The Four Horsemen: The Evolution of Science and Society

This paper may have an unusual flavour. Although I show some of the medical advances of our time, I also present these from the perspective of a doctor who works as a surgeon and has observed society from different angles over the past 25 years. This paper is not meant to be patronizing or overly cynical, but I would like to think there are valuable observations and lessons just by looking at “evolution” of mankind. I chose this title, as in my opinion the Four Horsemen, Famine, Plague, War and Death, are the main factors that drive human evolution. I’ll be reviewing the role of each individually by doing some time travel, setting the scene for the appearance of the horsemen, seeing how society-medicine has coped, or not, and will try to come to some outlook to the future.