chuteless 1 #26 August 5, 2005 The USA wasnt built in a day........ But it can be brought down in much less than a day.....and will be soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #27 August 5, 2005 QuoteThere is a train of thought that thinks that human evolution is directly connected with the periodic chart of the elements. That sounds like the theory espoused in the book "Guns, Germs and Steel", which supposes that the great civilizations of the world arose simply because of geographic luck. i.e. they happened to be in a location that has rich resources and the right kind of climate. I don't particularly buy that theory, because there are numerous examples to the contrary... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tso-d_chris 0 #28 August 5, 2005 QuoteThere are numerous examples to the contrary... Babylon comes to mind. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,150 #29 August 5, 2005 QuoteQuoteThere is a train of thought that thinks that human evolution is directly connected with the periodic chart of the elements. That sounds like the theory espoused in the book "Guns, Germs and Steel", which supposes that the great civilizations of the world arose simply because of geographic luck. i.e. they happened to be in a location that has rich resources and the right kind of climate. I don't particularly buy that theory, because there are numerous examples to the contrary... There is no doubt whatsoever that the stone-age to bronze-age transition took place in geographic locations around the Black Sea where copper and arsenic bearing rocks were plentiful, and likely to be used for retaining camp-fires. The fire provided the reducing atmosphere to smelt the bronze leaving the alloy residue among the cinders. The archeological evidence for this is plentiful. The mass production of iron and steel began where iron ore, coal and limestone were plentiful (Google Abraham Darby). Cheap iron and steel availability fueled the agricultural and industrial revolutions and the rise of the British Empire. The Romans had superior metallurgy to any other contemporary civilization. Roman spear heads were a masterpiece of materials engineering. This is sociology, not math. You can always find counter examples without disproving the general rule.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 #30 August 5, 2005 Quote If we kill a billion people perhaps. Our consumption strips our output, only by greatly reducing consumption will the equation balance. We could possibly do this by resisting the instinct to reproduce ... most people think having kids is a good idea. Nobody's telling us it isn't. .. but would the economies hold up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricTheRed 0 #31 August 6, 2005 QuoteQuote If we kill a billion people perhaps. Our consumption strips our output, only by greatly reducing consumption will the equation balance. We could possibly do this by resisting the instinct to reproduce ... most people think having kids is a good idea. Nobody's telling us it isn't. .. but would the economies hold up? The economies won't hold up as the are currently structured since they all rely on unlimited, continual growth. This is not sustanable in any system. Eventually the pyramid scheme fails. Controlled or uncontrolled is (possibly) our choice.illegible usually Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #32 August 9, 2005 QuoteThe USA wasnt built in a day........ But it can be brought down in much less than a day.....and will be soon. agreed....however the process I'm seeing nowadays is a slow rotting from within...My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #33 August 10, 2005 Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Reply To -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The USA wasnt built in a day........ But it can be brought down in much less than a day.....and will be soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- agreed....however the process I'm seeing nowadays is a slow rotting from within... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I agree but as the rot gets more and the within gets less, There ends up with nothing left."When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Trae 1 #34 August 10, 2005 in reply to: "There ends up with nothing left." 'and the meek shall inherit the earth" Trouble is there aint no meek left to do this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rhys 0 #35 September 5, 2005 QuoteOne of the first programs I ever did was the rabbit/fox life cycle in BASIC (for ZX Spectrum). When there were lots of rabbits you could have lots of foxes, til all the foxes ate most of the rabbits, then the foxes starved out til there were a lot of rabbits again. so you can remember when computers were 'basic' and the language was basic. this was only 20 years ago! what about china and india increasingly becoming more western like? they are mor than half of the worlds population. the fuel price increases. that is all to real now. climate change? ask your mate in new orleans about that one. will humans change thier good, hard earned, comfortable lifestyle for sustainability? i don't think so, we are humans, humans are greedy and selfish. we are a parasite the earth is our host. it will not handle our current rate of consumtion without a major change. if you voted for 500+ years, look back to only 100 years ago. life was simple slow paced and seemingly sustainable. now we cant even be bothered getting out of the car to purchase the meal that we cant even be bothered cooking for ourselves because our lives are so busy. sigh"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #36 September 5, 2005 I'm more optimistic . . . History shows, at least on a societal level, every generation thought it was destined to be the last. In the twenties when college students wore raccoon coats, danced the Charleston, and Rudy Valley was the hot pop star, it was decadence on the highest order and the ruination of the world, to the previous generation. On a technological level, it's the question the late astronomer Carl Sagan often asked and said would be our biggest test, "Will we survive our technological innocence?" Again history, which due to human nature is just the future in reverse, seems to suggest our latest generation's reliance on religion, its acceptance and hero worship for warfare, and its idea that enlightenment is a meaningless word, is indeed harkening the beginnings of another dark age. It happened to the Romans and it happened to the Egyptians. We, however, have the advantage of hindsight, if we'd just use it. I know what the answer is . . . today's generation need to sit under a tree and smoke a big fat joint. Try looking inward a bit and solve the problems that reside there and everything external will have a much better chance of taking care of itself . . . NickD BASE 194 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 2 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Trae 1 #34 August 10, 2005 in reply to: "There ends up with nothing left." 'and the meek shall inherit the earth" Trouble is there aint no meek left to do this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #35 September 5, 2005 QuoteOne of the first programs I ever did was the rabbit/fox life cycle in BASIC (for ZX Spectrum). When there were lots of rabbits you could have lots of foxes, til all the foxes ate most of the rabbits, then the foxes starved out til there were a lot of rabbits again. so you can remember when computers were 'basic' and the language was basic. this was only 20 years ago! what about china and india increasingly becoming more western like? they are mor than half of the worlds population. the fuel price increases. that is all to real now. climate change? ask your mate in new orleans about that one. will humans change thier good, hard earned, comfortable lifestyle for sustainability? i don't think so, we are humans, humans are greedy and selfish. we are a parasite the earth is our host. it will not handle our current rate of consumtion without a major change. if you voted for 500+ years, look back to only 100 years ago. life was simple slow paced and seemingly sustainable. now we cant even be bothered getting out of the car to purchase the meal that we cant even be bothered cooking for ourselves because our lives are so busy. sigh"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #36 September 5, 2005 I'm more optimistic . . . History shows, at least on a societal level, every generation thought it was destined to be the last. In the twenties when college students wore raccoon coats, danced the Charleston, and Rudy Valley was the hot pop star, it was decadence on the highest order and the ruination of the world, to the previous generation. On a technological level, it's the question the late astronomer Carl Sagan often asked and said would be our biggest test, "Will we survive our technological innocence?" Again history, which due to human nature is just the future in reverse, seems to suggest our latest generation's reliance on religion, its acceptance and hero worship for warfare, and its idea that enlightenment is a meaningless word, is indeed harkening the beginnings of another dark age. It happened to the Romans and it happened to the Egyptians. We, however, have the advantage of hindsight, if we'd just use it. I know what the answer is . . . today's generation need to sit under a tree and smoke a big fat joint. Try looking inward a bit and solve the problems that reside there and everything external will have a much better chance of taking care of itself . . . NickD BASE 194 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
