Notice the "IF" at the beginning of that statement. >I< am not doing so, but it seems others may want to imply that this is true. Thus, my response to that type of reasoning.
Let's see. When was it that Germany created the Atomic Bomb and pioneered atomic energy? Oh wait! That's right. WE did that. Sorry. Admittedly, we did it with stolen German scientists, but they defected due to the political climate in Germany at the time. They came to us because of our freedoms, religious freedom in particular.
Wasn't it in Denmark that we first descovered how to cap oil wells? Oh, no, my bad again..that was the US, as well.
Wasn't it those British dudes that discovered heavier than air flight?
No! Wait...that was in North Carolina..in the US. Again.
Hmmmmm. And those French scientists that came up with the polio vaccine...Oh, no...That was the US.
I could go on, but I think you get my point.
Not really.
The Pythagorean Theorem, that not only planets move, but also the Earth, planetary orbits are elliptical, Jupiter's moons, comets are predictable, galaxies, relativity, microorganisms, the laws of motion, the structure of matter, the circulation of blood, electrical currents, electromagnetism, rules of heredity, darwinism, evolution, the laws of thermodynamics, the nature of light, the cell nucleus, atomic theory, atoms combine into molecules, synthesis of urea, structure of chemicals, the periodic table, Bohr's atomic model, radioactivity, continental drift, periodic ice ages, discovery of fossils, classification of species, human anatomy, blood groups, X-rays, germ theory, vitamins, penicillin, vaccination, law of falling bodies, universal gravitation, quantum mechanics, the neutron....
But fair is fair. Genes. Gotta hand that to the Americans. And the expanding universe. And that the Milky Way emits radio waves. And Miller's experiment. And quarks.
Standing on the shoulders of giants.
We have, traditionally, led the world in scientific achievement. We have been able to recruit some of the greatest minds around to help us in this. I believe that some of that is due to a secular government that allows all sorts of beliefs and freedoms. True, we had other advantages, like abundant natural resources. But I think the combination of that with free enterprise and secularism is what makes us unique.
Mind you, this is just my opinion. It would be monumentally difficult to prove such a thing. The raw data alone would be staggering, then trying to isolate variables and make sense of it....the imagination boggles.
Just remember, there was a time when religion was in control of most aspects of Western society...we call these times 'The Dark Ages'.
And yet, European scientists brought us out of those Dark Ages. Where were the American scientists?
Oh. They didn't even exist.
(See why I often harp on the importance of history?
)
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