How much of the focus on things like wells and septic tanks has been removed not due to dumbing down but due to increased specialization? I don’t need to know how to make a septic tank or the like. And as technologies become more and more complicated it becomes more difficult for any person to know how all of them work in detail. Finally, having specialized individuals allows one to more efficiently use the law of comparative advantage.
I think that may be part of an explanation; but while there are positive consequences to specialization, one of the negative consequences is that fewer people know basic science. That’s probably bad for rationality.
How much of the focus on things like wells and septic tanks has been removed not due to dumbing down but due to increased specialization? I don’t need to know how to make a septic tank or the like. And as technologies become more and more complicated it becomes more difficult for any person to know how all of them work in detail. Finally, having specialized individuals allows one to more efficiently use the law of comparative advantage.
I think that may be part of an explanation; but while there are positive consequences to specialization, one of the negative consequences is that fewer people know basic science. That’s probably bad for rationality.