Slashdot Mirror
Why Our Brains Can't Process the Gravest Threats To Humanity
merbs writes: Our brains are unfathomably complex, powerful organs that grant us motor skills, logic, and abstract thought. Brains have bequeathed unto we humans just about every cognitive advantage, it seems, except for one little omission: the ability to adequately process the need for the whole species' long-term survival. They're miracle workers for the short-term survival of individuals, but the scientific evidence suggests that the human brain flails when it comes to navigating wide-lens, slowly-unfurling crises like climate change.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you "alen (225700)", exhibit A in the chapter: "Our brains cannot process major threats to the survival of humanity". Oh, and: "The Koch Brothers Foundation spent ____ (ungodly number of billions) attacking the existence of global warming... and it worked!" chapter, too.
Oh, the irony.
This being said, I am not too worried about mankind: it will probably survive global warming. And the survivors may well learn their lessons the hard way.
(If you think global warming does not exist, or is not that bad, or... or... or... yadda, yadda, yadda, please don't bother answering me, mmmmkay?)
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
You mean, like climate change which needs to be dealt with both right now and on an ongoing basis?
It is well-known that the Earth is in an unusually cold period with historically low atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
A transit from an icehouse to a greenhouse phase would likely involve profound (and potentially destructive) changes for human civilization, but the planet has undergone this cycle many times before, and we are profoundly foolish to think that our impact has been significant - it has not.
Did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night?
oh dear, another example of delusional comprehension, you should try reading the bible and comprehend it all (don't cherry pick the few good bits).
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)