Is humanity on a path to suicide?

[death metal black metal]

It is no longer recommended to eat fish from the ocean, because they have toxic levels of heavy metals.

It is no longer recommended to stop your car in over 1/3 of the average American or European city, because crime is so out of control.

It is no longer recommended to send smart children to regular schools, because the schools are designed to make dumb children feel accepted.

It is no longer recommended to drink water from rivers, or to eat fruit from trees grown in the suburbs.

It is no longer recommended to live in cities, because the pollution is so strong.

Today, seven billion... in ten years, nine billion. The average IQ is 85-92. Each one of these people produces a bag of garbage a day, and needs food that leaves more heavy metals in the water, more pesticides and fertilizer in our waterways.

Our politicians approve those things that make many people happy because it's what they think they want, but those things never turn out well, and problems remain. These are not problems like war, poverty and inequality, which are universal and will never go away, but problems like corruption, bad leadership, and the results.

Most cities are ugly places lined with advertising. Whatever is popular sells. Whatever sells is good, by most people's definition. They consider themselves successes if they make money and own things, but never think of the condition of their souls or minds.

Where does this course end? Nothing opposes it. It is popular. But who is thinking of the future? And most of all, who is thinking of making great art, great architecture, great music, great thinking? None of these things exist, only an incessant stream of pretty good alternatives.

Is the future of humanity doom, to fade out with a whimper and not a bang?

 

[The Poona of Peshwa]

Who "does not recommend" these things, you? It's a fact that crime rates are lower in the western world than they have ever been. Where do you get this 1/3 figure from? The city I live in anyways, I can eat apples off the trees and breathe pure air. Granted, I won't go take a swig out of the river

The lack of "greatness" does disturb me too though. . . I honestly think that the problem with people nowadays is that our bodies and minds were evolved in ancient africa and aren't designed for the world we have created for ourselves. There wasn't pornography and mcdonalds and xbox in the ancestral environment, or even 100 years ago (ok there was some porn).

The average IQ by definition is 100 btw.

 

[Seditious]

sounds like progress to me... "the future of humanity" I think is a rather extreme leap from a 'a necessary revamp on civilization'

 

[hibernal_dream]

It is no longer recommended to eat fish from the ocean, because they have toxic levels of heavy metals.

It is no longer recommended to stop your car in over 1/3 of the average American or European city, because crime is so out of control.

It is no longer recommended to send smart children to regular schools, because the schools are designed to make dumb children feel accepted.

It is no longer recommended to drink water from rivers, or to eat fruit from trees grown in the suburbs.

It is no longer recommended to live in cities, because the pollution is so strong.

Today, seven billion... in ten years, nine billion. The average IQ is 85-92. Each one of these people produces a bag of garbage a day, and needs food that leaves more heavy metals in the water, more pesticides and fertilizer in our waterways.

Our politicians approve those things that make many people happy because it's what they think they want, but those things never turn out well, and problems remain. These are not problems like war, poverty and inequality, which are universal and will never go away, but problems like corruption, bad leadership, and the results.

Most cities are ugly places lined with advertising. Whatever is popular sells. Whatever sells is good, by most people's definition. They consider themselves successes if they make money and own things, but never think of the condition of their souls or minds.

Where does this course end? Nothing opposes it. It is popular. But who is thinking of the future? And most of all, who is thinking of making great art, great architecture, great music, great thinking? None of these things exist, only an incessant stream of pretty good alternatives.

Is the future of humanity doom, to fade out with a whimper and not a bang?

There's a question which should be asked before this - what is humanity's goal? Because this suicide you speak of might be the only path to achieving it, and if so our efforts to return the world to a more comfortable position would be pointless.

 

[Seditious]

There's a question which should be asked before this - what is humanity's goal? Because this suicide you speak of might be the only path to achieving it, and if so our efforts to return the world to a more comfortable position would be pointless.

Keeping our iPods obviously.

 

[hibernal_dream]

Are you joking, or do you really think that's what we should be aiming for?

 

[Seditious]

Are you joking, or do you really think that's what we should be aiming for?

my iPod broke last month, life is no longer worth living.

 

[SouthernTrendkill]

That's blatant apoclyptic wanking. Every generation thinks that the world is about to end. That's what people thought circa 0 BC when Jesus came along and everyone was all "omg!11 We are the last generation!" It's hubris to put so much stalk in the miniscule occurences of our age.

I certainly wish we were on a path to suicide, but unfortunately we're not. You're underrating the human ability to adapt. We'll survive for quite a long time after now, almost certainly.

 

[death metal black metal]

That's blatant apoclyptic wanking. Every generation thinks that the world is about to end.

Logical fallacy, at some point one might be right. -5

 

[Seditious]

Logical fallacy, at some point one might be right. -5

which logical fallacy is that? and why is to warranted to assert that this generation is in fact the one which is right/doomed?

 

[En Vind Av Sorg]

If the current trends continue to progress at the rates we find today, humanities "suicide" certainly becomes an issue of when, not if. Not to mention the collateral damage leading up to our extinction, which would be, to put it mildly, catastrophic. Whether we fade away slowly or spectacularly annihilate ourselves is essentially irrelevant.

In the end though, what is the biggest problem? Apathy of course. I fear our race is dangerously close to the point of no return, if it has not already crumbled into the abyss.

 

[Seditious]

Apathy isn't the biggest problem until you've even shown that there is anything wrong. Apathy might well be the only good thing going, and some people want to ruin that to get people all upset about something that doesn't matter anyway... gg

 

[Blowtus]

'Suicide' is stupid emotive language. It implies a conscious choice of death, which is not what is being discussed.

That list of 'recommendations' is bullshit safety scare rubbish. People in the developed world still live longer than at any time in the past. Who cares if I can't go down to my local creek and drink the water, when I'm getting clean stuff piped straight to me?

 

[death metal black metal]

That list of 'recommendations' is bullshit safety scare rubbish. People in the developed world still live longer than at any time in the past.

You're not addressing the question.

The question isn't our individual lives, but what path we have embarked upon and what the consequences are.

If we're in a spaceship, living comfortable lives, and we fly it into the sun, we're in a world of bad, aren't we?

 

[Blowtus]

We haven't 'embarked' on any path. We just do shit that we think we want. Some of it could be viewed as 'destructive' for our long term survival, some constructive. I'm hopeful that our rate of technological advance can save us from our fuckups, because I don't see any other practical options... talk of 'humanity's suicide' and the like is just romantic bullshit.

 

[OldScratch]

We haven't 'embarked' on any path. We just do shit that we think we want. Some of it could be viewed as 'destructive' for our long term survival, some constructive. I'm hopeful that our rate of technological advance can save us from our fuckups, because I don't see any other practical options... talk of 'humanity's suicide' and the like is just romantic bullshit.

Is it? You seem very sure about technology being mankind's "savior," as this has come up a number of times before. But what if that isn't the case? Wouldn't it be prudent to acknowledge and discontinue our "fuckups" rather than simply hold-out hope that we can somehow technologically finagle our way out of peril?
Issues like overpopulation, wide-spread terrestrial pollution, and the like are surely quite real, and it doesn't appear there is anything approaching a global effort to stop it(currently trendy climate-change "green" talk notwithstanding).

I'm not quite as convinced as some that all hope is lost - but the destructive trends seem to outnumber the contructive, when considering many of the contructiive might not even be necessary were we not so recklessly, seflishly destrcutive in the first place. Thus, what appears contructive is ultimately more reactive that pro-active. So at best, we may be just standing-still...or sliding into the abyss. I'd prefer not to have to wait on the technological Messiah to deliver us from our "sinful" ways!

 

[Blowtus]

I'm not at all convinced tech is going to get there for us, like I said, just hopeful... I'm all for mitigating destructive tendencies as well, just doesn't seem we do as good a job at that. This doomsday melodrama just seems oh so very 'metal'

 

[kmik]

Look, life just sucks. It always looks like humanity is on its path to suicide. We have better nutrition and medicine now; you talk about schools, well, its a good achievement that most kids go to school - it's not always been like that; and I'm pretty sure that crime is not any worse now than it used to be. If you prefer to die at your 30s of plagues or something and have a shower once a week it's OK with me...

 

[kmik]

That rant about IQ - could you please provide a study that supports that? To the best of my knowledge, IQ worldwide is increasing. That's called the Flynn effect.

 

[OldScratch]

This doomsday melodrama just seems oh so very 'metal'

Well, when in Rome...