While this is a subject I would be interested in, I took one look at the front page, saw that it appeared to be video-only, and gave up.

This is precisely the reaction that news sites get from me when I click on a link to a story and find video-only content.

Am I the only one, or would it be a really good idea to provide transcripts of the interviews?

I can offer you an alternative, rather more cynical, explanation as to why it's such a popular class: it's rated as one of the easiest.

Not only, as the article mentions, does it fulfill a core requirement, but it's also rated as one of the easiest courses going in the student evaluations. It scores a 1.58/5 for workload, and a 2.43/5 for difficulty, both below the benchmark for the Gen Ed department (which itself is pretty low).

I'm sure many people taking the class have a genuine interest, but from my experience a significant number of students spend a lot of time finding core/gen-ed classes that are light on work (this is especially true if you've left your requirement to the last minute to complete).

(I'd link to the evaluation data, but you need a harvard.edu login, so you'll have to take my word for it).

Edit: Turns out the student paper backs this theory up - http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/10/9/hey-atlantic-5-r...

> the forward march of innovation, once a cultural constant, had slowed to a crawl

And yet I keep a really really advanced slab of glass in my pocket at all times on which I can talk instantly to anyone in the world, check stats about myself and my environment, and can access the whole of human knowledge since recorded history.

I can use an inexpensive device that not only protects me from unwanted pregnancy, but solves most other sexual hazards.

I no longer die from the flu and most of the common diseases have been all but wiped out.

I have algorithms at my disposal (for free) that often know what I'm looking for better than I do myself.

People are using binary logic to program bacteria to kill disease.

If any organ in my body has a problem it can be replaced with a donor version. Many can be replaced with artificial versions, sometimes printed to my exact specifications.

Humans without legs can compete at the Olympic level against humans with healthy legs.

Quadriplegics not only survive, but can have a surprising level of autonomy.

We have a veritable space race among private companies. A feat so far reserved only for the wealthiest of nation states.

I don't know about you, but progress is right here. Happening right fucking now. And it is amazing!

When was the last time in living memory that a person could read most works of science fiction and say "Yeah, with the right kind of funding, we can have that in 10 years"

Stop lamenting the lack of progress and look around. The world is completely different than it was even five years ago.

PS: I almost forgot -> humans have had a constant presence in space since 1998, and before that from 1986 to 1996. That's pretty awesome too.