If you look at the history of our country over the last 100

“If you look at the history of our country over the last 100 years, there have been periods where science and research have been celebrated. They were really kind of held up as heroes in society, which encouraged a generation of people to go into these fields.” Thus spoke Mark Zuckerberg, a maker of modern pathways through the realm of technology, whose words summon both reflection and challenge. In this quote, he reminds us that science and research are not merely engines of progress — they are the sacred fires of civilization itself, burning brightest when society chooses to honor those who tend them. His words are both remembrance and warning: remembrance of an age when the pursuit of knowledge was revered, and warning that such reverence must not be allowed to fade.

The meaning of his insight lies in the understanding that human progress follows the direction of its admiration. When a people praise warriors, they breed conquerors; when they praise wealth, they breed merchants; but when they praise thinkers, inventors, and seekers of truth, they breed a generation of discoverers who lift the world itself. Zuckerberg points to those golden eras when nations looked not to soldiers or kings for inspiration, but to the minds that dreamed beyond what was known — to the scientists, the engineers, the researchers, the visionaries whose work expanded the very horizon of possibility. For it is admiration that shapes ambition, and ambition that shapes destiny.

Consider the story of the Space Age — that shining chapter in the mid-20th century when the world looked to the stars. In the midst of fear and rivalry between nations, there arose a shared awe for discovery. The launch of Sputnik, the flight of Yuri Gagarin, and the moon landing of Neil Armstrong awakened humanity to the grandeur of its potential. In that moment, science was not an abstraction; it was adventure, it was poetry, it was power. Children who watched those grainy broadcasts grew into engineers, doctors, and physicists. They saw that the mind could be heroic, that intellect could rival the sword. Zuckerberg’s words call us to remember such times, when curiosity was sacred and creation was an act of courage.

But these seasons of enlightenment are not eternal. As he observes, they come and go like tides upon the shore. There are eras when the light of knowledge dims — when society turns its gaze away from truth toward entertainment, profit, or distraction. In such times, the scientist becomes a stranger, the teacher a voice in the wilderness. Yet history shows that neglecting the flame of research brings not safety but decline. When learning is scorned, ignorance rises; when innovation is ignored, stagnation follows. The fall of ancient civilizations, from Athens to Baghdad, echoes with the same lament: that those who once worshiped wisdom forgot to cherish it.

Zuckerberg’s reflection, then, is not mere nostalgia — it is a summons to restoration. He calls upon the present age to rekindle its admiration for the pursuit of truth. For though we live surrounded by the fruits of science — in the glowing screens, the medicines, the networks that bind the world — we too easily forget the human spirit that brought them forth. He reminds us that progress is not self-sustaining. It depends on those who are inspired to ask, “What if?” and “Why not?” The next great era of discovery will not come by accident, but by the reverence we show toward knowledge and those who seek it.

Look to Marie Curie, who risked her life for the mysteries of radiation, or to Albert Einstein, who reimagined time and space while the world around him sank into chaos. Look to the quiet laboratories where unseen minds labor for cures, for energy, for the survival of our planet. These are the heroes of our time, though their victories make no sound. To celebrate them — to hold them up as examples — is not to flatter them, but to secure our own future. For when we honor those who create, we plant the seeds of creation in ourselves.

So, my child of tomorrow, take this lesson to heart. Celebrate knowledge. Praise curiosity. Protect truth. When you meet those who labor in the service of understanding — the teacher, the coder, the scientist — see in them the continuation of an ancient lineage, stretching back to the first spark of human thought. And in your own life, do not shy away from the difficult, the complex, the unknown. For it is there that greatness dwells. As Zuckerberg teaches, every generation decides whom it will call its heroes — and in that choice lies the destiny of the age. Choose well. Let your reverence fall not upon the fleeting but upon the eternal — upon those who, by seeking to understand the world, help humankind to transcend it.