115."It is through the use of logic and of precise, careful measurement that we become aware of our progress. Without such tools, we have
no reference points to indicate how far we have advanced or retreated."
Progress, which is abstract, is a concept compared to the past, and to point out how far we have
advanced is difficult.
Admittedly, advancement in some areas could be measured through the use of logic and of precise,
careful measurement, especially in the realm of science. Consider, first, for example, the increased
speed of transportation tools could be measured precisely, as the speed of train in 2,000 is 100
kilometers per hour, but today, it climbed to 250 kilometers per hour, static is persuasive and we
will come to the same conclusion that the technology of train is further developed; second, the
improved amount of products in factories is a sign of higher efficiency and this kind of
development could also be measured by the number of products, or by the work amount that
employees could finalize in a certain period of time. Accordingly, in those areas it is possible to
point out how far we have advanced or retreated through the use of logic and precise, careful
measurement.
However, in other fields, it is difficult to measure progress precisely. For example, a man, who
was naughty and imaginative in his childhood, when he grew up, he might become reasonable and
innovative that he could analyze problems logically and create new ideas, apparently, he is
developed but we could hardly measure precisely how far he progressed, no specific statistics can
identify his character progress. Moreover, when it comes to a nation, though there are some
economical statistics such as GDP to point out how far this nation has developed in its economy,
other development in some areas could hardly be measured precisely, such as culture, social
problems, people’s living quality, etc. And, the creation of electronic light bulb, which is also
advancement compared to the creation of candle light, is difficult to be quantitatively measured.
To conclude, what we could indicate is limited at progress itself rather than how far we have
progressed.
Moreover, it is unreasonable to evaluate the artistic and literature progress of a society in purely
logical and mathematical terms. When it comes to those abstract areas, the way to evaluate the
progress and retreat relies on people’s sense and hunch to some extent, because there isn’t any
standardized measurement which can be accepted, respected by different people. For example, for
a certain painting, some may praise and regard it as beauty, while others may argue that they could
not understand the meaning of the painting and criticize. In a word, there are always different
ideas in those areas, furthermore, it is not necessary to come to the same agreement in art,
literature and other abstract areas.
In sum, logic, precise and careful measurements are not always useful and we don’t need to
evaluate all progress quantitatively.