| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 12:00:23 PM | ok i want to hear how you think the technology we currently have will effect the outcome/progression of humanity in a whole.
en such, that genetics, travel,computers/AI, and medicine are already starting to show signs of
as well as how you think it could be advanced aside from where we currently stand...
please have some kind of intelligent response or just dont respond.... | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 1:16:57 PM | One of my most favorite quotes:
"...based on Darwin's principle of natural selection. The idea is that in any population of self-reproducing organisms, there will be variations in the genetic material and upbringing that different individuals have. These differences will mean that some individuals are better able than others to draw the right conclusions about the world around them and to act accordingly. These individuals will be more likely than others to survive and reproduce and so their pattern of behavior and thought will come to dominate. It has certainly been true in the past that what we call intelligence and scientific discovery has conveyed a survival advantage. It is not so clear that this is still the case: our scientific discoveries may well destroy us all...
~Stephen W. Hawking, from his book 'A Brief History of Time, from the Big Bang to Black Holes' | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 5:59:58 PM | We might build a better tool but that doesn't necessarily make us better human beings. The lesson of history has been that our application of technology usually precedes either our ability or even our willingness to tackle the consequences. The most tragic example of this is the atomic bomb. Airplanes are safer today, not by initial design, but by the tragedy of crashes in the past that led to safety improvements.
Hell, the whole issue of global warming is a consequence of our use of technology without considering a: the consequences and b: alternatives for energy.
We are currently walking a razor's edge. We are the only species with the capability of destroying ourselves and taking most of the other ones with us. Our intelligence has made our species not only the apex species on the planet, but the planet's greatest threat. I can only hope we eventually prove ourselves smarter than we've been acting so far. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 6:06:21 PM |
please have some kind of intelligent response or just dont respond....
you are on an open forum using modern technology yet you have an attitude like that. progression of humanity? I don't think so. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 7:53:05 PM | Technology is a double-edged sword. It made us the dominant species on the planet and it has extended our lifespans by decades, yet many, if not most, of the technological advances we take for granted today had their origins in advances for waging war: canned food, motorized transportation, aircraft, modern navigation techniques, any technology that relies on Earth-orbit satellites, computers, the internet. Even present-day medical practice, the saving of lives, was born from battlefield experience.
Certainly technology has advanced civilization, but its present misuse, coupled with our own stupidity, short-sightedness, and greed, threatens us all with a perpetual cycle of war, famine, disease, and more war- endlessly fighting over ever-diminishing resources.
We are Goliath, not David, and our motives are not pure. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 8:23:25 PM | I sometimes think that we'll soon realize that punishment can never stop crime, even capital punishment. That it simply pushes the lengths those that commit crimes will go to, in order to avoid getting punished. Which simply leads to further suffering.
I wonder if we will use virtual reality in order to create simulations that appeal to the criminal mind in a way that allows us to study them, understand how they came to be, and restructure our whole to be better as a result.
I also think that virtual reality will help us solve the problems arising from finite living space. So many conflicts on earth occur because there is not infinite living space here, and we aren't physically specialized to efficiently live anywhere else.
Groups constantly comparing themselves to other groups and asserting there can be only one, can be very problematic to the functioning of the whole.
Virtual reality is possibly a way for all parts of the whole to benefit from each other, while the parts volatile to each other don't even have to know about each other's existence.
Also virtual reality can be the most efficient use of time and energy in acquiring further knowledge and solutions. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 8:37:12 PM |
Our intelligence has made our species not only the apex species on the planet, but the planet's greatest threat.
The planet will survive whatever we do to it. Some species will even survive and evolution will continue to repopulate whatever we do to the planet. We are our own greatest threat. It's no longer certain humans will be around for the finale. We can't even collectively agree on the perils we face .. how soon those will happen .. and how best to change course to preserve us. In the end, it appears survival of the fittest and evolution will determine what is best for planet Earth. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/13/2008 11:54:51 PM | we make fire... we eat healther ... we use fire ... we gain land... we farm it.. we fight for it.. and develop metal weapons.. ... and so on and so on
we are looking at the possibility that technology has begun to be more advanced than us... so what could we do to even the equation ? we have been able to destroy the planet well before we even know how to live with each other... and that is far from happening..
wars are fought for territory... what territory is really left if we form a worldwide government... with no reliance on a singular leader or group ... thats a hard one
wars are fought for religion... and by all means the most bloody and vial ... i think that we have evolved to the point that we can do without a ominesant "parent" to tell us right from wrong...
wars are fought for money... this is the hardest and more than wars are spawned from this...person hatred and crimes to aquire... some have more than they will ever possibly use... some will never have enough to use... this is a long topic wich i or someone should post.... how to rid the world of "money" or at least even the stakes.
nvm im tired i will continue this later... the money thing kind of makes me sick... especialy now... personally feeling the sting ... and a very hard one indeed | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/14/2008 12:13:54 AM | wow i just realized im the youngest person doing these tech threads... shiesh i eigther need to get a life or to go to college... lol maby its just lack of a girlfriend... good reason to be on here huh?
or in a thought, "am i hindering my own advancement toward my goal by spending time trying to be smart on a dating site" i say to myself "fooey, wemen DO like smart guys that cant spell, and the only problem here is a lack of an intelligent woman... my age"
just kidding ladies ...
... just livening the mood... with so much doubt in humanity... im starting to loose hope that we are worth the persuit of advancement...
technology doesnt seem to be advancing humanity as far as dating goes... | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/14/2008 6:42:50 AM | Maybe humanity needs a global structure of principles everyone can relate to.
One that can co-exist alongside all present creeds. Something so effectively communicated, without being assertive, that each and every part of humanity will easily see how effective equilibrium is to all of our future.
Maybe I am just being an optimist. But I think as many of us as possible should start thinking about such a thing. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/14/2008 7:34:41 AM | | It's a nice idea Vancer but the problem there is that you are not going to get agreement between all 6.5 billion people on the planet to such a set of principles. Case in point: Christianity and Islam. Their founders started with a similar intent and look what's happening now. Although they generally coexist with practitioners on both sides agreeing politely to disagree on the basics, you get some who take extreme views and become violently opposed to the other. | |
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| technology advancing humanity
Posted: 5/14/2008 3:38:09 PM | Theres too much focus on self-importance and all it does is pollute the world with inefficiency while building a hierarchy known as wealthy people to poor people. Tis a plague.
Good technology isn't going to pick up slack for poor principle foundations. Although we hope it will. And thats what is so exciting about our lives right now. But you'd be wisest to focus on the sociological aspects of humanity rather than technological if you expect to make the greatest impact right now. | |
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