AND, many of those good ideas were never formed because of a systematic lack of opportunity for some to participate in education and innovation efforts, and a culture that placed less value on the ideas that were offered by non-white non-male scientists. Science tells us all human brains fall evenly across the IQ spectrum - if we have a world where only 5-10% of our brains (white, male, western, educated) get nurtured, educated, encouraged, and listened to it is humbling to think of all the great innovations we have lost. We have begun to make some progress but we are only 50 years from segregation - and there is good scientific data that shows that the sciences routinely under-promote the work of women and POC.
For example in 2020, female scientists in China and Brazil account for about 50% of innovations new enough and valuable enough to warrant a patent. In the US and western Europe, the number is closer to 17%. I don't have numbers for race as that is not tracked by the patent office, but I would expect a similar story.
We are tribal beings and there is no doubt we used this to routinely ignore the "other". Race, religion, and gender all played a big part in who got to have a "serious idea" over the time window of the industrial revolution and enlightenment. It is not racism to point that out and suggest we fix some of our mess. That being said, the 180 reversal of the "chosen" and the "other" is no improvement at all - here I am sure we are aligned.
