In stark contrast to our visionless age, and against the common-sense conception of technology as intrinsically soulless and devoid of any higher meaning, Chapter 10 shows that the majority of the techno-scientific breakthroughs of the last hundred years—including nuclear energy, the space program, AI, genetic engineering, and Bitcoin—were, to a large extent, driven and shaped by deeply ideological, spiritual, and religious beliefs. Unless and until we recapture that transcendent dimension, we will never escape stagnation.
