Do any of you just feel like completely retreating from the 21st century? (physically, psycho)
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I am "only" 63 and a political moderate, but I just feel that the world for at least the past 15 years is not something I want to be part of. I cannot think of anything new that has happened in the world since about 1999 that I either enjoy or approve of.
I also cannot think of one single thing that has been invented since 2000 that I either need or use. Microwave ovens and cellphones were introduced in the mid-70's; CDs, personal computers, and e-mail became popular in the early 80's, the Internet was put in general use in 1991, and DVDs became popular in the late 1990's. And as far as social issues, equal opportunity for almost everyone was well on its way by 2000, and people generally had more of a "live and let live" attitude. No direct U.S; involvement in any war lasted for more than a dozen years, and people were not generally afraid of "foreigners" -- or even allowing their children to walk to school by themselves. Traveling by plane was somewhat of a pleasure, not one hassle after another. People also knew that if they worked hard and were honest, they could almost certainly earn a decent living (and very few people had the attitude that they were "entitled" to something they didn't earn, unless they were seriously disabled in some way); and most people who worked all their adult lives knew that they would have a fairly comfortable and secure retirement. Basic and routine medical and dental visits did not cost the equivalent of what, to many people, would be a week's salary; and medical insurance and expenses were not often the second greatest expense -- and often the greatest expense -- of retirees (and sometimes of young families, too). And, perhaps most importantly, people had hope that most of the world's problems could and would eventually be solved.
Now, however, it seems to me that the modern world is just mostly ugly and/or unpleasant; and it just makes me want to isolate myself in my home and become a complete recluse. Does anyone else feel that way?
It takes the passage of some decades, before we come to recognize the importance of recent inventions and social transformations. It seems to me that it was only in the 1990s that we came to appreciate, for example, the pivotal events of the 1970s… computers and telecommunications, women entering the workforce, manufacturing aggregating in Asia and so forth. So, had we been having this discussion say in 1985, it would have been easy to assert that nothing particularly transformative had happened since 1970.
That said, I do agree that innovation has in recent decades… slowed down. We have been consolidating and absorbing so many late-20th century technologies and societal shifts. But as an engineer, I'm befuddled and disappointed, that so many of the truly meaty problems of the mid and late 20th century remain unsolved. Stable nuclear fusion? Wasn't it promised to us in 1960, that we'd have it by 1980? Hypersonic or even supersonic commercial aviation? We don't even fly the Concorde anymore. We had our first acute energy-crisis in 1973. Well, what percentage of total energy-consumption in 2016 is met through alternative energy? We started hearing rumors of artificial intelligence probably 60 years ago. My computer can crush me in a chess-game, but where's my personal-computer or personal-robot with genuine feelings, creativity and imagination? We've been sending missions to Mars in the movies for 50 years. When are we actually going to send a real mission?
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Originally Posted by jrkliny
Don't forget there is a whole research industry of people getting grants and producing publications about climate change. There is not much funding or support for those whose findings do not support climate change....
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Originally Posted by Stonepa
Sorry but this conversation is over. The science is in. Only in the US (and to a lesser degree Australia) where politics is involved is there any discussion about the general theory ....
I would argue that were there not to have been rampant controversy on the subject, there would not be the frenzy of research-activity and grant-money. If there is unanimous agreement, there's no impetus for further publication. Controversy and strife are needed to justify activity in the field.
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Originally Posted by in_newengland
...every country has a golden age and then slides into decline. It seems as though maybe we were the lucky ones. We lived during the golden age. Now the jobs are overseas. Decent products are hard to come by because it's all Made in China. ...
The golden-age for America wasn't one of probity or moral rectitude, but of outsized economic vitality available to the working-classes. This was, I think, a historical anomaly. Its passing is not the result of stupid policy or feckless leadership or rotten values, but of demographic and economic realities quite beyond any one nation's capacity to rectify. Taking the very long view – that of multiple centuries – I think that the rise of so-called Third World is inevitable. Why should a manual laborer in America or Germany or Australia enjoy a higher standard of living than his counterpart in India or China? 1000 years ago, the juxtaposition would have been entirely the reverse. In Byzantium, in Benares, in Peking – scholars debated the nature of ultimate reality. They had clean potable water (more or less), instruments for telling time, laws on property and so forth. In Europe, people ran at each other with lances and spears on horseback. Literacy was restricted to the priesthood.
What is so special, inevitable or permanent about the rise of the West? Why would it be abhorrent or perverse, to find in that in the year 2400, the real advances and the pinnacle of material-life and personal-liberty would be in Asia, and not in Europe or North America?
I imagine many older people feel that way with new times, whatever era you're talking about. The older generation was shocked by the dance "The Charleston," flappers, bobbed hair, women working, unruly kids of whatever generation, etc.
I think the world today is better in some ways. I love technology. I pay my bills electronically, keep an electronic calendar, communicate with friends wherever they are electronically, house hunt electronically, stream movies, able to do w/o cable tv. There have been advances in face creams, medicines, and other things. It's wonderful.
I got my first pc in 1995 and never looked back. I fell in love with computers. It's like having a library at your fingertips, and now years later, even more than that.
Women have made advances in being paid equally (I read....it's too late for me), as well as other minorities in the work force.
I hear myself saying things like, "The kids these days!" Just like generations of seniors before me. No difference.
I hear myself saying things like, "The kids these days!" Just like generations of seniors before me. No difference.
I think there is more than this to the dissatisfaction many seem to feel. It often comes down to people who are not happy with how other people chose to live. Some people expect others to have the same interest, outlook and lifestyle that they chose. I think everyone should chose for themselves. Certainly the boomer generation was a long way from setting a good example.
I am "only" 63 and a political moderate, but I just feel that the world for at least the past 15 years is not something I want to be part of. I cannot think of anything new that has happened in the world since about 1999 that I either enjoy or approve of.
I also cannot think of one single thing that has been invented since 2000 that I either need or use. Microwave ovens and cellphones were introduced in the mid-70's; CDs, personal computers, and e-mail became popular in the early 80's, the Internet was put in general use in 1991, and DVDs became popular in the late 1990's. And as far as social issues, equal opportunity for almost everyone was well on its way by 2000, and people generally had more of a "live and let live" attitude. No direct U.S; involvement in any war lasted for more than a dozen years, and people were not generally afraid of "foreigners" -- or even allowing their children to walk to school by themselves. Traveling by plane was somewhat of a pleasure, not one hassle after another. People also knew that if they worked hard and were honest, they could almost certainly earn a decent living (and very few people had the attitude that they were "entitled" to something they didn't earn, unless they were seriously disabled in some way); and most people who worked all their adult lives knew that they would have a fairly comfortable and secure retirement. Basic and routine medical and dental visits did not cost the equivalent of what, to many people, would be a week's salary; and medical insurance and expenses were not often the second greatest expense -- and often the greatest expense -- of retirees (and sometimes of young families, too). And, perhaps most importantly, people had hope that most of the world's problems could and would eventually be solved.
Now, however, it seems to me that the modern world is just mostly ugly and/or unpleasant; and it just makes me want to isolate myself in my home and become a complete recluse. Does anyone else feel that way?
This is something I've never understood about older people. And now that I'm there, I still don't understand why people are reluctant to embrace change. I love the technology in newer vehicles. My car has adaptive cruise control with stop/start functionality. So when I'm in SoCal stop and go traffic, my car will come to a complete stop and will start back up all on its own, without me ever having to touch the brake or gas pedal. Yet most older people don't even know this is available on some cars. An acquaintance of mine recently bought a new vehicle. When I asked him if it had adaptive cruise control he told me he'd never heard of such a thing. This is the type of technology that make driving easier and less stressful, and older people either don't know about it or don't want it.
My new truck is 15 years newer than my last truck. The changes are incredible. The same 5.3 liter engine now produces 355 HP. The old one produced 285 HP. And the new one gets 20 percent better fuel economy. The driver information display tells me the remaining range before I run out of gas, fuel economy, remaining oil life, air pressure in each tire, speed limit, transmission temperature, tilt and roll, and much more. My old truck had non of that. I also have an eight inch screen for navigation and back up camera. You have no idea how much easier it is to hook up a trailer when you have a camera to guide you.
As a pilot in Alaska, one of the more challenging aspects of flying is navigation. In the last century, dead reckoning was the most prevalent method. And there was VOR and ADF. GPS changed all that. Not only could I see exactly where I was, but with synthetic vision, I could also see the terrain on my display and know where it was at my altitude or higher. While I'm sure some people do it, I can't imagine flying without a GPS that has a moving map display.
So instead of hiding in a cave, embrace change and new technology. It can only make your life better.
I am "only" 63 and a political moderate, but I just feel that the world for at least the past 15 years is not something I want to be part of. I cannot think of anything new that has happened in the world since about 1999 that I either enjoy or approve of.
I also cannot think of one single thing that has been invented since 2000 that I either need or use. Microwave ovens and cellphones were introduced in the mid-70's; CDs, personal computers, and e-mail became popular in the early 80's, the Internet was put in general use in 1991, and DVDs became popular in the late 1990's. And as far as social issues, equal opportunity for almost everyone was well on its way by 2000, and people generally had more of a "live and let live" attitude. No direct U.S; involvement in any war lasted for more than a dozen years, and people were not generally afraid of "foreigners" -- or even allowing their children to walk to school by themselves. Traveling by plane was somewhat of a pleasure, not one hassle after another. People also knew that if they worked hard and were honest, they could almost certainly earn a decent living (and very few people had the attitude that they were "entitled" to something they didn't earn, unless they were seriously disabled in some way); and most people who worked all their adult lives knew that they would have a fairly comfortable and secure retirement. Basic and routine medical and dental visits did not cost the equivalent of what, to many people, would be a week's salary; and medical insurance and expenses were not often the second greatest expense -- and often the greatest expense -- of retirees (and sometimes of young families, too). And, perhaps most importantly, people had hope that most of the world's problems could and would eventually be solved.
Now, however, it seems to me that the modern world is just mostly ugly and/or unpleasant; and it just makes me want to isolate myself in my home and become a complete recluse. Does anyone else feel that way?
Thus far, other than a few selected bells and whistles (some of which are actually highly annoying, or worse, actually drive some horrendous behavior), I'd argue that the 21st Century has a feeling of going backwards. As you note, the peak of progress appears to have been the late 20th. The late 20th, especially the period 1978 - 1998, was immensely exciting. Actually, I'd extend the starting date to something like 1958 if you include big science / big engineering (hello NASA).
I agree with the OP that unless we change drastically, we are in for a dystopian 21st.
One thing I'm most appreciated of new technology, I can deposit my check from home.
No you didn't. Now I have it. I hacked you (just kidding, but the point stands).
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