How Do You Deal With The Fact That You Are Going To Die?

That's cool.

 

That's one of the reasons my daughter says she's never having any kids. And I can't say I blame her.

Back in the 70's when she was born, it was easier to have a positive vision of the future.

I would hate to have to be born into the world right now.

 

Why do you guys think the world is headed in a bad direction?

Please be as specific and detailed as possible.

 

It's not possible to go into minute detail because it would take many pages of typing. But a few examples.

Global overpopulation
Diminishing natural resources
Pollution
Climate change
Death of the Oceans
Extinction of animals
Financial meltdown
Irreconcilable ideologies
War

Those apply to everyone on the planet. Closer to home, back here in England I see a general social regress going on. Once again it's very complex and would require a lot of explanation.
Mainly, it's about successive neo-liberal governments selling off publicly owned assets, and thus seeking to abolish the progressive social agenda of the post war years.
Regression towards a neo-feudal type of society. A small political elite, all in the pay of big corporations and banking interests lording over a population of under educated and brainwashed underlings, who will have virtually nothing left that might even resemble freedom.

Harsh conditions compared to what I have known for most of my life.

 

I see food riots, followed by food rationing. (as well as water and other natural resources)

White people are going extinct. The population on Europe is declining.

The population of Africa, Asia, India, and South America is increasing.

I do not think colonizing Mars is a reality.

I only hope that science continues on it's current path. Other cultures, such as the Middle East, doesn't seem to value it as much.

I see improved medical care, including more vaccinations, such as HIV.

I see an increase in human rights and end to things like sex trafficking and even poverty in general. I see something of a communist state.

I see the merging together of governments and monetary systems and the economy as a whole.

Technologies that will be big: water desalinization, renewable energy (geothermal, water, wind, solar, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion if they ever find out how to do it)

And new discoveries in the field of quantum physics.

Probably a lot of robots too. And I seriously think that robots might do something bad if we give them the ability to do so. There is no reason they would not.

A "terrorist" who knew how to build and program a robot and strap some weapons to it would do a lot of damage.

But thinking about the future gets me thinking about books like Fahrenheit 451 and it sucks. And I think a lot of people will be hooked on electronics like music, television, "movies," and computers. Information will spread at the speed of light, just as it does now, but more people will be connected. Cell phones and computers will merge and everyone will be connected electronically to everyone else.

And I seriously think that robots might take over and I really mean that. All it will take it for one to go astray.

I think the need for militaries will decline.

Or maybe everyone will just watch football all day, who knows.

 

Richard Frog

I'm not saying it's all up for the human race, but I foresee immense problems in the coming 100 years or so.

The role of prophet of doom isn't one I would choose, but I don't think the outlook is very good for the current global civilization. At the top of my list of problems is global over population. It has doubled during my own lifetime. I find that fact staggering and alarming.

I suspect that billions may die before any kind of world order we could call 'communist' can hope to come into existence. Because as resources become more scarce and more expensive, there will be competition and given the level of military tech they have now, it won't be pretty.

Maybe I am wrong, and it will all turn a corner. But I see no sign at all of that, and a lot of signals that things are getting more and more critical all the time.

 

I agree. Should see more food riots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_food_riots

I also heard that many people have been shot trying to cross the border from Bangladesh into India (for example). So people are not even free to try to help themselves by moving to a more prosperous location. Similar situation with Mexico and Cuba into the United States, although I'm not sure if they are openly shot or not.

The governments have power and the best weapons. One person with an assault rifle on a tower is more powerful than 1000 on the ground with nothing. But I really do believe that the leaders have the best interest of the people at heart in most cases. A government like North Korea is an exception to the rule. Even if you don't like Barrack Obama, for example, or agree with every single one of his decisions, I don't think he would let people starve. Neither would the majority of the world's leaders.

You might see power struggles between leaders and their militaries. Maybe (probably) martial law will ensue. I think that is the natural order of things anyway.

Global warming is another thing that will happen, even if it's not for thousands of years. The ice caps will melt and many parts of the world will be underwater, including the eastern United States from New York to Washington and south Florida. Also, much of China and India/Bangladesh.

I also see improvements in farming technology and making more land arable.

I have heard that the population should max out at 10 billion according to many estimates, possibly by 2100.

But was the world perfect when we were hunter-gatherers? I'm sure every generation has had it's problems.

 

Petty mortals. pffft!

I'm gonna live forever!

 

My condolences...

 

Happy drooling! :cheers2:

 

Baby bears are cute too. That doesn't make me want one of my own.

 

Baby bears are much cuter than little kids.

 

The desire to reproduce genomically in order to achieve some form of "immortality" is baffling to me. If you have kids, you're still going to die, and now you've added one more person to this mess.

 

Or maybe it's just for fun. I think it would be enjoyable.

Not for some "mad scientist" sort of thing. Just for fun.

 

The impulse is biological. Your determinations about it are abstractions.

 

I think they're groundbreaking scientific theories.

 

I think it will be uneventful.

And I do believe that your life will flash before your eyes and you will regret certain things and be glad about others.

I think "having children," possibly many of them, would be something a person would be glad about.

 

That you add one more person to this mess is a ground breaking theory?

 

I don't see it as a mess.

I know! I'm going to donate sperm to 1000 lesbian couples! Lol. Jk.

 

I just become completely delusional and convince myself that I'm going to live forever.