Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorite astrophysicists.
Yes, I realize how nerdy that sounds but I will also say he is really the only
one that I actually know of. However, in this video, Dr. Tyson says that we
need to look at NASA “not as a handout but as an investment because as goes the
health of space faring ambitions, so too goes the spiritual, the emotional, the
intellectual, the creative, and the economic ambitions of a nation. So goes the
future of America.” I bring this up in a blog about communication because, to a
certain extent, I believe we have stopped dreaming. Yes, there have been
advancements in communications but most of these advancements have to do with
making communication easier. It has to do with making the technologies that we
use faster or smaller or more powerful. What is considered advancements in
communication technology is really just new ways to write code so that a useful
function comes from it. This is actually sort of a sad testimony to where we
are in terms of communication because science can actually help us talk about
things and discuss and advance our position, in short, it can help us become
better communicators.
Dr. Tyson also has a show called Star Talk and in it he
takes current subjects and puts them through the lens of science. One of my
favorite Star Talks was one where he talked with Wil Wheaton who played Wesley
Crusher in Star Trek, The Next Generation.
In it they discussed the things that human beings have done simply through the
application of knowledge. Also, they talk about how many scientists have looked
on the science fiction genre and drawn their inspiration of invention from the
shows.
This is all incredibly important as it pertains to
communication because if science and technological advances fuel
communications, then it is important that technological advances and the
creation of new technologies be on the forefront of communicators. I am not
saying that creativity is not still alive but it is being hampered when we are
no longer creating new technologies but we are just trying to improve the ones
that we have. It speaks to the mindset of communication today. We live in the most
technologically and scientifically advanced society ever and yet we no longer
think like scientist. So, for the future
of communication technology it is important that we get back to the wonder that
it takes to think like a scientists.
There is some questionable language in the show so do not watch it it you are offended by such language. I would like to end by saying that I do not think that things such as social media or communication technologies are bad. I just think that, for the sake of the future of communication in general there should be a shift in the focus of both our technologies and our communication.
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