Immemorial

The mathletes threw up their hands when the machines entered the race and the brain pulp merchants, always on the hunt for the most profitable return, were quick to switch to the new and shiny altar of AI and now exult in spitting on the old in a show of their newfound devotion. "Many kinds of men devote themselves to Science, and not all for the sake of Science herself. There are some who come into her temple because it offers them the opportunity to display their particular talents. To this class of men science is a kind of sport in the practice of which they exult, just as an athlete exults in the exercise of his muscular prowess. There is another class of men who come into the temple to make an offering of their brain pulp in the hope of securing a profitable return. These men are scientists only by the chance of some circumstance which offered itself when making a choice of career. If the attending circumstance had been different they might have become politicians or captains of business. Should an angel of God descend and drive from the Temple of Science all those who belong to the categories I have mentioned, I fear the temple would be nearly emptied. But a few worshipers would still remain—some from former times and some from ours. To these latter belongs our Planck. And that is why we love him." -Albert Einstein