Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Progress?

See-New said ; "Well, it would occur to me that you wouldn't use the standard upheld by the unsustainable fustercluck in the midst of a catastrophic collapse."

So if in the year 2525 - the choices came down to living like this -

where one's lifestyle could be sustained by his environment.


Or living like this (a sort of post-apocalyptic version of the Tower of Babel).

A simple life would be better than one that is racing towards it's own demise?

Since the question of which race is smartest pops up from time to time - maybe we should look at a bit of history from another perspective. Blogger Choptensils (http://choptensils.com/2008/12/on-invention-of-racism-part-i.html) does a good job of explaining the cycles of knowledge and lessons learned and unlearned on his posts On Invention Of Racism (parts 1 and 2).

Since most "original" ideas are both seminal and derivative - maybe older cultures are just in a state of unlearning .

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4 comments:

  1. CNuFebruary 12, 2009 at 2:01 AM

    That second image is from the year 2025....,

    I believe that if a minimum regret human population makes it through to the year 2025, then it will be in greatly simplified contexts such as the first one, perhaps living even more simply than what you depict.

    I think these major boom-bust cycles have happened before and that vague recollections of them dot human mythology, particularly the myths of catastrophe.

    Velikovsky and the Mayans would both seem to suggest as much...,

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  2. ?February 12, 2009 at 6:56 PM

    Both scenarios you have described cannot be sustained. Western, consumer cultures cannot last forever, and the out of control population growth of developing countries will destroy them as well. Humans must either find a way to truly live within the bounds of our ecosystems, or we will perish.

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  3. Citizen OjoFebruary 12, 2009 at 10:25 PM

    I believe the second scenario is more likely than the first. It would be nice if we could correct our mistakes involving the earth and climate but... it's just lip service. Like I always say there is no money in doing the right thing.

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  4. uglyblackjohnFebruary 13, 2009 at 8:08 PM

    Damn... three smart guys leaving fully formed concepts? Here?
    Thanks for the imput.

    @ cnulan - Verikovsky might be on to something. I think the movie "Matrix" did the best job of making these concepts simple.

    @ classical one - Disease and famine and draught would regulate any over population. Then it would only be a quality of life issue.

    @ Citizen Ojo - I think (for many of us) we're beyond the tipping point to make any real difference.

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