Is the human race really doomed?
If we follow the news media, we might get the impression that the world is an increasingly brutal, warlike and dangerous place.
Well, according to psychologist Stephen Pinker, the world is in fact becoming less brutal, warlike and dangerous than in the past.
Intuitively, I found it difficult to accept Pinker’s view at first: However, if we read even short snippets of History, we find countless examples of continuous warfare, murders, genocides, mass poverty and plagues, over the centuries.
So bearing in mind the staggeringly large current world population of over 7.5 billion, compared with the Medieval period of an estimated mere half a billion, it suddenly seems easier to accept that there might be proportionately less brutality and danger in the world now.
Obviously, there are still many, many terrible things happening in the world but at least things may be slowly improving for many of us.
Well, according to psychologist Stephen Pinker, the world is in fact becoming less brutal, warlike and dangerous than in the past.
Intuitively, I found it difficult to accept Pinker’s view at first: However, if we read even short snippets of History, we find countless examples of continuous warfare, murders, genocides, mass poverty and plagues, over the centuries.
So bearing in mind the staggeringly large current world population of over 7.5 billion, compared with the Medieval period of an estimated mere half a billion, it suddenly seems easier to accept that there might be proportionately less brutality and danger in the world now.
Obviously, there are still many, many terrible things happening in the world but at least things may be slowly improving for many of us.
Maybe if a large meteor hits or a new 'species' of intelligent animal surpasses us. Or perhaps even a virus. Otherwise NO, we've been very good at adapting to new challenges and making sure we find a way to live in new environments.
So despite the negative headline, the lot of many is generally improving as we strive to improve the lives of those around us. Lets have a happy Christmas and a courageous prosperous new year.
So despite the negative headline, the lot of many is generally improving as we strive to improve the lives of those around us. Lets have a happy Christmas and a courageous prosperous new year.
Simply yes, it's a matter of timescale.
The Sun is currently a main sequence star and will remain so for another 4-5 billion years. It will then expand and cool to become a red giant. The Earth will as a habitable planet will at this point cease to exist. After which it will shrink and heat up again to become a white dwarf. The white dwarf star will run out of nuclear fuel and slowly cool down over many billions of years.
But in the words of Sgt Fraser- 'We're doomed'
The Sun is currently a main sequence star and will remain so for another 4-5 billion years. It will then expand and cool to become a red giant. The Earth will as a habitable planet will at this point cease to exist. After which it will shrink and heat up again to become a white dwarf. The white dwarf star will run out of nuclear fuel and slowly cool down over many billions of years.
But in the words of Sgt Fraser- 'We're doomed'
Quote:Simply yes, it's a matter of timescale.
The Sun is currently a main sequence star and will remain so for another 4-5 billion years. It will then expand and cool to become a red giant. The Earth will as a habitable planet will at this point cease to exist. After which it will shrink and heat up again to become a white dwarf. The white dwarf star will run out of nuclear fuel and slowly cool down over many billions of years.
But in the words of Sgt Fraser- 'We're doomed'
Then the sooner we get out there and start looking for wormholes the better, I reckon.
I think Steven Pinker may well be right to conclude that the present world is on the whole less brutal than before, but is it less dangerous for humankind as a whole?
I'm on the fence on that one: My reason for being cautious is that the modern world has much faster and widespread communication systems - and of course - there are several nations with nuclear weapons and other increasingly destructive war machines.
The First and Second World Wars were indescribably terrible but surely if Hitler had nuclear weapons the whole human race might have been extinguished before now.
So I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic: I think things could go either way, in our modern world - a world that is still just as crazy as it was centuries ago.
I'm on the fence on that one: My reason for being cautious is that the modern world has much faster and widespread communication systems - and of course - there are several nations with nuclear weapons and other increasingly destructive war machines.
The First and Second World Wars were indescribably terrible but surely if Hitler had nuclear weapons the whole human race might have been extinguished before now.
So I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic: I think things could go either way, in our modern world - a world that is still just as crazy as it was centuries ago.
I think one of the biggest dangers to modern society are the woke ones, that is where the real current danger resides
Quote:I think one of the biggest dangers to modern society are the woke ones, that is where the real current danger resides
I see the term “woke” is now in the Dictionary. I hate the term – or more specifically - what it has become.
“Woke” has become a meaningless term because on the one hand it means being socially aware while to the racist, right wingers and various cynics it means to be PC – to be weak and socially liberal - to be virtue signalling.
So “woke” has become a pejorative term.
Well, I think it’s a good thing to become more and more aware in a world that is full of corruption, fake news, fake information, breaches of human rights and international law, etc., etc.
I'm always slightly bemused by those who use the terms "virtue signalling" or "do-gooder" as insults. It's as if they would rather people signalled their vices and went around doing bad 
As to the likely demise of our star the sun in 4 or 5 billion years, I don't think we need worry, as we will be long gone before then anyway. Has any relatively complex life form lasted even a tiny fraction of that period ?
As to the likely demise of our star the sun in 4 or 5 billion years, I don't think we need worry, as we will be long gone before then anyway. Has any relatively complex life form lasted even a tiny fraction of that period ?
Quote:I'm always slightly bemused by those who use the terms "virtue signalling" or "do-gooder" as insults. It's as if they would rather people signalled their vices and went around doing bad Grin
I absolutely agree. Now, I'm cynical but don't enjoy being in that state of mind: whereas some selfish, narcissists seem to think it is smart to be cynical but they are merely sticking their heads in the sand because they are unable - or too lazy - to answer certain important existential questions.
"Wokeness" seems to be regarded as a left wing/liberal phenomenon and there certainly are many examples of silly "PC gone mad" - but I think a far worse threat to society is the increasing right wing menace exemplified by those encouraged by Trump in the US.
Admittedly, to a lesser extent, the same thing seems to be happening over here in the UK.
I view the "woke" more as robotic than human, to them everything is black and white, zeros and ones, and if certain computations do not work out, system failure occurs, or Antifa happens.
I am all for harmony, but harmony is rarely proffered by the woke left, who believe only their voices count, so lets cancel everyone who disagrees. This is a dangerous ideology and will only end one way, with the annihilation of free speech and eventually free will.
I am all for harmony, but harmony is rarely proffered by the woke left, who believe only their voices count, so lets cancel everyone who disagrees. This is a dangerous ideology and will only end one way, with the annihilation of free speech and eventually free will.
Quote:I view the "woke" more as robotic than human, to them everything is black and white, zeros and ones, and if certain computations do not work out, system failure occurs, or Antifa happens.
I am all for harmony, but harmony is rarely proffered by the woke left, who believe only their voices count, so lets cancel everyone who disagrees. This is a dangerous ideology and will only end one way, with the annihilation of free speech and eventually free will.
Yes, I think there is that element of "robotic" "wokery" around - all part of the PC nonsense. Much of this "wokery" and "platforming" only serves to distract from the real issues.
However, I think the issues like racism, climate change, pandemics, wealth redistribution, inequality etc., are really serious issues which need addressing urgently.
To use a rather extreme analogy, the French Revolution was at first justified because of the gross injustices and hardship that the ruling aristocracy imposed on the masses; but then of course came Robespierre and the bloody "Reign of Terror" and so many of the original aims of the revolution were undone and irrationality took a back seat. You do crazy things to people and they start acting crazy...Yes?
Quote:I am all for harmony, but harmony is rarely proffered by the woke left, who believe only their voices count, so lets cancel everyone who disagrees. This is a dangerous ideology and will only end one way, with the annihilation of free speech and eventually free will.
Yes, but surely the right wing stir up the left wing in the first place - the right wing being heavily dominant in most political and economic affairs. Extreme left or extreme right views are always bad in my opinion.
The problem for some of course, is how to interpret what is extreme and what is not.
Quote:This is a dangerous ideology and will only end one way, with the annihilation of free speech and eventually free will.
You should read and watch less of the news. You take the antics of a lunatic minority far too seriously and in doing so make them stronger. The news media publicize these tiny minorities because it gathers in eyeballs and therefore attention and advertising, witness this thread, me included. It's a shame to let one's life be affected by joining in a game with people whose only aim is to wind others up.
If you want to see lunatic statements from left or right ideologues they have always been available and always will be. The occasional one gets through, Hitler and Stalin notably but they tend to use physical violence rather than words.
