Aluminum was very expensive a hundred years ago. Only the most wealthy could afford an Aluminum tea set. Now, a hundred years later, Aluminum cans cost pennies and are infinitely recyclable.
This is why you're just a poor physicist. Perhaps if you became a billionaire you could pursue projects you deem worthy. Titans of industry are the best group of individuals to pursue such a long term vision as space colonization. It's in their blood.
Could this not be a general consequence of a collective malaise permeating across all the developed world right now? Here we are the beginning of the 21st century, just starting out the second millennium (depending upon which calendar you follow)...nonetheless, we have crossed a psychological barrier in our human, or civilization's development. We expect more. Here we have the internet, instantaneous communication, global village blah blah blah... yet we also have signs of stagnation, threats of ecological apocalypse, rise of extremist views (not only religious mind you) but also a growing divide between the have's and the have nots'. Is this just a basic power struggle over increasingly limited resource? A temporary phenomenon brought on by protracted economic downturn? We may yet triumph through this great adversity. Crisis is the mother of invention after all. Solutions are all around us, but we need to maintain a cohesive vision for that entails.
So are we permanently losing a 'confidence' that we once had? Arguably no. There is a schism in the world however. It's one that has existed for as long as civilization. The thirst for power, political power, personal power, economic power...and ideology and religion. Ah, the boogeyman finally appears. No matter where you look, the world is now more secular that it has been in two thousand years, and it only grows more so. Traditional gatekeepers in society are becoming less relevant, while new technology is creating new forms of control. All of this creates a climate of fear, which leads to uncertainty and pessimism.
Can technology save us from ourselves? This is the question for the ages, a question that will be answered in our lifetime; consider the pace the world is moving in. Climate change, overpopulation, increase incidences of natural disasters, and even protracted economic chaos. Most of us will live in a world of more than eight billion people. The salvation for everyone lies in our collective ability to innovate, invent, new solutions to the same old problems. Life was not that much different two thousand years ago, it was just a whole lot more boring.
IMO, we already have the technology, look at the new LED lights coming on the market which can save big money for everyone...unfortunately all this new technology is still horribly expensive. It needs to get cheaper, and fast. I would love to have solar panels on my roof, but its just too costly.
Climate change is here and now. The Earth is already irretrievably changed from the state it was in even one hundred years ago. We must make the best of a bad situation. Greater energy efficiency would be a good way to start.
The only hope for western democracies to survive the future is to become energy independent. No longer will we need to depend on threats from Russia, or the antics of Chavez, or put up with the theatrics of Iran. Energy independence secures freedom and liberty. When it comes to shale, natural gas, even uranium, thankfully US, Canada, and other western powers have a majority share. Unfortunately, China will find they have a deficit in the near future, which is probably why they are beefing up their military.
Well said man. As a lover of Sci-fiction I am thankful that there are at least a few like-minded billionaires out there with a long term vision, and not just wasting it all away on a sports team or mega- yacht.
Literacy is on the wane everywhere these days. Even NYtimes is losing money hand over fist in their digital subscriptions. Of course, new media is quickly supplanting the old.
Forestry industry around the world employs millions of people around the world, and associated infrastructure, tablets and a connected world will virtually eliminate this entire industry. The greatest contribution to release of carbon in the world today is due to slash and burn techniques in deforestation. The articles numbers are accurate. Everyone should do their part and adopt to the digital age that is the 21st century.
Just think of the forests that are chopped down, pulp mills powered by coal to process the pulp, the millions of liters of water used to process the pulp, millions of liters of chemicals to bleach the paper, and finally the tens of thousands of trucks and even ships used to transport the paper to the printers....then of course the printers are on industrial scale all in themselves. A world of tablets, which should become smaller, more powerful, more environmentally friendly over time, could save many forests.
I was hit with a $500 roaming charge while I was in Thailand. Ok, well I should have realized that roaming was a complete rip-off but I had some emergency calls to handle. Must have been like $5 a minute! Bastards!
occasionally... that is mostly right. USAID is a goodwill program to help out American 'allies', there is nothing wrong with this. In fact the implementing partners and organizations are also predominantly American. USAID employs a lot of...Americans! Highly skilled ones at that. Of course, with the economy in the sorry state it is in, even Obama is busy cutting back USAID programs to the bone.
If the government gets that bad, they'll have the army to deal with YOU. You resist and you'll get shot. There is no young Patrick Swayze look-a-like hiding in the woods who is going to save your ass.
Those 'menial' jobs are GONE. Get it through your uneducated head. Think like a globalized citizen. With your education you could emigrate tot he Philippians and be a manager at one of these call centres, or even set one up there yourself! It's a free world after all. Or how about this, use your better education to invent a computer program that is better than a Filipina call centre girl. That could be difficult.
I suppose its up to China to reinvigorate the Nuclear industry with their program of heavy investment in the coming years. At least they don't have irrational fears about radiation....of course, lets just hope they maintain those new reactors and don't suffer any fatal earthquakes.
You're hinging your life-success not on how smart you are, but how stupid people are around you. That isn't a good way to go through life. Success comes from enlightening everyone, including yourself and most especially others. Knowledge begets more knowledge. A truly intelligent person would realize that.
Slashdot Mirror
I could do a few rounds with her for you.
Aluminum was very expensive a hundred years ago. Only the most wealthy could afford an Aluminum tea set. Now, a hundred years later, Aluminum cans cost pennies and are infinitely recyclable.
This is why you're just a poor physicist. Perhaps if you became a billionaire you could pursue projects you deem worthy. Titans of industry are the best group of individuals to pursue such a long term vision as space colonization. It's in their blood.
That Israel isn't too friendly with minorities found within its borders these days either. The whole region is full of extremists.
Honesty. It's just sad.
So are we permanently losing a 'confidence' that we once had? Arguably no. There is a schism in the world however. It's one that has existed for as long as civilization. The thirst for power, political power, personal power, economic power...and ideology and religion. Ah, the boogeyman finally appears. No matter where you look, the world is now more secular that it has been in two thousand years, and it only grows more so. Traditional gatekeepers in society are becoming less relevant, while new technology is creating new forms of control. All of this creates a climate of fear, which leads to uncertainty and pessimism.
Can technology save us from ourselves? This is the question for the ages, a question that will be answered in our lifetime; consider the pace the world is moving in. Climate change, overpopulation, increase incidences of natural disasters, and even protracted economic chaos. Most of us will live in a world of more than eight billion people. The salvation for everyone lies in our collective ability to innovate, invent, new solutions to the same old problems. Life was not that much different two thousand years ago, it was just a whole lot more boring.
IMO, we already have the technology, look at the new LED lights coming on the market which can save big money for everyone...unfortunately all this new technology is still horribly expensive. It needs to get cheaper, and fast. I would love to have solar panels on my roof, but its just too costly.
Climate change is here and now. The Earth is already irretrievably changed from the state it was in even one hundred years ago. We must make the best of a bad situation. Greater energy efficiency would be a good way to start.
The only hope for western democracies to survive the future is to become energy independent. No longer will we need to depend on threats from Russia, or the antics of Chavez, or put up with the theatrics of Iran. Energy independence secures freedom and liberty. When it comes to shale, natural gas, even uranium, thankfully US, Canada, and other western powers have a majority share. Unfortunately, China will find they have a deficit in the near future, which is probably why they are beefing up their military.
Well said man. As a lover of Sci-fiction I am thankful that there are at least a few like-minded billionaires out there with a long term vision, and not just wasting it all away on a sports team or mega- yacht.
If we want our future to be in Space, we need to get working on it TODAY, not tomorrow or a decade from now.
Literacy is on the wane everywhere these days. Even NYtimes is losing money hand over fist in their digital subscriptions. Of course, new media is quickly supplanting the old.
Forestry industry around the world employs millions of people around the world, and associated infrastructure, tablets and a connected world will virtually eliminate this entire industry. The greatest contribution to release of carbon in the world today is due to slash and burn techniques in deforestation. The articles numbers are accurate. Everyone should do their part and adopt to the digital age that is the 21st century.
Just think of the forests that are chopped down, pulp mills powered by coal to process the pulp, the millions of liters of water used to process the pulp, millions of liters of chemicals to bleach the paper, and finally the tens of thousands of trucks and even ships used to transport the paper to the printers....then of course the printers are on industrial scale all in themselves. A world of tablets, which should become smaller, more powerful, more environmentally friendly over time, could save many forests.
I was hit with a $500 roaming charge while I was in Thailand. Ok, well I should have realized that roaming was a complete rip-off but I had some emergency calls to handle. Must have been like $5 a minute! Bastards!
Just get a decent connection for say $50 and bittorrent the rest. =)
Just buy a copy of baseball scores from the newspaper man. Oh wait...that wouldn't be much use in the future would it?
But it does seem suspicious.
occasionally... that is mostly right. USAID is a goodwill program to help out American 'allies', there is nothing wrong with this. In fact the implementing partners and organizations are also predominantly American. USAID employs a lot of...Americans! Highly skilled ones at that. Of course, with the economy in the sorry state it is in, even Obama is busy cutting back USAID programs to the bone.
Move to Asia. Grass is greener, much greener.
If the government gets that bad, they'll have the army to deal with YOU. You resist and you'll get shot. There is no young Patrick Swayze look-a-like hiding in the woods who is going to save your ass.
Those 'menial' jobs are GONE. Get it through your uneducated head. Think like a globalized citizen. With your education you could emigrate tot he Philippians and be a manager at one of these call centres, or even set one up there yourself! It's a free world after all. Or how about this, use your better education to invent a computer program that is better than a Filipina call centre girl. That could be difficult.
I suppose its up to China to reinvigorate the Nuclear industry with their program of heavy investment in the coming years. At least they don't have irrational fears about radiation....of course, lets just hope they maintain those new reactors and don't suffer any fatal earthquakes.
You're hinging your life-success not on how smart you are, but how stupid people are around you. That isn't a good way to go through life. Success comes from enlightening everyone, including yourself and most especially others. Knowledge begets more knowledge. A truly intelligent person would realize that.
So I can go on disability. That would give me more time to post on Slashdot! =)