Human Inquisitiveness

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Science is an expression of the inquisitive nature of humanity. Since the first homosapien fashioned a spearhead we have realized that we can alter our environment and our own condition. Now I am typing this with a stylus on a tablet. Medical discoveries have extended our lives and improved our condition. And communication technology has sped up the exchange and development of ideas.
But, is this for the greater good?
Agricultural advancement has allowed for the growth of population, but often the work we do in exchange for food is unsatisfying and meaningless.
Our lives are longer, but often we live too long - spending the last years of life encased in nonfunctional bodies.
We are dependent on an infrastructure that is ugly and polluted.
We are regimented to the clock, our movements controlled by obligation.

Is modern life unhealthily artificial?

Perhaps it is, in some ways.

Scientific discovery and invention give us options and tools. It is up to us to determine how to wield them. Nuclear energy can potentially be used for weapons or to generate power. A brick can be used for building shelter or to bash a skull in. Science and technology only expand the scale of what we can do. It is still up to people to handle resources responsibly.

Oddly enough, the maximum lifespan hasn't changed all that much in the last couple of thousand years.

That's not odd since it is a function of optimal conditions, but the average lifespan has increased.

Much of that is because babies are far more likely to survive.

In the old days, people in big cities and along trade routes were more likely to die from a wide variety of diseases because they were exposed to more diseases. In the remote countryside away from trade routes, most people didn't travel very far at all (you could go your entire life without traveling more than five miles from home) and so they were less likely to be exposed to many diseases. As a result, significantly more of them lived longer. From what I've read elsewhere, if you lived far out in the country and survived your first year, your life expectancy was not much less than today while if you lived in a large city or along major trade routes, it was more like in the 30s or early 40s.

This is a great comment.

Our technology can be used for the benefit of mankind. And it's up to human mind evolution to handle and harness the power for the greater good