History has taught us much about the progress of science. Human knowledge has been growing at an exponential rate since Newton. There are about 10,000 different field of science now, about that much more than there were in the 1700's during Newton's time. Continuing in this fashion and assuming that the number of scientists grows with the amount of knowledge in 300 years there should be about a billion different fields of science and every man on earth would be a scientist. Obviously, this cannot happen. History is not a perfect predictor of the future. Consider how different history would have been if either of Napoleon, Einstein or Hitler had died young. There are too many little things that change too much.
Although the number of scientific fields may not grow exponentially, human knowledge would continue to grow. You would have to learn much more than your ancestors had to do to be able to contribute to anything. And therefore you have to learn how to learn. To adapt your style and not just depend upon history. Having a good style or approach towards learning or knowledge is the best way to keep up. But you should keep in mind that there is no unique style that fits all. A good criterion is to cling to fundamentals. But, you have to know how to define fundamentals which is difficult, because they change frequently.
Another important thing to know is, without a vision of where you are headed you are no better than a wandering drunk. The first ingredient of great work is having a goal and working towards it. It doesn't matter what that goal is as long as you believe in it and work hard towards it. Otherwise you would just keep drifting through life. To make your life's contribution add up to something a goal is very important.
To be able to contribute, you should keep an open mind. Knowledge is not fundamentally divided into tight departments. It is a homogenous thing. And knowing the relations between different fields can help you a lot.
You should also note that computing is the future of science, because of the following fundamental reasons -
Finally, you have only one life. You ought to do more than just get by. You have to have a goal. Although, achieving a goal is not the best part, the struggle is. The struggle to achieve excellence is worth the struggle.
Your life is not the sum total of the pleasant moments in it. You cannot just get up and say to yourself "I shall be happy today", and get on with your day. The way to make your life truly happy is to struggle to be the kind of person you wish to be, to struggle for the goals you want to achieve and to be more articulate than just idle drifting like a drunken sailor. As Socrates once said, "An unexamined life is not worth living".
Although the number of scientific fields may not grow exponentially, human knowledge would continue to grow. You would have to learn much more than your ancestors had to do to be able to contribute to anything. And therefore you have to learn how to learn. To adapt your style and not just depend upon history. Having a good style or approach towards learning or knowledge is the best way to keep up. But you should keep in mind that there is no unique style that fits all. A good criterion is to cling to fundamentals. But, you have to know how to define fundamentals which is difficult, because they change frequently.
Another important thing to know is, without a vision of where you are headed you are no better than a wandering drunk. The first ingredient of great work is having a goal and working towards it. It doesn't matter what that goal is as long as you believe in it and work hard towards it. Otherwise you would just keep drifting through life. To make your life's contribution add up to something a goal is very important.
To be able to contribute, you should keep an open mind. Knowledge is not fundamentally divided into tight departments. It is a homogenous thing. And knowing the relations between different fields can help you a lot.
You should also note that computing is the future of science, because of the following fundamental reasons -
- speed - neurons function at about a 100m/s vs light which travels at 3e8m/s
- precision
- reliability - we trip and stumble even after walking for decades
- rapidity and control - we can only process only about 50bits per second
- boredom
- cost - humans are getting expensive and machines are getting cheaper
Finally, you have only one life. You ought to do more than just get by. You have to have a goal. Although, achieving a goal is not the best part, the struggle is. The struggle to achieve excellence is worth the struggle.
Your life is not the sum total of the pleasant moments in it. You cannot just get up and say to yourself "I shall be happy today", and get on with your day. The way to make your life truly happy is to struggle to be the kind of person you wish to be, to struggle for the goals you want to achieve and to be more articulate than just idle drifting like a drunken sailor. As Socrates once said, "An unexamined life is not worth living".
