Is life getting better, or are we on a downward spiral?

Our quality of life is constantly improving - don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Those who earned as much ten years ago as they do now (inflation taken into account) don't have anywhere near as much as we do, or have as much access to resources and technology. For all the doom-saying going on, a lot has improved especially in the last couple of decades.

Regarding the fossil fuels thing, I also read a lengthy article in the HSBC newspaper at the bank yesterday (so it's probably really biased) explaining how the age of oil will end long before oil itself runs out. I don't remember the specifics though.
 
twoblacklines said:
The industry for exhausts to make your car louder is massive.
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A terrible invention. They have a tendancy to get fitted to horrible sounding little cars driven by boy racers. Then there's the fact that the exhaust is on the outside of the car, so unless the driver is going through a tunnel with the windows down it's everyone else that gets to hear it. Thanks :rolleyes:


Anyhow, staying on topic I see little good in the future overall. Things being invented now seem to have more and more redundancy, it seems like most useful things already exist. Perhaps some new theories derived from the LHC will give rise to some exciting inventions, or the theories themselves will impact our lives in a positive way, though at the same time the opposite is possible. I tend to avoid watching the news, I don't need to know most of it, I will seek out information which is relevant for me.
 
zootfloot said:
If you listen to the media, watch TV or even speak to friends/family all you ever hear is doom and gloom, no money this, no money that, environmental issues, some crazy fool in asia is just about ready to drop a nuke blah blah, you get my drift.
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I don't :D Life's good!

Went out for a run in the rain this morning with the dog, what could be better?
 
Dr.EM said:
The electric vehicles are actually one of the few things I look forward to in the future!
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Most of the time this sounds like a good idea - but we're already struggling with power generation, how are we going to manage when all those millions of cars go electric?

EDIT: I agree with the no news thing. The only stuff I get wound up about is when it'll affect my life directly - i.e. will GPs cope with the load, if given funding control? And what in hell is happening to the schools (am about to begin a PGCE)?

I love not having a TV. 'Tis bliss.
 
sara said:
Most of the time this sounds like a good idea - but we're already struggling with power generation, how are we going to manage when all those millions of cars go electric?
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We stop sitting on our collective backsides and improve the grid and build nuclear reactors, we increase our funding of nuclear fusion and fission research, we increase funding for algae based biofules, and so on
 
rypt said:
We stop sitting on our collective backsides and improve the grid and build nuclear reactors, we increase our funding of nuclear fusion and fission research, we increase funding for algae based biofules, and so on
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Every time these issues come up, you come out with your fantasy wishful thinking about power generation.

Nuclear and other sources are going to provide too little, too late to save us from electricity shortages in the near future (< 10 years) and there is nothing that can now be done to stop that happening. And that's WITHOUT increasing our usage of electric cars.
 
Wake up, eat, have a shower, dress up, go to work (45 stuck in traffic), work for 9 hours (no enjoyment here), go back home (another wasted 45 min in traffic), eat, watch tv/use computer/do whatever you like for 3 hours, go to bed. REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT in ........... constant loop.

Life sucks.


I know I am negative about almost anything :P Sometimes I wish I never existed.
 
dirtydog said:
Every time these issues come up, you come out with your fantasy wishful thinking about power generation.

Nuclear and other sources are going to provide too little, too late to save us from electricity shortages in the near future (< 10 years) and there is nothing that can now be done to stop that happening. And that's WITHOUT increasing our usage of electric cars.
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Nuclear takes 5-8 years to build, within 10 years we could have enough nuclear power built to take up any increased demand (but not enough to replace current coal based stations).
If we started building 13, or hell 25 years ago (thanks Maggy and Blair/Gordon, idiots the lot of them), we would be well on our way to rivalling Canada for being mainly on nuclear or hydro.
 
rypt said:
Nuclear takes 5-8 years to build, within 10 years we could have enough nuclear power built to take up any increased demand (but not enough to replace current coal based stations).
If we started building 13, or hell 25 years ago (thanks Maggy and Blair/Gordon, idiots the lot of them), we would be well on our way to rivalling Canada for being mainly on nuclear or hydro.
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People fear nuclear power generators, my dad being one of them. We should have fission in the next 50 years or so anyway, possibly less if progress continues as it has been. Then we can start planning fission plants and keep everyone happy. Short term though, i.e. less than 10 years, we will face a lot of problems. While small nuclear plants may take 8 years to build, are they profitable? Nuclear isn't a short term solution.



With regards to the OP, I'm only 19, but for me atleast, the future looks brighter than the past.
I just think than the problems of the world shift, what one generation thinks is a disaster or a disgrace, the next may embrace and prosper because of.
 
Lets face it, there are only a few things life offers, its just the generations that change the backdrop.

1: Woman (men for the defectives :p)
2: Power
3: Money (see 2)
4: Respect (see 2)
 
Judgeneo said:
People fear nuclear power generators, my dad being one of them. We should have fission in the next 50 years or so anyway, possibly less if progress continues as it has been. Then we can start planning fission plants and keep everyone happy. Short term though, i.e. less than 10 years, we will face a lot of problems. While small nuclear plants may take 8 years to build, are they profitable? Nuclear isn't a short term solution.
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Nuclear's main costs are in construction rather than running (£3bn to build a reactor)
 
switch the news channel over and dont support anything that would take freedom and choice away from the people.
this isn't the usa, we should know better than to live in fear.
 
The world has never been a better place – fact, but I think for a lot of people life has little meaning other than being carried along by society. People have a lot more but just take it all for granted and are totally ignorant of how any of the technology around them actually works. It's like fridges, over 95% of houses in this country have one but if you ask someone in the street how a fridge works the majority of people won’t have a clue and have probably never even thought about it.

I think it's extremely unhealthy that a technological society operates with this level of ignorance. 30% of the people research, invent, design, build and maintain and the other 70% simply consume their work. If everyone actually understood how the world around them operated I think people would have a much greater appreciation and respect for what they have and realise the magic and fragility of it all.

My girlfriend teaches 10 year olds, they do not remember a world without broadband, flat panel TV’s, a mobile in every persons pocket, Tesco Extra, 24 hour shopping etc. It’s quite scary how disjointed from reality these children seem compared to my generation growing up in the mid 80’s. Yes I was exposed to technology growing up but it was a slower pace and more limited. There was far more focus on creativity and inventiveness with what you had, kids now seem to have a throw away mentality and are just constantly moving onto the next thing.

People are becoming more agitated and are looking for continual stimulation from outside sources, there seems to be far less focus on the self now, other than noticing you feel unhappy and then trying to remedy the unhappiness with yet more outside stimulus.

Anyway.....people need a fridge test when they go to Curry’s......You want to buy it, you have to know how it works first.
 
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I think things are starting to stagnate, there is reason to be optimistic with technology but reality is often more mundane with negative outcomes being more likely, so with limited resources and over population things don't look great for the future.
 
MookJong said:
The world has never been a better place – fact, but I think for a lot of people life has little meaning other than being carried along by society.
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Nail, head IMO.

I think a lot of 'meaning' in life comes from the general struggle for survival - when that in itself is made easy, and you don't feel the need to work hard, pray, scrimp & save in order to have a life, and a roof, and nourishment - it's not then clear where to look for meaning.

People are FAR more religious, hard-working or make-do-and-mend when they're literally only just earning a living.

Not saying religion is the best source of 'meaning' but it's where a lot of people find theirs.

When the poor people aren't worth being charitable to, because they've got their living from the state; when you've got enough money to comfortably house, feed and clothe yourself; and there's no point giving alms for the poor - what then? Buy stuff? Find meaning in possessions?

We also seem unable to count our blessings as we feel we have the 'right' to all these things. I mean, internet access, a fundamental human right?! What's wrong with us?

EDIT: Also, without being able to find meaning elsewhere, many people find it in having children. This in itself is fine - however in a society with ever-later (in terms of mother's age) births, and ever-fewer births per family, these children are becoming the only meaning in parental lives.

As such they have become mollycoddled, pedestal'd, protected and hence are growing up as little sods who've never been allowed to take risks, learn for themselves, or ever fail at anything - they also know their rights and will push SO hard as they're essentially untouchable.
 
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