A few years into my business career, working in a tech environment and surrounded by colleagues whose knowledge of science and the humanities was impressive, I began to feel a gap in my own scientific background. Less than a decade earlier, I had taken Biology I and II, (botany and zoology). At the time, that seemed sufficient. But as the world of science changed, I realized how much I didn’t know.
Then I picked up Isaac Asimov’s “The Intelligent Man’s Guide to Science.” One revelation alone stopped me cold: the familiar two kingdoms of life, plants and animals, had expanded. Science had moved on, and I hadn’t noticed.
Now, 60 years later, I find myself wondering: what else changed while we were busy living our lives?
In the event that other members of my demographic wonder, I took a look.
In biology, the mid-20th century breakthrough by Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins revealed the double-helix structure of DNA. That discovery opened the door to the study of molecular biology and eventually to the Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, which mapped our genetic blueprint.
Even basic classification has changed. The neat categories we memorized in school have expanded into a broader system that includes bacteria, archaea, protists and fungi, along with a growing appreciation for the role of viruses. And now, with CRISPR technology, scientists can edit genes with remarkable precision.
Chemistry has undergone its own quiet revolution. The old “planetary” model of the atom has given way to a far more complex quantum understanding of electron behavior. New elements have been synthesized and advances in materials science, plastics, polymers and nano-materials have reshaped modern industry.
Physics, which was already mind bending, has gone further still. The theories of relativity and quantum mechanics laid the groundwork, but today’s scientists speak of quarks, leptons and bosons. The Higgs boson, long theoretical, was finally confirmed in 2012, helping explain why matter has mass.
In Earth science, plate tectonics, unknown to most of us in our school days, now explains earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain formation. Meanwhile, increasingly precise dating techniques have deepened our understanding of Earth’s history, and research has made clear the extent of human impact on the climate.
Psychology has shifted as well. The “cognitive revolution” redirected attention from observable behavior to the inner workings of the mind. That shift led to modern neuroscience, mapping brain function and uncovering the roles of neurotransmitters and brain plasticity. From there, the path leads directly to artificial intelligence — machines that attempt, in their own way, to think. Which leads us to the question: How will AI affect jobs? Net loss or gain?
Medical development may be the most personal advance. We grew up marveling at X-rays; today we have MRIs, CT scans and PET scans that allow doctors to see the body in extraordinary detail. Advances in genetics now make personalized medicine possible, tailoring treatments to the individual.
And then there is the universe itself. The idea of a static cosmos has given way to an expanding universe born in the Big Bang. Thousands of exoplanets (beyond our solar system) have been discovered. Telescopes such as Hubble and the James Webb peer deeper into space, and further back in time, than we ever imagined. And now, most of the universe apparently consists of dark matter and dark energy, mysterious and largely unknown.
Ah, yes. Science was simpler then. But we grew up in simpler times. Or did we?