We begin on something new. Wilber calls this stage pre-conventional. It enable structure like the pyramids to be built and was an integral part of the social fabric of societies for several more millennia when it was accepted - when it was conventional. We then reached the post-conventional stage. Flatland Wilber uses the term flatland to describe what happens when one or more of the quadrants is ignored or undervalued.
Science describes our external world.
Science is a world view that measures our 'reality'. Whatever can't be measured in some way is deemed to be unreal or valueless. Values, feelings and intuition have no part in the scientific world. Scientists have created a flat land where the whole left side of the four quadrants have been flattened into the right. We can also create a flat land when we cut ourselves off from higher levels of development.