--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The result is a dangerous lag between the…" description: "\"“The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The natural sciences and the technologies they spawn carry us into..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_natural-world_the-result-is-a-dangerous-lag-between-th_1646382.png" --- # The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences… ![“The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The natural sciences and the technologies they spawn carry us into the future at bewildering speed, in the process remolding our understanding of ourselves and revolutionizing our relationships with each other and…” quote by Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_natural-world_the-result-is-a-dangerous-lag-between-th_1646382.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_natural-world_the-result-is-a-dangerous-lag-between-th_1646382.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/thomas-homer-dixon-31705_natural-world_the-result-is-a-dangerous-lag-between-th_1646382.png) > ““The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The natural sciences and the technologies they spawn carry us into the future at bewildering speed, in the process remolding our understanding of ourselves and revolutionizing our relationships with each other and the natural world. The social sciences plod along behind, unable to generate fast enough the knowledge we need to build new institutions for our new world. The renowned management expert Peter Drucker sums up the problem this way: “Effective government has never been needed more than in this highly competitive and fast-changing world of ours, in which the dangers created by the pollution of the physical environment are matched only by the dangers of worldwide armaments pollution. And we do not have even the beginnings of the political theory or the political institutions needed for effective government in the knowledge-based society of organizations.”” [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rapid tech advances outpace social science, leaving governance underprepared for modern challenges. **In simple terms:** Science moves fast, politics lags. Key Takeaway Bridge science and policy. Themes technology governance future risk Mood urgent analytical Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - environmental regulation Key Concepts systems theory institutional inertia Questions to Reflect On - What policies can catch up with tech? - How to integrate social science faster? 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A joule, or unit of energy, invested in extracting and processing bitumen returns only four to six joules in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/bitumen-is-junk-energy-a-joule-or-unit-of-energy-invested-in/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [Human beings have been smart enough to turn nature to their ends, generate vast wealth for themselves, and double their average life span. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/human-beings-have-been-smart-enough-to-turn-nature-to-their-ends/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [“The combined activities of our enormous population are already producing breathtaking effects. 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They've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/new-information-technologies-including-email-the-web-and-computerized/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) [Explore all 16 Thomas Homer-Dixon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) ## More Natural world quotes > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/huigan-causes-us-to-turn-inward-and-reflect-as-the-liquor-coats-our/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [If we do not appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the human heart, how can we appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/if-we-do-not-appreciate-the-sensitivity-and-subtlety-of-the-human/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. 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Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Browse all 672 Natural world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The result is a dangerous lag between the natural sciences and the social sciences. The natural sciences and the technologies they spawn carry us into the future at bewildering speed, in the process remolding our understanding of ourselves and revolutionizing our relationships with each other and the natural world. The social sciences plod along behind, unable to generate fast enough the knowledge we need to build new institutions for our new world. The renowned management expert Peter Drucker sums up the problem this way: “Effective government has never been needed more than in this highly competitive and fast-changing world of ours, in which the dangers created by the pollution of the physical environment are matched only by the dangers of worldwide armaments pollution. 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