Someone asked me: "can you name a single thing that has
benefited people as much as science?" Yes I can. The
democratization of knowledge is superior. Without it, all the
sciences would've stayed with the elite and there would have
been no benefit to the people. -- Knowledge comes in many forms.
Most knowledge, even today, is accepted knowledge based upon
authorities.. Did you or I walk on the moon? Nope. Someone else
did. Yet, I believe it because I trust the authorities and the
evidence they supply. All comparing isn't Science though. That's
comparing. Conversation. Discussion. Debate. It's a part of
communication, not strictly Science. -- The Sciences may be
leading us down a generally _better_ path (I don't like to say
"Science" as a 'thing' - it's Sciences - they're distinct, each
with their pluses and minuses) than, say, Economics, or
Politics, or whatever, even Religions. But without the
democratization of knowledge, there would be fewer opportunities
for people to discover truths on their own, in their own ways.*
As great as the answers brought forth by the Sciences are and as
much progress as they have brought us to, I would not want them
to be in control of civilizations for example. There's more to
life than the Sciences and even to knowledge, but easy access to
knowledge at least gives us the tools for discovery and should
leaderships fail us, "the people" can rebuild. --
