The same applies to our new tools, but in
more dramatic ways. So far, we have managed to make science the
most expensive human endeavor. Its current development appears
to be motivated by a self-perpetuating drive: knowledge for the
sake of knowledge. Science generated technology, which
dramatically affects the outcome of human effort.
The second component factor in the transition to the pragmatics
of the civilization of illiteracy is the efficiency of our
preparation for commanding these new tools, new forms of energy,
and new forms of human interaction. Learning how to operate
simple mechanical devices is different from learning how to
program new tools capable of commanding sophisticated technology
and of controlling tremendous amounts of energy. Although
mediation has increased in human praxis, people do not yet know
how to handle mediation, even less how to adapt education, their
own and their children's, to shorter cycles of scientific and
technological renewal.
Last among the factors at work in the change we are going through
is the efficiency of invention, discovery, and explanation.
Largely supported by society (states invest in science in order
to pursue their goals, as do businesses and various interest
groups), science is under the pressure of performance.
Markets confirm scientific results from the perspective of the
return on investment they promise to deliver.
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