I think that's unfair towards technology, which is our primary and - I dare to say - only tool for solving problems[0].
What Americans, and other Western cultures, have a problem with is an obsession with consumptionism - the belief that you can always buy a solution for everything, the belief that the best solution comes from those who advertise most, the belief that they even care about you solving your problem. The gullibility to buy "space-tech" widgets with "new QuantumPower formula" that is obvious bullshit, from people who obviously have zero incentive to help you, and all the incentives to take your money.
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[0] - I mean, what else is there? Magic? Hoping for divine intervention? Pretending a problem doesn't exist?
You are conflating science and technology. For example, people want to get a new mattress because they are having problems sleeping at night. Yes, you can try to find a more technologically advanced mattress and hope it solves your problem, or you can exercise more -- which has been shown to reduce insomnia in scientific tests.
Or you can do both. Sure, the mattress might only marginally increase your quality of sleep, but if the price exceeds the usefulness you get out of it, I'm not sure what the issue is. We spend a third of our time sleeping, after all. Might as well make the most of it.
I'm not. Science is what gives you answers, technology is what turns those answers into actual solutions. E.g. vaccines - the understanding of how they work is science; actual injections you get is technology.
What Americans, and other Western cultures, have a problem with is an obsession with consumptionism - the belief that you can always buy a solution for everything, the belief that the best solution comes from those who advertise most, the belief that they even care about you solving your problem. The gullibility to buy "space-tech" widgets with "new QuantumPower formula" that is obvious bullshit, from people who obviously have zero incentive to help you, and all the incentives to take your money.
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[0] - I mean, what else is there? Magic? Hoping for divine intervention? Pretending a problem doesn't exist?