We truly live in a glorious time period

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And yet for all the people complaining, I'm willing to bet if you guys seriously had to live in the year 1500 but had the same knowledge you had now and what technology would become, you would be completely depressed and out of your mind.

This guy did alright...

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

You think people who lived through the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Industrial Revolution didn't think the same thoughts of living in a "glorious" time period? That things couldn't possibly get any better?

Plus CyberCubed, how can we be depressed about something we would have never known in the first place (i.e. knowledge of video games in the distant past)? Gee, I guess society might do something more constructive like umm... I don't know... read good literature rather than watching reality TV obsessively?

I'm well aware the people born 100 years from now will think we are archaic as well. But the point is we now live in a global world where information is at our fingertips and we have modern conveniences.

The only place to go from here is space travel. We know in real life stuff like teleportation or flying cars are unlikely to ever happen. But at least we will see men land on Mars in our lifetime.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I'm well aware the people born 100 years from now will think we are archaic as well. But the point is we now live in a global world where information is at our fingertips and we have modern conveniences.

The only place to go from here is space travel. We know in real life stuff like teleportation or flying cars are unlikely to ever happen. But at least we will see men land on Mars in our lifetime.

First your entire position is vague and fluctuating, you lumped this entire current era as "glorious", by pointing to primarily consumerism technology (DVDs and video games), then you went to political and social conditions (social conditions of certain ethnic groups), and now changing to telecommunications. How exactly are you applying the "glorious" word now CyberCubed? Stick with one specific perspective about humanity CyberCubed, don't keep shifting the perspective of where "glorious" is being applied here. How inclusive or exclusive are you applying "glorious" now?

If we are now talking about globalization and communications:
Globalization has always been progressive with the development in technology, in making communication and transportation faster and faster, and without a doubt the internet has definitely made a huge step forward, but it doesn't necessarily bring a new era of "enlightenment" to humanity or at the very least it's too early to decide if the internet has "enlightened" or improved humanity from a societal perspective. That's where my questioning of "glorious" comes in. The possibilities are exciting, but what has been the societal effect of it?

As with increasing population, the internet has brought humanity's differences unexpectedly closer toward each other. ...And for some, at an uncomfortable or threatening degree of proximity.

With such a wonderful telecommunication tool, have we as a society, reached a new level of wisdom, understanding and compromise similarly during the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution with the invention of the printing press? Have we become better people? Has this instantaneous, easy form of communication helped us to share ideas where it could lead to political and social improvements? The internet would have been a dream tool for political organizers of the 1960s and 1970s to gain broad-reaching support and share ideas, but what do we have now?

While the internet has done marvels for the scientific community and more scholarly areas of society, those improvements seem to be far in the background in terms of societal relevance and importance. The most notorious example is superficial social networking being frequented far more often than educational and genuinely informative literature. I mean is everybody just that important that we have to know every frivolous and mundane detail of their lives through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. where it has become nothing but a worldwide popularity contest of sorts? If we take this further, why are so many individuals feeling compelled to seek approval/attention online? One could infer that most of those individuals are seeking something that they aren't getting in their personal lives. But I'm digressing...

We may have a plethora of information (especially with the internet), but it doesn't necessarily equate to revelation.

I'm not trying to be cynical about technological development, and I do get enthusiastic about scientific progress, but for me, technological development is only as good as how humanity decides to use it. One obvious example is nuclear fission, the extreme dichotomous ends of nuclear energy versus nuclear weapons.


Also don't hold your breath CyberCubed about that whole quixotic manned mission to Mars, because that has been scrapped several times in the past when they have encountered a variety of challenges including supporting human life for a long period of time, the limitations of fossil fuels, enormous costs on taxpayers, and many more challenges. Unless there's some radically new, innovative form of technology to lower or remove these challenges substantially, the most we can hope for is maybe something when we're senior citizens.

[Candy Kappa]

We do live in a time where a lot of vile diseases have been culled, and we have successfully 3D printed prosthetics and houses.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

We do live in a time where a lot of vile diseases have been culled, and we have successfully 3D printed prosthetics and houses.

That is true and it is a good and comfortable time to live in, I would just strongly argue that it's not "glorious". I wouldn't dare say that life was better in the distant past when having the flu could kill 1 out of 3 people, and having to worry about influenza scares like the 1918 flu pandemic.

It's just if we took diseases for example, a lot of the antibiotics and immunizations we rely on today were developed during the mid 1900s. With antibiotic-resistance increasing in bacteria and the growing medical knowledge we have now, pharmaceutical companies still avoid developing antibiotics because it is unprofitable. They want to develop medications that people have to use consistently for chronic cases (erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular drugs, etc.), rather than acute cases (bacterial/viral infections) which can be resolved quickly.

One alarming situation was the whole H1N1 bird/swine flu scare and how there was only one company that made a drug to combat it (Tamiflu). It shows how unprepared we are, as a society, for a possible outbreak and how "spoiled" we have been by medical wellness discoveries of the past, especially when we clearly have the knowledge and resources to combat these forms of illness, unlike the people of the distant past who never even had this type of knowledge.

Is constantly developing a new erectile dysfunction drug or a new cardiovascular drug that important, when clearly most of the Western developed world does not want to manage their health in the first place (i.e. at least in the USA with its growing obesity epidemic)? It's more or less the world implying to the impoverished population, "Sorry poor people, finding a drug for your tuberculosis and easily contagious diseases are not as important as finding a drug to satisfy the more wealthier population's desire for sexual gratification, or a new way to live longer without taking responsibility for their health."

So to bring this back to my main argument, yes it's cool we have the technology, but we could do so much better with it as previous intellectual revolutions have shown. ...And that's why I don't think we are living in a "glorious" time.

[Cure]

I may not share the same enthusiasm as CyberCubed, but you guys are a bunch of cynics. It's not cool to be glad to be alive, I guess.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by Cure

I may not share the same enthusiasm as CyberCubed, but you guys are a bunch of cynics. It's not cool to be glad to be alive, I guess.

Personally I'm grateful for what I have, but let's not sugarcoat the priorities of what society thinks is important though (when that's reflected in their use of technology), especially when Millennials are mocked for having a sense of entitlement and being overtly narcissistic compared to generations of the past.

[CyberCubed]

I'm willing to bet if you were transported in time to the year 1308 and forced to live there for 1 year but with the knowledge you have now, you would be horrified.

People died of the common cold back then. You were lucky if you lived to 50, considering most people died in wars or from diseases. You would be lucky of 2 of your 8 kids survived their childhood and became adults.

Then there were the ruffians. What would you do when ruffians and barbarians came to pillage your village? What would you do in your little farmland against the ruffians? People died. There was no defense against the ruffians.

[pennydreadful]

Hey, I'm glad the house has a roof, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out that the roof has several leaks...

[snake]

2philosophical4me

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Hey, I'm glad the house has a roof, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out that the roof has several leaks...

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Its almost as if some people here don't know what most of human history is like. The entire history of our planet is people killing each other to gain more land and power. There were constant wars between every country.

Look up the history books, England and France were at war with various countries like every couple of years from 1200-1950.

[pennydreadful]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Actually I was implying that back in 1752, there was no roof.

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And it had several more leaks in 1752.

Its almost as if some people here don't know what most of human history is like. The entire history of our planet is people killing each other to gain more land and power. There were constant wars between every country.

Look up the history books, England and France were at war with various countries like every couple of years from 1200-1950.

There "were" constant wars between every country? Yes, I passed 8th grade history class, I'm not being negative and I know current wars/armed conflicts aren't Alexander the Great or 100 Years War level sh*t...I get it.

Has that aspect of humanity (war) improved since that 750 year stretch? Seriously?

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I'm willing to bet if you were transported in time to the year 1308 and forced to live there for 1 year but with the knowledge you have now, you would be horrified.

People died of the common cold back then. You were lucky if you lived to 50, considering most people died in wars or from diseases. You would be lucky of 2 of your 8 kids survived their childhood and became adults.

Then there were the ruffians. What would you do when ruffians and barbarians came to pillage your village? What would you do in your little farmland against the ruffians? People died. There was no defense against the ruffians.

There's no question I would be horrified as I have alluded to earlier:

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

That is true and it is a good and comfortable time to live in, I would just strongly argue that it's not "glorious". I wouldn't dare say that life was better in the distant past when having the flu could kill 1 out of 3 people, and having to worry about influenza scares like the 1918 flu pandemic.

But the thing is CyberCubed how are we utilizing our technology today? That's why I said this:

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

So to bring this back to my main argument, yes it's cool we have the technology, but we could do so much better with it as previous intellectual revolutions have shown. ...And that's why I don't think we are living in a "glorious" time.

I'll give some contrasting examples about how underutilized our technology is in the Western World (or at the very least here in the USA) due to our cultural behavior (from our generation's sense of entitlement and narcissism) affecting technology. Let's take social networking. In an inspiring move, the civil uprisings from the Arab Spring utilized social networking (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) for political activism:

In part by using the social networking sites, activists organised and publicised the unprecedented protests that gave rise to the so-called Arab Spring, which has so far seen longtime governments in Egypt and Tunisia fall, regimes in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain clash with the opposition, and leaders in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE offer more benefits to their populace.
Social media – its rise and its new activist uses – have “played a critical role in mobilisation, empowerment, shaping opinions and influencing change,” the report said.

Just how integral its role was has been debated, it said, “with some camps labelling them the main instigators and others relegating them to mere tools.”

“Regardless, it can be stated that many of the calls to protest in the Arab region were initially made on Facebook,” it said. “As the initial platform for these calls, it cannot be denied that they were factor in mobilising movements.”

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...risings-report

With so much political discontent in the United States, why isn't our country motivated to use this tool to create change that some seem to so desperately want? Unlike the more life-threatening areas of the Middle East, in this country we can demonstrate and politically organize in a far safer environment.

But what do we use this technology of social networking primarily for in more developed nations (specifically the United States)? Apparently we as a society, have elevated Kim Kardashian to such "importance" that she has 20 million followers. Now I can understand Hollywood stars who sing, dance, and act, but talentless Kim Kardashian...? Who does...what exactly now? ...Really? And society has already indicated that she's more important than President Obama.

Let's not forget how narcissistic society is, that people are willing to bash (using social networking and phone calls) a news station, for alerting about tornado warnings simply because it interrupted their television show (Once Upon A Time's season finale). Yes, a television... show.:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/05/13/lo...a-time-finale/


So I ask you again, is this really a "glorious" time? It's good and comfortable, but not "glorious", considering the implied priorities of current society, and that its definition means: "delightful; wonderful; completely enjoyable" or "brilliantly beautiful or magnificent".

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by Peanut

But what if 500 years from now they find a way to store human consciousness in a Matrix-like device that ensures us immortality and the ability to do and have whatever we want for eternity!? THEN WHAT, CYBERCUBED!? You're gonna look up from Hell, remember this thread, and think about how future people are digging through Internet archives and laughing at how naive you were. They're up there flying through space-time and wearing hip future-shades and you're down in hell getting prodded with sharp things and listening to casuals discuss things you love in the most ignorant way possible.

No, Cybercubed. This isn't a glorious time to live. It's a poor time to die.

Krang, I request a like feature for this forum

[BubblyShell22]

Cubed, you really don't get it, do you? Yes, it's better than living in the past where things weren't as developed as they are now, but there are still things about the present that I'm not happy with. There are still wars out there, slavery is still prevalent in other countries, genocides are still going on, etc. Yes, slavery has been abolished and replaced with gay marriage and whether that's right or wrong based on someone else's beliefs that they feel the need to shove down everyone's throats. And as RR said, social media has taken over everyone's lives to the point where kids don't want to go outside and get fresh air and would rather sit at a computer all day obsessing over how many "friends" they have on Facebook or followers on Twitter. And as I said, there have been cures for many diseases, but cancer and AIDS still don't have cures. To me, it'll be a glorious time when there's actually a cure for these diseases.

Yeah, you can call me cynical all you want. I'm just being realistic. And, frankly, I think it would be interesting for kids today to see what it was like to live in the past and how they've taken what they have now for granted. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't feel so entitled and act like they're owed everything as they do now. We've got spoiled kids whose parents buy them anything they want and who treat them more like a friend than like their kid which is why we have all of the problems we do. Violence is still a big problem with the school shootings that have been prevalent. Sorry, this isn't a glorious time. It's a more developed time than 50 years ago give or take, but it's not the best time period ever.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

Cubed, you really don't get it, do you? Yes, it's better than living in the past where things weren't as developed as they are now, but there are still things about the present that I'm not happy with. There are still wars out there, slavery is still prevalent in other countries, genocides are still going on, etc. Yes, slavery has been abolished and replaced with gay marriage and whether that's right or wrong based on someone else's beliefs that they feel the need to shove down everyone's throats. And as RR said, social media has taken over everyone's lives to the point where kids don't want to go outside and get fresh air and would rather sit at a computer all day obsessing over how many "friends" they have on Facebook or followers on Twitter. And as I said, there have been cures for many diseases, but cancer and AIDS still don't have cures. To me, it'll be a glorious time when there's actually a cure for these diseases.

Yeah, you can call me cynical all you want. I'm just being realistic. And, frankly, I think it would be interesting for kids today to see what it was like to live in the past and how they've taken what they have now for granted. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't feel so entitled and act like they're owed everything as they do now. We've got spoiled kids whose parents buy them anything they want and who treat them more like a friend than like their kid which is why we have all of the problems we do. Violence is still a big problem with the school shootings that have been prevalent. Sorry, this isn't a glorious time. It's a more developed time than 50 years ago give or take, but it's not the best time period ever.

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

Originally Posted by arkangel

It's all relative dude.

1994 wasn't that bad, honestly.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

The 1970s doesn't sound so bad

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

What's the best time period to live in to date then? While we don't know what the future will bring, are you honestly implying we're not better off now than we were over 20 years ago?

There really isn't a "best" time period to be honest. What you think is the best is just a matter of opinion and that's it. I'm not saying that we're not better off in some ways such as with technology and medical breakthroughs, but there are still downsides to how we live now which I stated in my previous post. That's what I mean by that. This time period isn't perfect, and we still have a long way to go. Maybe years from now, if we're still living, we'll look back on this time period and think that the time period in the future is better. It's all relative as someone else said. There are pros to things that we have now and there are cons as well. I think one of the cons is that back in the day, teachers were allowed to discipline kids in schools, and you can't do that nowadays which makes kids think they can do whatever they want whenever they want to and aren't held accountable for it.