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Why does the idea of progress loom so large in themodern world? Surely because progress of particularkind is actually taking place around us and is more andmore manifesting. Although mankind has underg- __1__
one no general improvement in intelligence or morali-
ty, it has made extraordinary progress in theaccumulation of
knowledge. Knowledge begins to increase as __2__
soon as the thoughts of one individual could be com-
municated to another by mean of speech. With the in- __3__
vention of writing, knowledge could be communicated
and stored. Libraries made education possible, and
education in turn added libraries: the growth of knowl- __4__
edge followed a kind of compound-interest law,
which was greatly enhanced by the invention of print-
ing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the
coming of science, the tempo was suddenly risen. __5__
then knowledge began to be accumulated according to
a systematic plan. However, as soon as new knowl- __6__
edge is acquired, it is now turned to practical ac-
count. What is called “modern civilization” is not the
result of a balanced development of all man’s nature,
but not of accumulated knowledge applied to practical __7__
life. The problem now facing humanity is: what is go-
ing to be done with all this knowledge? Like is often __8__
pointed out, knowledge is a two edged weapon which
could be used equally for good or evil. It is now being __9__
used indifferently for both. Could any spectacle, for
instance, be more grimly whimsical than that gunners __10__
using science to shatter men’s bodies while, close at
hand, surgeons use it to restore them.