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Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Science and technology change our lives, but our understanding is shaped by memory, tradition, and myth.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. highlights the duality of human experience in relation to advancements. While science and technology bring about significant transformations in how we live, it is our memories, beliefs, and traditions that influence how we respond to these changes. This underscores the importance of cultural context and historical understanding in interpreting modern innovations.

Themes

ScienceTechnologyMemoryTraditionMyth

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the impact of technology on society, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of cultural heritage.

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Man generally is entangled in insoluble problems; history is consequently a tragedy in which we are all involved, whose keynote is anxiety and frustration, not progress and fulfilment.
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In view of the tide of religiosity engulfing a once secular republic it is refreshing to be reminded by Freethinkers that free thought and skepticism are robustly in the American tradition. After all the Founding Fathers began by omitting God from the American Constitution.
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