How CONVENIENT That I Live At This Particular Time

[dr seuss]

surely the US, which owns the world's largest stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and bioligical weapons, and refuses to allow UN inspections of its facilities, should be at the top of your list of worrying nuclear powers?

Up until about 1600 things really didn't change rapidly at all and life was pretty mundane.

i'm not so sure about that. there were an awful lot of technological & societal innovations in just about any century, and how mundane life is is a somewhat variable and subjective qualification - as bel has pointed out. whilst western europe was enduring the dark ages, islamic medicinal study had already led to over one thousand years of specialist medical treatment; whilst the plague ravaged southern italy some of the most important artwork in history was being created in the north.

 

[Petersko]

'm not so sure about that. there were an awful lot of technological & societal innovations in just about any century

I think that the rate of change in the last two hundred years is unprecedented, though.

Whereas in the past, individual achievements in science and technology (for instance) stood out, now they blend together in a sea of change.

Never have so many people been actively researching the social and physical sciences (including medicine) in rigorous fashion.

 

[Psychonaut777]

I think the fact that we can be anywhere in the world in 1 day is pretty impressive. Back in the day people rarely traveled at all, even to leave their village or town, certainly not their country.

 

[Petersko]

Yeah... combine that with the first real global economy, and it's understandable why there are glitches in economic systems.

It's a wonder things work as well as they do.

 

[phunKbumpsta]

I like living in the time that I do except for one thing, there is almost no mystery left in the world, I think it would be cool as hell to see things I don't understand and have to just come to the conclusion that it's some miracle of god

 

[nothinginside]

there's alot of mystery.. just 'think' about it.

although i get your point.. the oceans have been charted... we know the earth is round... the good majority of humanity is pretty linear in a civilized idealized state that does not permit venturing where their eyes cannot watch you..

it's all about preservation and safety...

the last frontier is our own mind.. it always has been... for that is what defines the mystery...

 

[zorn]

i'm not so sure about that. there were an awful lot of technological & societal innovations in just about any century, and how mundane life is is a somewhat variable and subjective qualification - as bel has pointed out. whilst western europe was enduring the dark ages, islamic medicinal study had already led to over one thousand years of specialist medical treatment; whilst the plague ravaged southern italy some of the most important artwork in history was being created in the north.

There's a huge difference though, just no comparison, between what happened before 1600 or so -- really before until ~1800 -- and the great ever-increasing acceleration of change since.

Look for example at the world's average life expectancy:

Until the last couple centuries, the vast majority -- well over 90% -- of the world's population lived in crushing poverty, working as peasant farmers, mostly illiterate, hungry and wracked by disease.....

 

[WhyzFool]

the only problem with wishing you lived in a different time period is that you would probably wish the same thing if your wish came true, because you wouldn't remember living in this time period. You would have no context, and be just as happy/unhappy as you are now.

 

[MockTurtle]

it truely is the beginning of the end...resource and overpopulation-wise.

 

[Ecaep_Dna_Evol]

I dont recall all the (estimated) figures, but if you crunch all the numbers of everyone who has previously been known to exist, and everyone who livse at this point in time, the odds of being alive now aren't all that bad.

 

[swayne]

I think civilization has increased over time exponentially. To say centuries ago where not important like our recent one would be a mistake. I believe it was a snowball effect, things were discovered and stuff and the amounts of new technologies and discoveries simply increased over time exponentially, yet I wonder if it will continue that way. Personally I feel that progress has slowed down a little, which is a good thing in a way, we need a little more simplicity in our lives, we need to stand back and take a look at ourselves. And being able to do this and enjoy current luxuries of knowledge etc.... makes me glad to be alive at this time.