> What is a frontier but an unexplored and uncharted area? I think to
> limit your hypothesis to the *physical* frontier is avoiding the
> problematizing fact that *everything* that is currently unknown yields
> for humanity a frontier. The human brain is a frontier, the atom is a
> frontier, the universe is a frontier. Indeed death itself is a frontier.
> All these are unexplored and uncharted -- and all either are or will be
> accessible in the (near) future.
Indeed I agree that any new field of endeavor is a frontier unto
intself. However, physical frontiers present a different kind of efficacy
to humans. A physical frontier contains within it, implicitly, the
oppotunity to create completely novel human-social/technological systems.
Scientific and/or technological frontiers can of course reshape a society,
but since they occur within the context of a social ordering the novelty
they impart tends to be limited.
>
> Another thought just occurred to me. In light of the frontiers I just
> mentioned, what is it about these frontiers that spurs evolution? A part
> of it might be the necessity of overcoming obstacles heretofore unknown.
> This pushes the envelope of ingenuity and creativity, and therefore, the
> ability of those doing the exploring. Another tool in the toolchest,
> so-to-speak.
>
Indeed. In addition to what you've stated above, Frontiersm also
forces humanity to conceive view reality from completely new perspectives.
Cheers,
Nigel.