’, reformers, deep-thinkers and Steve Jobs belong to the latter.
The former gives the illusion of happiness.
The latter is where pride, virtue, meaning, dignity and contentment lie — which are the fundamental ingredients of happiness.
The former stupefies us, makes us ignorant about such things as, climate change, combustion engines, AI, health and disease, meaning — in other words the future.
The latter leads to us doing things that actually matter.
The former thinks it rules the world.
The latter actually rules the world.
