2020: The Year Human Ingenuity Prevailed

As I’ve watched Americans and people worldwide receive the Covid-19 vaccine over the past couple weeks, I heard the words of Neil Armstrong echoing in my head.

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

That iconic line (said, I must note as a Purdue University professor, by our most famous alum) recognizes that the momentous accomplishment of putting humans on the moon belonged to all of humanity. With our incredible intellect and ceaseless curiosity, we proved we can go where no person has ever gone before, both physically as well as scientifically.

Developing a Covid-19 vaccine in a mere 10 months is the modern-day equivalent of putting a man on the moon, but it’s not the only example of human ingenuity this year. To say 2020 has been difficult is a gross understatement, but the silver lining lies in the many examples of our collective resilience as we have navigated the pandemic. As an expert on automation and human-machine interaction, this year has validated a long-held truth: No matter how advanced our machines become, our unique ingenuity as humans is ultimately what drives our progress — a strength that should never be discounted. As the year comes to a close, let’s take a moment to celebrate the successes we have had and look to the ones that will come.

Collaborative efforts, shared successes

Discoveries and breakthroughs don’t happen in a vacuum. They build on the trials and successes — and, of course, failures — of our predecessors. For instance, Armstrong was in his first year at Purdue studying aeronautical engineering when Orville Wright, who built and flew the first successful aircraft with his brother Wilbur, passed away in 1948. In a lifetime, humans went from that first 12-second flight on the beaches of Kitty Hawk in 1903 to walking on the moon in 1969. And from our present perspective, the smartphones many of us carry — and that you may be reading this very article on — are 100,000 times more powerful than the computers on Armstrong’s flight a half-century ago. The foundation that was laid yesterday helped make today possible.

By not fully appreciating our rich history, people risk losing sight of the impressive achievements we’re benefiting from, including these vaccines. Our scientists are so exceptional at addressing our needs that we often take them for granted, leading many of us to just assume that discovering a vaccine for Covid-19 was a foregone conclusion. However, as The Atlantic’s Ed Yong recently reported, it took harnessing the scientific community across several disciplines to combat the virus:

“Neuroscientists who study the sense of smell started investigating why COVID‑19 patients tend to lose theirs. Physicists who had previously experienced infectious diseases only by contracting them found themselves creating models to inform policy makers… No other disease has been scrutinized so intensely, by so much combined intellect, in so brief a time.”

Yong also cites a Harvard survey that found nearly one-third of all research conducted across the United States, Canada and Europe since the start of the outbreak was devoted to the cause. The vaccine continues to be produced en masse and the complex logistics to distribute it far and wide are underway. We were able to accomplish all of this because of our investment in the people and skills across science, medicine, engineering and public health. When confronted with adversity on global proportions, human ingenuity and innovation proved to be boundless.

Emerging resiliently and creatively

One doesn’t have to be a groundbreaking scientist to put human ingenuity to practice. As the world scrambled in March to adjust to a “new normal,” all kinds of people used the knowledge and tools available to them in innovative ways. In May, for example, I shared the story of Tommy, a robot nurse in an Italian hospital during the country’s Covid-19 spike. This robot wasn’t necessarily designed to be used in a pandemic, but the medical team recognized how its ability to monitor human vitals and communicate from afar allowed human caretakers to limit person-to-person interactions with infected patients. Thanks to Tommy, the hospital was able to provide better care to its patients while protecting its staff.  

Companies and institutions worldwide also reimagined operations, like incorporating more automation to ensure social distancing and reimagining industries to help small and local business stay afloat in the economic downturn. Across all levels of education, my colleagues and I converted our lesson plans to teach students remotely in a matter of weeks, and our students likewise adjusted to their new learning environment. Many of us adopted new ways to do business and stay entertained, becoming quite proficient using video conferencing platforms or coming up with other ways to engage with friends and family (even if it was just distanced hangouts in lawn chairs in our driveways!). In those early stages of the pandemic, we weren’t developing new innovations but instead finding new (and necessary) ways to apply what we already had at our disposal.

Whether it’s the vaccines, Tommy the robot or whatever you may have done in your day-to-day life over this year, humans should be proud of their special abilities to problem-solve and, more often than not, succeed in doing so. As we look back and reflect on this year, let’s pause and appreciate the work of so many others and ourselves to get through it. The future still remains uncertain, but if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we can solve the monumental challenges facing humanity, together.