Do you think it is still possible to discover something about ourselves that fundamentally changes the way we view the world? Or do you think there is nothing new under the sun. I'm not talking about technology, like the Internet, that fundamentally changed the way we interact with the world. I think that type of evolution will always continue. I'm thinking more along the lines of Darwin and Newton. Do you think it is still possible to introduce a new line of thought and inquiry that fundamentally changes how the entire population thinks of itself and its world?

And if you do, do you think there has been any such original thought this century?

1) Yes.
2) This century is still only 13 years old. In the 20th century we unquestionably saw not one, but a minimum of two thought-changers: Einstein and Freud. And I would add a third, Norbert Weiner. There's no reason to think that there will not be more advances in our understanding of ourselves and the world.

OTOH, I am constantly amazed at how sophisticated some ancient systems of philosophy and religion were. So we invent, discover, and uncover all the time.

Aliens.

I think Mesmer has yet to be fully understood--animal Magnetism has been largely ignored. I think organically Magnetized Water could revolutionize the paradigm...

Paradigm shifts seem to occur in nearly every generation.

"There are more things in Heaven and earth…"

I guess that's not very original but there are.

-Mary Mowder

Yes.

Animal Magnetism is why there are 7 billion of us here now...

I feel it everyday.

The earth could have been destroyed many times before and started again and so who knows if there is anything new under the sun. Everybody needs a fresh start now and again.

If you believe Ray Kurzweil, the technological singularity is due this century. Under even the most demanding definition, that's probably a "new thought."

It seems like the last original thought people have come up with is well over 100 years old. During the renaissance it seems like original thought happened every day.

I'm not sure that in today's environment, the environment is conducive to original thought.

With technology so much at the forefront, and people addicted to gadgets, using computer programs to be "creative" .... I'm worried that the human race will be incapable of original thought before too long.

But then, nature is incredibly resilient, and we don't really know what the future holds.

I think that "original thought" thing started with women. If it were up to men, we would still be hunter-gatherers living in a cave.

I am quite sure original thoughts are bad and lead only to trouble.

There are still some problems in physics that could set the stage for a Newton-like or Darwin-like change in perspective. We don't know a lot about the large-scale structure of the universe, or its ultimate fate. But it's likely (at least IMO) we'll probably know its ultimate fate in the next century. Relatedly, we don't much about dark matter or dark energy. We know neither are explainable within the Standard Model, but not much beyond that.

I know how the Universe will end. If you cross my palm with silver, I will tell you. Just don't ask me "when."

There may be original thought all the time which is summarily dismissed as ridiculous.

Original thought may not thinking I'd welcome but I'm sure tired of some of the old ways of thinking.

Even if there is original positive thought, it tends to take #s of people in agreement to bring about change.

We've done a lot (good or bad) with synthesis. Not new but new combinations that can add up to something new.

-Mary Mowder

All you have to do is climb a mountain and rest your head on a rock - which is the closest thing to the source. It's not not my turn.

Going strictly by the OP:

With the operative word being "discover," I can think of several possibilities just off the top, including:

Do we leave "something" of ourselves behind when we die, and is that "something" able to interact with the living world?

Why do we use so little of our brainpower, and how do we increase the amount we use?

Is there life on other planets?


Darwin and Newton, along with many others, did not work in isolation. They picked up where many others had left off. What they did was to observe from a different viewpoint, ask questions, and think out of the box. I think there lots of areas in which to still do this.


I don't know.

A lot of people nowadays seem to be living in their comfort zone, doing the same thing the same way over and over. I don't have a clue if technology and "Hollywood" are partially responsible for this, but I run into it all the time: if it hasn't been done before, it can't be done. Or, worse, "we shouldn't do it."

I'm with Pop on this one.

Time travel and space travel (not like outer space, but more like if I were to disappear and reappear across the room an instant later)

I think those will be possible within a reasonable amount of time, but probably not this century.