R/Evolution

While in Boston, I was discussing with a doctor on a very interesting topic. He drew a comparison betwee computers and Medicine, and stressed that Medicine lags by lifetimes in terms of finding cures for diseases, while the computer industry has been incredible in the way they have broken through in technological developments.

Interesting. That, of all engineering disciplines, he chose the only one that is seemingly going through revolution after revolution. In Mechanical Engineering, technological revolutions take decades, while evolutions happen everyday. Like, the automotive industry has been feeding off oil for the last hundred years, while car speeds have increased. Only now do they think of solar and other forms. It could be the same for other traditional disciplines as well.

However, what's most interesting is that, we are comparing man to machine here. Mankind has taken millions of years to evolve to the current level of sickness. So, we can't expect instant breakthroughs. More importantly, in some ways, we are evolving backwards, The phase lag can only lag further.