Thoughts on our modern, interconnected world

[Grasshopper27]

Just thinking about our world, how close we really all are today, how we can circle the Earth, connect any two points, have actions taken anywhere affect everyone...

Yet, somehow, we're still the same humans we always have been...

Here is a quote from a man who was several generations ahead of his time:

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

Grasshopper

 

[illusion88]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26
Just thinking about our world, how close we really all are today, how we can circle the Earth, connect any two points, have actions taken anywhere affect everyone...

Yet, somehow, we're still the same humans we always have been...

Here is a quote from a man who was several generations ahead of his time:

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

Grasshopper

You think that the theory of Relativity came before "mankind" was ready for it?

Anyways back on topic, interesting point you have. I am writing this from California. Anyone in the world can view it. But really, we arn't "the same humans we have always been" Once we coulnt stand upright, and before that we just discovered tools. Our bodys have devolped as well as our minds, we are completly different. But I can still see where you are comming from.

 

[JaneJane]

I do not feel we are static but rather dynamic in an evolution process of constant improvement.

I try to do better everyday. Yes the world is amazing.

 

[Grasshopper27]

a few more Einstein quotes...

The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.

You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.

Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all people are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all people and all countries - not until then shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak of humankind as civilized.

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.

and my favorite:
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: illusion88
You think that the theory of Relativity came before "mankind" was ready for it?

Yes, I think we got it too soon...

Anyways back on topic, interesting point you have. I am writing this from California. Anyone in the world can view it. But really, we arn't "the same humans we have always been" Once we coulnt stand upright, and before that we just discovered tools. Our bodys have devolped as well as our minds, we are completly different. But I can still see where you are comming from.

We still kill each other... Not only is this a waste of resources, but as our weapons become ever more lethal, it becomes a threat to our own existance.

To provide another Einstein quote:
The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking... the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker.

To provide a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower:
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

War may be politics by another means, but it is ultimatly pointless and wasteful. In the end, it will destroy us if we do not learn new ways of resolving our disagreements.

Grasshopper

 

[Grasshopper27]

Considering this is the 39th anniversery of his death...

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.

Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.

- John F. Kennedy

 

[linuxboy]

The modern world with its speed, with its thoughts of exponential growth, unlimited stuff...

Yes, we are interconnected, we have access to so much, so much opportunity. And yet, humanity has not yet caught up with it. In the past, when change came, it came with wars, with death, with pain. We try to eliminate this at what cost? At the cost that cultures merge without guidance, without examination.

Things then fall apart.

The western culture has harmed and killed the many small cultures and tribes that have existed in the world with their colonialization efforts. The lands are raped, the speed of life increases, and we are given more and more junk, stuff, to try and satisfy our humanity. But this cannot take place. Our interconnectedness comes with the realization that the earth is a small place, and we must steward it to ensure the survival of our species; to put our surface differences aside and choose what to do next in order to live, fully, not just survive.

We are not the same humans we have always been. We have not always been able to destroy the world thousands of times over with the push of some buttons.

It is a brave, new world. And it has such people in it as us.


Cheers !

 

[Grasshopper27]

The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Our is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. - Gen Omar N. Bradley

 

[PistachioByAzul]

Interconnected or disconnected?

 

[UNCjigga]

Any more of this grasshopper and you'll become another Moonbeam. Seriously, do not go down the dark path, or forever will it dominate your destiny!

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Any more of this grasshopper and you'll become another Moonbeam. Seriously, do not go down the dark path, or forever will it dominate your destiny!

What happened with Moonbeam?

"Don't be too proud of this technological marvel you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force."

Grasshopper

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26

Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Any more of this grasshopper and you'll become another Moonbeam. Seriously, do not go down the dark path, or forever will it dominate your destiny!

What happened with Moonbeam?

"Don't be too proud of this technological marvel you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force."

Grasshopper

I was just comparing this thread to a Moonbeam thread. Usually, I stop by his threads once in awhile but if its late in the day it hurts my head to read what he's written so I move on. Yours aren't nearly as...difficult...but I've been drinking so, well, yah...

 

[teqwiz]

All the universe has always been connected throughout time. Humans are just an anxious race of beings. We tend to feel like speeding up the process will somehow prove our superiority in the Grand scheme of things.

Dang, did I just say that?

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26


"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

Grasshopper

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did he make this statement after his involvement in the development of the A-bomb?

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: johnjohn320

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did he make this statement after his involvement in the development of the A-bomb?

Yes, he did...

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26

Originally posted by: johnjohn320

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did he make this statement after his involvement in the development of the A-bomb?

Yes, he did...

Ok. Cool.

 

[jamerdean]

Society as a whole is beginning to de-evolve i believe. I am a scientist and a teacher. My students are full of apathy, they have no motivation, and they do not care to better themselves. I will keep my opinions as to why this is occuring to myself, but it does involve parent involvement. I believe that when we moved away from absolute universal standards that were literally set in stone by God and His Son, we moved away from civilization. Our world has problems, it has always had them, even with God's people there were problems. The lack of consistency, the lack of absolutes, the lack of people knowing right from wrong, these are the problems we face. These will be the ultimate downfall of our country and our world. If we do nothing, this pattern will continue.

 

[Talon]

An estimated 1.6 to 2 billion people worldwide still do not have access to electricity and the benefits that energy services provide, such as illumination, mechanization, and communication.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: jamerdean
Society as a whole is beginning to de-evolve i believe. I am a scientist and a teacher. My students are full of apathy, they have no motivation, and they do not care to better themselves. I will keep my opinions as to why this is occuring to myself, but it does involve parent involvement. I believe that when we moved away from absolute universal standards that were literally set in stone by God and His Son, we moved away from civilization. Our world has problems, it has always had them, even with God's people there were problems. The lack of consistency, the lack of absolutes, the lack of people knowing right from wrong, these are the problems we face. These will be the ultimate downfall of our country and our world. If we do nothing, this pattern will continue.

Perhaps, but thumping people on the head with a copy of the bible isn't a solution either...

 

[teqwiz]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26

Originally posted by: jamerdean
Society as a whole is beginning to de-evolve i believe. I am a scientist and a teacher. My students are full of apathy, they have no motivation, and they do not care to better themselves. I will keep my opinions as to why this is occuring to myself, but it does involve parent involvement. I believe that when we moved away from absolute universal standards that were literally set in stone by God and His Son, we moved away from civilization. Our world has problems, it has always had them, even with God's people there were problems. The lack of consistency, the lack of absolutes, the lack of people knowing right from wrong, these are the problems we face. These will be the ultimate downfall of our country and our world. If we do nothing, this pattern will continue.

Perhaps, but thumping people on the head with a copy of the bible isn't a solution either...

A solution is not always THE solution. Each has his own way of viewing the world.

 

[Martin]

I've been reading Commanding Heights and to tell you the truth, and have come to the conclusion that yes, there is hope for the world.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26

Originally posted by: johnjohn320

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did he make this statement after his involvement in the development of the A-bomb?

Yes, he did...

"Our concepts of morality seem to get thrown overboard once military action starts." - Joseph Rotblat

"...they should have been given the opportunity to accept the responsibility for mass murder on an unprecedented scale - of which they now stand guilty before history without having known anything about it beforehand." - Eugene Rabinowitch

"We have too many men of science, too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon of the Mount...The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living..." - Omar Bradley

 

[klah]

The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in "advanced" countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in "advanced" countries.

 

[Jfur]

Einstein was really freaked out by implicaitons of quantum theory, but not as much as Schrodinger.