How fucked is the human race

[GolfClubNinja]

Many people believe (too some degree myself included), that the human race is fucked in some social or economic way. Our very own Ross has covered robots taking jobs, future dystopias and environmental issues. However there are plenty of other problems that we will have to come fact to face with as a species.

 

Will we slowly regress and/or destroy ourselves, will we stay on the same route, or will we become the new sailors of space?

[Vapymid]

We are doing just fine. As we become aware of problems, we are solving them mostly satisfactorily - so we have an excellent chance of fulfilling our role and spread the Earth's version of life at least into the nearby part of the galaxy.

 

Then... well... all bets are off when we meet some badass aliens, angry at our trespassing into their territory.

 

Regards

[BTGBullseye]

Politically we're stagnating... At least in the USA. Hopefully this presidential election will push people hard enough for them to take action, but I doubt it.

 

Corruption is the highest it's ever been in all areas of every world government, and simultaneously we have the lowest care about it ever.

[longliveprose]

We're pretty fucked.

[UndeadNecro]

I have a very cynical and pessimistic view of the world, specifically that most people are kind of, y'know, assholes. I mean, it's the main 'culture' of the internet and lots of people bash others for not taking part in it or accepting that it's a thing. In real life it's kind of the same thing, except people aren't as open about it. Even for most stuff, you have to really push people over to get what you want otherwise you're just "going with the flow" and for most people that's apparently not good enough. There's also the type of stuff that's skill-based of sorts. Really just bringing this up to complain about the education system and the whole "you can do anything if you put your mind to it." For most people, it's a case of you're either good at X or you're bad at X. Saying someone "isn't smart enough" to become a scientist is asinine but everyone goes with the standard that school education and grades, etc. define who you will be or what you're supposed to do with your life. Point is, there are some many things that still exist that run our lives subtly. Simply put, you can't do a job if you don't have a degree for it and you're not not allowed to learn how to do the job if the school says you're not qualified to do so.

 

So, yeah, the world is pretty fucked in my eyes but I could just be unfortunate or just a really lazy fat vidya gaemr, which I'm *pretty sure* isn't correct.

[GolfClubNinja]

man, the chart looks almost like an average charge, minus not being less than not very.

 

47%: we are fucked to some point

33%: we can deal with it, but it looks bad

20%: nah, its not that bad, we good

 

this mainly helps show the consensus of our community on the world, which is nice, and this is another nice conversation piece as well.

 

we are going to need some big fixes if we are going to continue improving and progressing instead of regressing in a fall of Rome manner.I doubt we will totally kill ourselves off, but it is possible.

[Jeb_CC]

I think we're doing okay. X3 Humanity isn't going to destroy itself any time soon. But it might one day. XD And besides, it can't be all that fucked up if there's wonderful people like Vappy living in it.

[Vapymid]

Awww... darling... you'll make me melt... or explode or something Thank you...

 

But - I have a very similar reason for my high hopes for humanity, only I see it in you, of course.

 

Regards

[Jeb_CC]

Awww... darling... you'll make me melt... or explode or something Thank you...

 

But - I have a very similar reason for my high hopes for humanity, only I see it in you, of course.

 

Regards

 

 

Awww...

[SCZephyrinus]

Many people believe (too some degree myself included), that the human race is *screwed* in some social or economic way. Our very own Ross has covered robots taking jobs, future dystopias and environmental issues. However there are plenty of other problems that we will have to come fact to face with as a species.

 

Will we slowly regress and/or destroy ourselves, will we stay on the same route, or will we become the new sailors of space?

Yes and no.

 

From a societal standpoint, it's basically the same as it always has been and will be, until the end of these ages.

From an energy/nature standpoint, we haven't actually had much an impact, besides obvious catastrophes like the BP oil spill.

Education? Locked down by political lackeys of our rich ruling class. Having people smart enough to realize we're basically living a mix of a brave new world and 1984 by George Orwell wouldn't exactly be good. (For them.)

Money? Oh boy, do I really need to break out the charts and graphs? I'm sure we all know things are terribly wrong here in the US when it comes to pay. But this is part of the society/education thing. Natural, to be fixed later, post revolution.

Politically: Yeah, same old same old. People going into this arena are literally blind to the world around them, just like Buddha was post him doing his thing.

Culturally? It'll change. Pretty natural.

 

Over all I'd say things are going pretty swimmingly, it's just we're just getting the beginning of a new renaissance/resurgence of common knowledge/sense. Basically, just chill and ride the wave that is what's coming.

 

Oh yeah, for the whole robot thing, it's not happening. Not for a long time, maybe never. Jobs? Yes a hundred times over. World domination? A silly thought right now, as we can't even explain what WE are. (The hard problem of consciousness) How are you going to recreate something that you don't even understand in the first place?

[Fric]

Has there been any generation who said they weren't fucked? More or less, you have all kinds of problems all the time. Its a matter of perception on what is fucked for each person...

[Zelpa]

Humanity as a whole seems is definitely getting better, less crime, higher education rates, we've wiped tons of diseases off the face of the Earth. I don't think we'll have a utopia for a very long time, that's probably hundreds of years off. I think people take things for granted when they say humanity is fucked, we don't have to live with smallpox, the black death, the spanish flu, etc. The things we do have to deal with are inconsequential. Sure politicians may be fucking us over, but the things that science is doing for us can't be overstated.

[BTGBullseye]

I see lots of people saying that because we have fewer hardships in our lives, that things are getting better... The problem is, as we lose the physical hardships, we gain mental and spiritual ones, and people think they aren't worth mentioning. I do.

 

Example 1: This is the absolute worst amount of suicides ever experienced in recorded history.

Example 2: More people are taking antidepressants daily than ever before.

Example 3: The USA is getting so anti-religious that they are taking down stickers at bus stops that say "Jesus loves you!" and claiming they are "hate speech". (this is happening right now in Pueblo Colorado)

 

There is something very wrong with this world, it's just not physical.

[Heliocentrical]

Example 3: The USA is getting so anti-religious that they are taking down stickers at bus stops that say "Jesus loves you!" and claiming they are "hate speech". (this is happening right now in Pueblo Colorado)

That's kinda bizarre, how do you classify something like that as hate speech? Now I do agree with the sentiment that religion in the US should be toned down and become more private. IMO the way the US treats religion as something to shout about and to attach merchandise to is extremely disrespectful to the religion itself. While I think stuff like religious t-shirts and religious stickers are disgustingly garish they aren't hate speech. I don't even know how one might reach that conclusion.

 

OT: The real world doesn't really affect me much. While it is undoubtedly fucked once I realized that I had no power in any way, shape or form to unfuck it I stopped caring. As far as I'm concerned the world could burn and I still wouldn't care. That would imply that I believed that life is valuable and I don't. Life is nothing miraculous. The dust mites that live on top of my PC have as much "purpose" in life as I do and they could be considered alive. Yet I still murder trillions of them on a monthly basis. So what does that say about life in of itself? Nothing, because life has no point. As stupid as this may sound we don't choose life chooses us. We are a byproduct of existence itself, nothing more.

 

I find it baffling when overly-optimistic, shortsighted, grandiose people believe they can unfuck the world or even possibly change it for the better. They can't handle what fate has placed before them and so they scatter about like ants, panicked about what they can do. Except they can't do anything. They would rather waste even more time putting up a fight against something unwinnable then simply come to terms with their reality and move on. We truly are Sisyphus incarnate.

 

So in order to answer the question I would say it is quite manageable if we ignore it that is.

[SCZephyrinus]

Has there been any generation who said they weren't fucked? More or less, you have all kinds of problems all the time. Its a matter of perception on what is fucked for each person...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the baby boomers got off pretty easy.

I see lots of people saying that because we have fewer hardships in our lives, that things are getting better... The problem is, as we lose the physical hardships, we gain mental and spiritual ones, and people think they aren't worth mentioning. I do. /Snip/

Unfortunately, there will always be hardships. With post revelations being an exception.

Example 3: The USA is getting so anti-religious that they are taking down stickers at bus stops that say "Jesus loves you!" and claiming they are "hate speech". (this is happening right now in Pueblo Colorado)

"...I don't even know how one might reach that conclusion."

It challenges or bothers some people, makes them uncomfortable. Maybe rises up hate in them for past experiences they've had. Basically, they don't like it and they want it gone, I don't figure it's much more than that. At least those are the very first things that've come to my mind rn.

[/quote=Heliocentrical]

While it is undoubtedly screwed once I realized that I had no power in any way, shape or form to unscrew it I stopped caring.

Not with that attitude! : P (I'd reduce the distance between those two if I could...and I broke the quote too!)

As far as I'm concerned the world could burn and I still wouldn't care.(1) That would imply that I believed that life is valuable and I don't. Life is nothing miraculous.(2) The dust mites that live on top of my PC have as much "purpose" in life as I do and they could be considered alive. Yet I still murder trillions of them on a monthly basis. So what does that say about life in of itself? Nothing, because life has no point.(3) As stupid as this may sound we don't choose life chooses us.(4) We are a byproduct of existence itself, nothing more.

 

I find it baffling when overly-optimistic, shortsighted, grandiose people believe they can unfuck the world or even possibly change it for the better. They can't handle what fate has placed before them and so they scatter about like ants, panicked about what they can do. Except they can't do anything. They would rather waste even more time putting up a fight against something unwinnable then simply come to terms with their reality and move on. We truly are Sisyphus incarnate.(5, whole paragraph.)

 

So in order to answer the question I would say it is quite manageable if we ignore it that is.

1:Yeah, I used to think like that, until I realized I'd have much more fun (and do) burning away everything that's wrong or bad around me.

2:By the very definition of miraculous you're wrong >.>

3:Err, why not just like dust them off? Also, something doesn't add up here, just because some life can be ended easily doesn't mean it's worthless. That's like saying things that can't be broken are infinitely valuable.

4:Most organized religions I know of would say no, but I figure you're not too concerned with that, so I'm not really expecting a response on this one.

5:I get where you're coming from, yeah, most people aren't going to change stuff because they're going about it the wrong way, or they're just in the wrong place, or really any other reason that could be keeping them. However, I'll have you know, even the smallest actions have gran affects in the long run. Just by being nice to someone you could be stopping them from suicide later, and them not killing themselves could lead to one of their descendants being the next genius. It's all a matter of perspective. Sure, here and now your actions are meaningless, but in the long run you're crazy important.

[Vapymid]

Ah - Helio - you are right about the dust mites having the same purpose, roughly as you. But they have a different function and different responsibilities.

 

Amoebae and bacteria and viruses - the same thing. All work towards the same goal in the end but their roles are very diffferent.

 

You as a much more expensive and complex entity has much greater responsibility and power than the little ones down the pyramid of life, so - you can't compare your importance directly.

 

Regards

[BTGBullseye]

Example 3: The USA is getting so anti-religious that they are taking down stickers at bus stops that say "Jesus loves you!" and claiming they are "hate speech". (this is happening right now in Pueblo Colorado)

That's kinda bizarre, how do you classify something like that as hate speech? Now I do agree with the sentiment that religion in the US should be toned down and become more private. IMO the way the US treats religion as something to shout about and to attach merchandise to is extremely disrespectful to the religion itself. While I think stuff like religious t-shirts and religious stickers are disgustingly garish they aren't hate speech. I don't even know how one might reach that conclusion.

There is new legislation in California that is directly targeting christian schools... SB 1146.

 

The way it's worded is such that it appeals to the anti-discrimination crowd, but in reality it merely introduces the ability of a student to sue the school if a teacher starts the class with a prayer. (among other things)

We're not talking normal public schools... This includes Catholic universities, and other higher education institutions that are specifically for the religiously inclined.

 

There are a LOT of blatantly anti-religious people out there trying to curtail the freedom of religion in any way they can, and even trying to use 'discrimination' as a weapon.

[Zelpa]

Example 3: The USA is getting so anti-religious that they are taking down stickers at bus stops that say "Jesus loves you!" and claiming they are "hate speech". (this is happening right now in Pueblo Colorado)

That's kinda bizarre, how do you classify something like that as hate speech? Now I do agree with the sentiment that religion in the US should be toned down and become more private. IMO the way the US treats religion as something to shout about and to attach merchandise to is extremely disrespectful to the religion itself. While I think stuff like religious t-shirts and religious stickers are disgustingly garish they aren't hate speech. I don't even know how one might reach that conclusion.

There is new legislation in California that is directly targeting christian schools... SB 1146.

 

The way it's worded is such that it appeals to the anti-discrimination crowd, but in reality it merely introduces the ability of a student to sue the school if a teacher starts the class with a prayer. (among other things)

We're not talking normal public schools... This includes Catholic universities, and other higher education institutions that are specifically for the religiously inclined.

 

There are a LOT of blatantly anti-religious people out there trying to curtail the freedom of religion in any way they can, and even trying to use 'discrimination' as a weapon.

 

are you religious yourself? also it does seem silly to stop christian schools from leading with prayers, but if school is mandatory it shouldn't be religious in that sense. they should teach about the history of religions of course, but religious schools have always rubbed me the wrong way. kind of like U.S. schools making students do the pledge of allegiance. seems like indoctrination if it's something kids are REQUIRED to go to.

[BTGBullseye]

I am Catholic... Does that matter?

 

It's not going to do anything to public schools, it only affects schools that are specifically designed to be for Christians/religious individuals.

[Zelpa]

I am Catholic... Does that matter?

 

It's not going to do anything to public schools, it only affects schools that are specifically designed to be for Christians/religious individuals.

 

The concept of religious schools is what bugs me though, if school is mandatory it shouldn't have affiliations to any specific kind of belief system. If people still want to send their kids to them that's fine, and stopping them from saying prayers in a religious school is silly. I'm just saying it would be better for there to be no religious schools in the first place.