I'm starting to find the world a very ugly place to live.

[Kerryd]

I'm certain that pretty much every generation has a segment of it that feels like the world is ending and there's no hope, just as every generation has a segment that sees a bright future of untold possibilities and unlimited hope for the future.

We may feel it more (either way) or think we feel it more these days, as we tend to be bombarded by news and movies and music all our waking moments only to relive it again in our dreams.

Sure, there is much to be worried about these days. Over population, mass poverty, religious strife, diminishing resources (and not just oil), pollution.

We also have things that give us hope. Advances in medical sciences (like artificial limbs and organs), advances in crop production, virtual reality (maybe true holographics in the near future), space exploration, futuristic cars that drive themselves (once only seen in science fiction movies). 

Personally I don't see global warming as an issue because it is a normal process that happens all the time, and has been happening ever since the earth had a "climate". (There's already a long thread about the cycle elsewhere and man's effect on it.)

Over population, diminishing resources and religion are the biggest threats to our future and they are all tied together. Too many people drain the limited resources faster resulting in larger and larger populations of people living in poverty, ripe for religious exploitation because hope in imaginary beings and fantasy paradises beats no hope, abject misery and starvation everyday.

But just as our population is growing exponentially, so is our technology. Sheesh, a 120 years ago the idea of man flying was pretty far fetched. Since then we've been to the moon (debatable but at least into space). 
60 years ago there were no mobile phones or personal computers.
53 years ago the first (successful) heart transplant was done.
30 years ago 1 megabyte of RAM was awesome, as was a 40 megabyte hard drive. Now I have 32 gigabytes of RAM (32,000 times more RAM) in my computer and a chip the size of my little fingernail that holds 128 gigabytes of data (128,000 times more storage than that old 40 megabyte hard drive). It's in my mobile phone that has more computing power than all the computers used to first put man into space !
 
What can we look forward to, other than TV series that are even better than Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead ? Better than the recent Marvel movies ? Better than "boner pills" (that many of you probably have weekly prescriptions for) ?
The future possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see what happens next. We may not colonize Mars or make "alien" contact in my lifetime but then again, the way things are going I could end up living a lot longer than I would have previously thought possible (assuming I don't sign every over into teerak's name of course) !

What things do you think the future holds in store for us ?
 1. 

 2. 

 3. 

 4. 

 5. 

 6. 

 7. 

 8. 

 9. 

10. 

 

[Peterw42]

2 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

I'm certain that pretty much every generation has a segment of it that feels like the world is ending and there's no hope, just as every generation has a segment that sees a bright future of untold possibilities and unlimited hope for the future.

We may feel it more (either way) or think we feel it more these days, as we tend to be bombarded by news and movies and music all our waking moments only to relive it again in our dreams.

Sure, there is much to be worried about these days. Over population, mass poverty, religious strife, diminishing resources (and not just oil), pollution.

We also have things that give us hope. Advances in medical sciences (like artificial limbs and organs), advances in crop production, virtual reality (maybe true holographics in the near future), space exploration, futuristic cars that drive themselves (once only seen in science fiction movies). 

Personally I don't see global warming as an issue because it is a normal process that happens all the time, and has been happening ever since the earth had a "climate". (There's already a long thread about the cycle elsewhere and man's effect on it.)

Over population, diminishing resources and religion are the biggest threats to our future and they are all tied together. Too many people drain the limited resources faster resulting in larger and larger populations of people living in poverty, ripe for religious exploitation because hope in imaginary beings and fantasy paradises beats no hope, abject misery and starvation everyday.

But just as our population is growing exponentially, so is our technology. Sheesh, a 120 years ago the idea of man flying was pretty far fetched. Since then we've been to the moon (debatable but at least into space). 
60 years ago there were no mobile phones or personal computers.
53 years ago the first (successful) heart transplant was done.
30 years ago 1 megabyte of RAM was awesome, as was a 40 megabyte hard drive. Now I have 32 gigabytes of RAM (32,000 times more RAM) in my computer and a chip the size of my little fingernail that holds 128 gigabytes of data (128,000 times more storage than that old 40 megabyte hard drive). It's in my mobile phone that has more computing power than all the computers used to first put man into space !
 
What can we look forward to, other than TV series that are even better than Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead ? Better than the recent Marvel movies ? Better than "boner pills" (that many of you probably have weekly prescriptions for) ?
The future possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see what happens next. We may not colonize Mars or make "alien" contact in my lifetime but then again, the way things are going I could end up living a lot longer than I would have previously thought possible (assuming I don't sign every over into teerak's name of course) !

What things do you think the future holds in store for us ?
 1. 

 2. 

 3. 

 4. 

 5. 

 6. 

 7. 

 8. 

 9. 

10. 

 

This could probably be a stand alone thread.

 

Personally, I am still waiting for the flying cars we have been promised.

[SiSePuede419]

You need to hold a baby in your arms or watch them take their first bite of rice porridge. ????

[fredwiggy]

13 hours ago, Monomial said:

 

That is missing the bigger issue though. During the ascension of a civilization, all those problems exist, but people are hopeful that the future will be better. They can see their lives improving. They are positive about what is coming in the future.

 

Our current civilization will likely be viewed by historians as peaking sometime around 1900. Since then, we have been on the plateau and it is becoming rather obvious that what is in front of us now is a several century era of decline. It is not a linear road down. There are bad periods punctuated by small recoveries, but what is overwhelmingly obvious is that the next several centuries are going to see each generation recognizing the world they are leaving to their children has more problems than the one they were born into.

 

History shows us how previous peoples have responded to this predicament. The stoic philosophy is probably the most well known reaction to living through the decline of a civilization. It is a useful perspective that stops trying to be results and goal oriented, and simply goes on in the face of unending adversity because that is the right thing to do.

 

The OP is not wrong. At the age of 78, he has been able to see the decay that has occurred slowly during his life. But soon, you will die. Your grandchildren will live in this world, and by the time they reach 78, they will realize the world has become slightly worse still. Given enough time and enough generations, a new dark age will arrive where much of this world will be cleansed except for some very basic cultural and historical preservations, populations will stabilize, nature will regenerate, and 800 - 1000 years from now the beginning of a new era will once again start to see hope that tomorrow will be better than the past.

 

Then the cycle will start anew. And the attitudes developed during the decline and dark age will give way to new philosophies of hope and optimism for the future. The world has gone through several of these cycles already, and it will continue into the indefinite future. Start reading up on stoicism now. It will help you during the years to come.

If things don't change very soon, we won't be around anyway........https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/is-the-world-running-out-of-food..

[bodga]

17 hours ago, giddyup said:

It may well be my age (nearly 78), but I'm finding that indeed the world is an ugly place to live. Besides the environmental destruction that's increasingly visible in Thailand every day, it's also the abuse of human beings of each other as well as animals, the worsening selfishness, the war and destruction that never seems to end. It's pretty hard to find anything positive to say about the world we live in.

I won't be around to see it, but does anyone have a positive outlook about the human race and the planet's future.

This is  what  happens when there are  too many people fighting for a  place in the world.

Ive found it's  been pretty downhill for a long time maybe starting early 70's the times when folk kept their houses  tidy and neat,now  all just a  mess  , all the morals I was  taught of being polite thoughtful etc are out of the window  the slightest problem and someone wants a fight, no more honesty or admitting a mistake even when its blatantly obvious what someone else has done, theyll  just out and out  lie.

Ive found Thailand worse for all of the above but its  not the only country,seems to be a world wide phenomena now.

Then theres  the laziness again people are more sedate and lazy, Im not your age 20 years  younger but thats  what I see.

Positive  outlook, no like EASTER ISLAND I  think something will come along  and we  will be decimated,Corona  probably  just the start of  many until we get EBOLA with the infection rate of  Corona etc.

The outright sheer  consumerism is  also a  worry, constant updates of  phones and electrical stuff but more so the need to keep  up with the neighbours.

Ill be long gone and had no children so Ive done my bit.

[bodga]

15 hours ago, Logosone said:

The golden age of film, TV and book and magazine entertainment we live in.

 

yeah endless <deleted> movie franchises, terminator 298 the final last goodbye rebooted, Marvel drivel, the good  films are about once every 10  years if were  lucky. 

[sanuk711]

Lets Have...............A trip down memory lane......................

 

1/   Did your family have an  emergency piggy bank similar to this ?...........

 

[Rimmer]

An inflammatory post and a reply have been removed

[toofarnorth]

17 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Well - if you could wake up anyplace/someplace else tomorrow - where would you be instead.....?

St Malo France but  waaay off topic.

[toofarnorth]

15 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

Tell me when the time was worse without any war, pandemic and so on? When people are looking in the past, they always think it was better, but it wasn´t. There were lots of wars, much more deadly pandemics, less freedom for the people, more barbarous governments, etc. But no internet to share all the bad things.

Ain't that the truth.

[TKDfella]

17 hours ago, sanuk711 said:

Cheer up mate--Only last month I was feeling ........ ........Really miserable and depressed,

 

but I’ve managed to turn that all around, so now I’m .......Really depressed and miserable.

Great, Ha! Humour. You see this is what we are capable of. Yeah sure, there are nasty things going on...but there always was...when thousands of years ago the population was a fraction of what it is today where the Bronze age brought with it a new metal for fighting. I've no doubt each settlement wondered where the next lot would come and attack. All relative, eh?

There are so many good things around us to learn about, take part in etc. Go even further and buy a small telescope and look at all the natural wonders at night...after you've done that point it toward the sky (ha!) and learn about what our world actually is in comparison. You'll end up with more questions than answers but that's what makes it all all so fascinating.

 

[newnative]

17 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I am sure part of the problem are the instant worldwide news.

Now we read when an hour ago anywhere in the world people were killed or raped or natural catastrophes, etc..

I am sure 10 and 50 and 100 years ago crimes and natural catastrophes happened just the same. But most of us didn't hear or read about it because it was never reported in the "local" media.

Now everything is global. When Black Pink sings a new song many millions of people watch it within an hour after it was published. And if Trump has another stupid press conference the same happens.

Bad news sells and bad news brings viewers that is why mostly bad news is reported. There is certainly also a lot of good news but it's more work to look for the good news.

 

Unfortunately I see myself also in the situation that I follow the news constantly - and often it's bad news. Sometimes I don't look at the news for some time (hours, not days) and that is definitely better. I guess we all would feel better if we would take a step back and slow down and don't torture ourselves with bad news all the time. But that is easier said then done.

 

Today I listened for some time to music from Ennio Morricone. Obviously it's sad that he died. But listening to his music made me feel good because I listened to wonderful music. I should do that more often.

 

     Great post.  I'm reminded of a trip to Europe my partner and I took last year.  We were with a tour group and we were on the move for 10 days non-stop.  We had plenty to see and enjoy but no time to sit and read, and dwell, on the news--good or bad.  Every few days one of us would say, "I wonder if anything is happening in the World."   But, that's as far as we got and then it was back to sightseeing.  It was actually quite nice to have an interlude away from the constant 24-7 bombardment of news.  I do like to follow current events but I agree with you about the wisdom of stepping back now and then.

[MadMuhammad]

I recently read something that reminded me of the way I live my life, the 3 foot world. It relates directly to mountain climbing but can be adapted to every day life. At its core is the premise ‘stay in your three-foot world.’ 

We have no control of anything outside our ‘3 foot world’ so concentrate on what’s close to you and shut out the white noise. 
You’ve made it to a fantastic age where nothing should have an affect on your happiness and satisfaction IMO. 
The world will do what the world will do, enjoy yourself, worry less about the uncontrollable and hopefully you have few more years, hopefully a decade or more to enjoy your bubble. 

[salsajapan]

78 ? you where slow ! I know it since i am 20 !

 

[cdemundo]

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

Book by Steven Pinker

 

I found this book to be interesting on this topic.  Of course written by professor from Harvard and MIT and I am sure that will disqualify him for some readers.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer...

 

Air you can't breathe, water you can't drink, food that's dangerous to eat. Drug resistant diseases. Dictators and would-be dictators, ignorant citizens who empower them. Police shown to be racists who kill and abuse their own citizens. Apathy, propaganda, alternate "facts", etc etc etc...  And I didn't even mention pandemics.

 

What's not to like???   

[metisdead]

Some more inflammatory troll posts and replies have been removed. 

[mr336]

The bad news may not be over. Thanks Willy

 

My nookie days are over,
My pilot light is out.
What used to be my sex appeal,
Is now my water spout.
Time was when, on its own accord,
From my trousers it would spring.
But now I’ve got a full time job,
To find the gosh darn thing.
It used to be embarrassing,
The way it would behave.
For every single morning,
It would stand and watch me shave.
Now as old age approaches,
It sure gives me the blues.
To see it hang its little head,
And watch me tie my shoes!!

[OZBill]

The secret to being happy in Thailand is to leave at least once a year for a few months so that you appreciate the place and its people when you return. The you don't know what you got until it's gone principle. 
It is normal to become jaded with some of the difficulties of living in a foreign country without considering the benefits. I have lived and worked in many countries around the world and in each place most expats complained about the the country and the locals. When these people returned to their birth country they complained about it and fondly reminisced about the foreign country they left.

The media - social and mainstream - are partially to blame, focusing on bad news as it sells. Never let facts get in the road of a bad story. 

People in general do not want to take responsibility for their own happiness and prefer to blame other people and events for their own state of mind. The answer - take control - there is always an option.

Look on the bright side of life. 

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I blame the banking system.

I blame the capitalist system.

[hotandsticky]

27 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer...

 

Air you can't breathe, water you can't drink, food that's dangerous to eat. Drug resistant diseases. Dictators and would-be dictators, ignorant citizens who empower them. Police shown to be racists who kill and abuse their own citizens. Apathy, propaganda, alternate "facts", etc etc etc...  And I didn't even mention pandemics.

 

What's not to like???   

 

 

 

Doesn't sound like a very nice place.

 

 

You staying, or not ?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Doesn't sound like a very nice place.

You staying, or not ?

 

I'm trying to maintain my own little personal "bubble," hiding out here in TH.

 

[perconrad]

20 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Well - if you could wake up anyplace/someplace else tomorrow - where would you be instead.....?

Back in Greenland

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Pick pretty girls with big boobs and life is sweet again!

Nobody loves pretty girls more than me, but I do not really go for overdeveloped boobs.

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, rvaviator said:

I think the 'good old days' is just a myth - Its a faded memory that has nothing to do with the real world as such. The big difference is the instant news - and since bad news in good news - and since most people have the attention span of a fly - News is all about sensationalism and a 30 sec quick buss ....  And not about understand 'Why' ..  Its the same s....t we always have shoveled ... it just 'look a bit different now' ... but its 'same same' ...

 

The thing that bugs me more than anything is all the greed, selfishness and hypocrisy you see everywhere.  

 

The trick is not let that get you down and focus on positive things .... (not always easy 555 ... but one have to keep trying .....)  

"The thing that bugs me more than anything is all the greed, selfishness and hypocrisy you see everywhere".  I think that would mainly apply to about 95% of the worlds politicians.

[wwest5829]

20 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I am glad I got to live at the right time,when you could play

outside all day without fear of been abducted,great time at

school,no kids killing each other, then the 60s,such fond 

memories,I worked at business I loved doing,retired at 42,

came to Thailand,have had a great time here,but the way

the World is turning out now.......too many people..

regards worgeordie

I can not deny population growth but I do not see that as the crisis ... yet. I think it is more a not having a fairer distribution of resources. We have not yet reached the point where we can not feed nor have enough “wealth” (agreed a human construct) to make the income/wealth gap much smaller. Only greed and lack of leadership ... and the bottom line, will of humanity to move things in a more positive direction.

[Lucky dog]

The world is a very ugly place. 

The world is a beautiful place. 

Its up to us which part we want to see and live in. 

For me the world is beautiful. 

This is what I want so I choose the beauty.  Which one do you wasn’t to live in??

[jvs]

A lot of very good posts with good arguments,nice to see that.

To the op,some people are pessimists,some are optimists,i like to see myself as a realist.

The internet?A step towards heaven or a step towards hell,you pick.

You want to really feel bad about things going on?Try Youtube.

You want to really feel good about things going on?Try Youtube.

Why we sometimes say,the good old days?

We did not know any better.

Thru the ages the chance of getting killed by another human being has steadily declined.

Over population?There is a light on the horizon.

Climate change?We have to learn to deal with it.

What i do worry about is the me me attitude,too much aggression after a small conflict.

It is what it is,is it?

We see what we want to see is more like it.

[owl sees all]

Owl says "The banking system."

 

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

I blame the capitalist system.

Two cheeks of the same ass.

Edited July 8, 2020 by owl sees all

[murraynz]

20 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

You maybe around to see Boris Johnson crowned king of the world on the 31/12 or the biggest clown in history on the 1st ????

Trump trumps him by a long shot..

Biggest clown in history award..