I grew up on Sagan. I’m not saying we should accept anything the way it is or not take inspiration from our achievements, just that we should not be prideful or expect any greatness from anyone.

We’re currently smarter than we’ve ever been in a lot of ways, but I find the smarter you are it only changes the kinds of mistakes you make.

I do agree that humans increase in value the more you value them, and vice-versa. Society should be structured around maximising “human capital”, so to speak.