-14 below and nowhere to go

[zalena]

So, it's -14, and despite keeping my heat up, the cabinets open, and a turning on a slow drip before I went to bed, my water is frozen again.

Grrrr! It never happened before I came back from NY. I think our heat tape is dead. But a thaw isn't expected until Monday, so I need to go get some water.

Just so you know, when the singularity comes and we're all left living like peasants, I'm marrying the guy who can dig me a well, build me a pump, and deliver my water. It is HEAVY! (And we all know who'll end up carrying water, unless there are some serious changes in our social power structure.)

Which leads me to the following questions:

* Are we headed towards some sort of massive social/ environtmental change? (Whether singularity, apocalypse, the depletion of natural resources, fall of the Roman Empire, etc.)

* Do you think things are getting better are worse, generally speaking, in the world?

* Theoretically, how do you see the world reorganizing itself if there were some kind of major event?

I'm asking because I am surrounded by people who are on either side of the divide. There are the gloomy prophets (like my father, who should've been named Amos or Jeremiah, instead of David) and there are the back-to-eden people, (mostly former hippies) who are convinced that my generation, and the generation that follows are bringing our gifts to humanity to change the world in a major way.

I prefer the second, but believe that in the long run things don't really change. There was not golden age, and there never will be one. We can only work to make our small part of the world, with our limited understanding, better.

So, cataclysm or erosion?

Comments

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

The night before last I was watching (at far too late an hour) a PBS show "In Search of Myths and Heroes" or something like that. That episode they were exploring the myth of Shangrila (Or Shambhala). I've never really researched that myth at all, so all the information was new to me: Shambhala is a hidden valley in the Himalayas that is supposedly shrouded in mist. It's purpose is to keep the wisdom and knowledge of the world safe, so that when the world ends (a dark king takes over the earth), Shambhala will be revealed and light will be reintroduced to the world.

What I came away thinking was that it's interesting how every culture on this planet has a myth or belief of the end of the world. Not too surprising, seeing as civilizations have been prone to collapsing into nasty dark ages throughout human existence, but isn't it funny how consistant people are in their pessimism?

I think it'll be erosion to the point of cataclysm, myself. Some days I think we're well on our way already, but other days I think that life will continue as it is, forever and ever, amen. Sad that the latter thought is the more depressing one for me (not that I'd like to live through a cataclysm, mind you. Sounds very uncomfortable).

And as for whether we're heading towards some massive change... yes. How that change is going to manifest, there's no telling. I'd like to be hopeful and say that the workers of the world will unite and force the corporations and governments to reconsider the plight of the common man, but realistically, I think we're well on our way towards a new feudalism. If the revolt doesn't happen soon, we'll all be too tired and downtrodden to do anything about it.

Sorry. I'm rarely cheerful in the morning. Give me some caffeine and maybe I'd change my answer to a more hopeful one. *shrug* It's just so hard not to be doom and gloom.

[muphf.livejournal.com]

It's very hard to say. I think what we're seeing now is indicative of the growing pains that human society has gone through time and time again throughout history. Even the Dark Ages had their place, and without them we wouldn't have had the Enlightenment and the growth of modern rational thought that ensued.

A person from the 1700s may be apalled by the way the world's societies are run now, and we may be apalled by the social structures of 300 years from now, but to make the judgement of whether something is "better" or "worse" is far more complex than we can deal with in any reasonable amount of time.

So, I'm inclined to take the neutral position. I tend to view the Earth as a whole as an evolving system. Humans are a part of that system, and will have to adapt to the changes we bring to it, and that are forced upon us. Some form of cultural natural selection likely exists on top of that, and the cultural norms that promote healthy society over time will continue to develop, now on a global scale. I think we're up to the task, and whatever shape society ends up taking in the future, it will be what's right for our survival, whether it's better or worse for the individual.

Here's an interesting thought experiment, though ... how do you think technology, and the pervasive trade of ideas through the world will impact all of this?

[sakuratea.livejournal.com]

I think every generation thinks they're that important. In retrospect they never are. I see change, for better and worse. Since both terms indicate decline, erosion gradual and cataclysm dramatic, I don't really see either. Of course, I'm one of those peopel who would way rather live in the present than the past (especially since I'm towards the top). I love medicine and air conditioning and coffee grinders and electricity in general and TV. I also don't believe in the idea of cultural collapse, per se, so there we are.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm still stuck back at the -14 degrees part. Say what?!?! Ai yi yi yi yi!