The Future is going to be great.
Ray Kurzweil’s book, “The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” is an amazing compendium of futurology. In it he lays out the case for what he terms the “Law of Accelerating Returns.” This is the name he’s given to the rapid technological advancement we have seen in the past 5000 years of human civilization. The salient point that he makes is this: Technological progress doesn’t just change, it accelerates, and the next 20 years will see more change than the past 200 years combined.
He buttresses his claim wth charts and mathematical models which show that no matter what you plug in, you get the afformentioned technological acceleration.
This is amazing stuff, and along with the work of scientists like Aubrey deGrey, Verner Vinge, Eliezer Yudkowsky, K. Eric Drexler,Hans Moravec, and many more, he has helped create the field of “Singularity Studies.”
“Singularitarians,” as they are known, have a supremely optimistic message for the world: ‘The future is going to be wonderful, and if you can live long enough, you will live forever.’
But maybe not.
The recently passed health care “reform” bill is a direct assault on this future. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that it is the mindset BEHIND that bill that threatens the future. The Bill itself is simply yet another manifestaton of this mindset.
I call it the, “hunker down and hide” mentality.
Marketing geeks call it the “scarcity mindset,” and they make a lot of money off people by playing to their fear of loss. But no matter what you call it, it is an ugly and self defeating aspect of human nature that keeps so many people in the poverty mindset.
People with this mindset can’t imagine any good coming out of progress. ‘It’s expensive, you might get hurt, and hey, let’s spend our limited resources on more useful things, like protection and security. Stop with all that fanciful day-dreaming will ya!’
These people can’t imagine how wealth is created, or how ideas turn into new technology, or why we should spend money on medical research when so much of it is fruitless. from their perspective it’s better to just hunker down and protect what little we have.
This is the mentality behind communism and all its flavors (e.g. “progressivism,” “Socialism,” etc) as well as the Green movement, the Global Warming fanatics, mass transit geeks, Anti-gun nuts, internet censors, War on Terror crazies, and a whole host of modern day tyrants, adult infants, and neurotic control freaks who inhabit our society.
Some want to be controlled, some want to be in control, and both groups love government.
With the election of Barack Obama and the most left-wing Congress in history the commies got their dream government.
Obama has wasted little time in trying to reign in the future. People like him don’t understand where wealth comes from, they only know that some have more of it than others and they should “share” with those that have less. They look at the space program and see only wasted dollars. ‘Hey, we don’t need to go to the moon, there are people here on Earth that can use that money.’ They look at the American health care system and see only disparity and injustice that needs to be leveled, whatever the cost.
They aren’t trying to make it better, they are trying to make it “fair.” They really do believe that it is better to keep everyone down at the same poor level, rather than allow as many to reach as high as they can (except for the elite themselves of course).
This is why fighting the commies in the government (of both parties) is so essential.
These are nasty, hateful and small minded people who don’t want progress, liberty or democracy (though they call themselves ‘Progressives, Liberals, and Democrats). They want us all to go hide in a cave, grub in the dirt for our existence, and make sure that everyone get’s an equal share of the grubs (with them in charge of the pathetic human remnants of course).
The American communists, like Barack Obama, most of the Democrat party, and a big chunk of the Republican party, never got the message that communism doesn’t work.
Like a person who never listens in a conversation, but only uses the time that you talk to figure out what they are going to say, the American communists have only been biding their time till they could get into power. Having done so, they are now proceeding to turn America into a 1920’s style marxist state, oblivious to the experience of the world during past 150 years.
In the end, technology will win through.
One of the hopeful aspects of Kurzweil’s analysis is that his models show that no matter what happened on the world stage, whether depressions, wars, marxist takeovers, or other disasters (manmade or or not), the technological trends have tended to go inexorably forward.
The only thing that ultimately happened, as disasters befell different countries, was that those affected counties were simply left behind (think Britain or the Soviet Union).
There is no future in communism, and if the commies continue to run rampant in America, there will be no future for us either. Technology will go on however and those countries that remain the freest, will own the future.
Ken
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How exactly have Great Brittan and Russia (today) been left behind? There is alot of evidence that Russia (culturally) is blossoming and developing the most incredible PSI and permaculture technology on the planet. Not to mention the fact that there are more billionaires in Russia than anywhere in the world.
I am certain we are heading for a singularity, but I sense a counter force to technology evolving, that of the human being. We are only just beginning to realize our innate abilities. While I don’t have a problem with innovation and creativity, I am not a fan of technology at all costs. Mother nature is more powerful than science or technology can ever hope to be. What I expect to see is a very interesting collision when science meets God and science realizes they co-create reality. We are all part of this. We all choose the outcome.
I choose a future where other human beings matter. While I do not love anything politicians do, including our current admin, I am grateful to be out of the war mongering lose-lose mindset. At least Obama is trying to do something for the millions of Americans, many of them children, who are suffering terrible health consequences because of our industrial march of the past 100 years…all that innovation has had a price, a hidden cost and we cannot simply pretend it doesn’t exist. When you harm someone, even if unintentionally, you make it right. That is just good manners. If we don’t have compassion for others in this hyper future, who wants to be there?
I said the Soviet Union. Russia is still a basket case, but not as bad as it was. Moreover, it has better trends that we do because it isn’t trying to play world cop. They also have an excellent base of pure and applied sciences. That, plus their proximity to the labor pool of Asia means that they might have a bright future if they can get their birth rate up.
The British have been regressing since the 50’s and for many of the reasons that we are now regressing socially. Attempting to play world police, living beyond their means, massive third world immigration, etc.
In fact, in all those areas, we are doing far worse than Britain.
I laud your concern for other people Elle, but if you think “Obama is trying to do something for the millions of Americans…” I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s not so.
Obama is first and foremost a creature of Goldman Sachs and Wall Street. They were the heaviest contributors to his campaign (which is why he has gone along with all their TARP schemes). And yes, even more than for McCain.
By the way, the health care bill as passed still leaves about 30 million people uninsured, even according to the Dems.
As for compassion, the problem that people like you have, and have always had, is that you think ‘compassion’ can be legislated and that somehow progress detracts from compassion.
Even if we could stop the march of human progress, we would never solve all human problems or give every one adequate care (whatever you may think that means).
This is what I was referring to in my post about “commies not heeding the lessons of history.” Go study some history. This has been addressed many many many times. You are not the first person to make these points. This is a lesson that can never be fully grasped for some reason. Why do you think communism failed?
Evil is as evil does, and communism is an evil philosophy precisely because of the evil it does, not because of whatever good intentions the rank and file may have. The people pushing various communist schemes (yes, even those who don’t think they are commies) are typically the well meaning but useful idiots whose lack of life experience, mathematical ignorance, or just plain sentimental overload, prevents them from seeing that the worst thing you can do to someone is to turn them into a supplicant of the State.
-Ken
As a pol-sci-int’l relations major, I have studied my history. And what kind of “people” am I, again? I am politically agnostic. I am not an Obama fan, nor did I care for Bush or W. or Clinton or Reagan…our political machine is a joke. And Goldman bought McCain, too…you should know that. They buy both parties so they always end up with influence. They don’t care who wins.
I also do not fear “communism” at all. I saw the collapse of the Eastern block live and in person. I have family who lived behind the iron curtain. I have traveled extensively in China. All political regimes, when they become large and unyieldy, are oppressive and scary. Including our own. Why? Because the system has more rights than the human being. The scale is monstrous and the system has no soul or moral obligation the way a human being does. Mob mentality can afflict any system, not just the communist boogie.
The US is the only Western country NOT to have a public health program. It was inevitable and necessary. If & when we go bankrupt, it won’t be b/c of the healthcare program…our economy is a house of cards b/c of the greed of the huge industries that run everything with their lobbies and influence. Goldman Sachs is hardly significant given the company they keep.
Your post was about technology and an approaching singularity. I was trying to make the point that technology’s rapid advance may be inevitable, but I hope not, because without the soul of man, we (earth, humanity) lose alot.
The fact that America was the only western country not to have a public health plan was a good thing. Not a bad thing. I think too many people here in America are looking at the other country’s health programs with rose colored glasses.
Beyond that, our health program, while not officially ‘public’ has been VERY socialized, and that has been big part of the problem.
Also, you would do well to look at our new health program. It was written by insurance company executives. Insurance companies saw their stock go up after it passed. This bill REQUIRES people to by private health insurance. It also caps payouts.
I’m afraid you have allowed yourself to believe the lies of the government.
The most important skill adults can have in these times Elle is skepticism. You can’t afford to mindlessly trust the government, or anyone else.
You say, ” all regimes, when they become large and unyieldy, are oppressive and scary. Including our own.”
I agree, but unlike you I don’t assume that just because the government says it wants to give me “free” health care means that it really wants me to have health care, or that it will be free.
None of these people are your friends Elle. They don’t have your best interest at heart. And if they are trying to “give” you anything, you should run like hell (if you can).
-Ken
[…] As I pointed out in my last essay, these people have been stuck in the 1920’s for the past 60 years and they are deadly serious. They have not been chastened by the failure of communist regimes throughout the world. They fully intend to implement their vision of Commie America, just as they always have, “by any means necessary. […]