Poll Results

The results are in for the poll that has been running on Sustainable Future for a couple of weeks. The question was "Would human civilization be better off had the scientific and industrial revolutions that mark modern civilization never occurred?". The essay discussing many of the considerations relating to the question can be read by clicking here.

As I previously said, I understand the impulse to believe that the we would be better off without the scientific and industrial revolutions. However, when I fully examine the situation and take emotion out of it, I am forced to conclude for myself that we are indeed better off for those advancements in human culture.

Thirty-nine people were interested enough in this question to answer the poll. Thank you to all who did participate. Here is the break down of how people answered:

Yes = 7 votes / 17% of respondents
No = 22 votes / 56% of respondents
Maybe = 10 votes / 25% of respondents

note: percentages do not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Obviously the majority of the people participating don't believe we would be better off without the scientific and industrial revolutions. I find it significant that the number of "No" votes is higher than the number of "Yes" and "Maybe" votes combined (22 to 17).

Needless to say, this was not a scientific poll (no pun intended). It is merely a snapshot of the opinions of those people answering the poll question. I would love to see this topic posed in a scientific fashion by a professional polling organization.