Are we at Peak Humanity now?

[2004typer]

Had a couple of beers and this thought passed over me.

Is there anything better to come or have we reached our artificial human peak due to how we live now?

I'm aware there is still a damn lot of disparity in living standards across the globe, but is there anything better to come?

A vast majority of us live in comfort, although being sheep to working lives etc., we have it a damn site better than previous generations (I think), in terms of healthcare, access to technology, living standards etc., obviously this differs vastly depending on how wealthy you are but in general there is a good safety net for most (or am I being too first world centric?).

But, in terms of lifestyle, a lot of the world is very consumer centric (and I'm guilty of this), gobbling vast amounts of power, massive pollution issues, global warming, seas full of plastic, species going extinct, deforestation etc. - are we ever going to solve this before we all eventually self implode or destroy ourselves with the ridiculous weapons at our disposal?

There's nothing I'd love more than a Star Trek fantasy world where we've solved all of these issues and we all get along in harmony for the common good, but as a species I think we have a tendancy for self destructiveness in a bid to gain advancement, there doesn't seem to be a balance in progression to stave off ruining what supports our actual existence.

I might be a million miles off actuality, but I remember a study from school on opportunity cost, where you had to balance the benefit of one thing against the loss of another situation, seems pretty relevant.

Another issue clearly is CoVid, or the next iteration when it arrives, the global transit of persons on the current scale makes it very easy as we have seen for a virus to spread uncontrolled - surely this will also happen again at some point?

Do we need to drastically change our outlook and actions to progress, or do we continue as we are?

Or.....is this just evolution happening?

Sorry for rambling!

 

[R.P.L]

Our peak was around 20 years ago - arguably earlier. Back when we had technology to make our lives easier, but we were still allowed to be actual people. All I see now for us is some weird segregated future, Demolition Man / Equilibrium style.

 

[drakulton]

Yep, just like sea monkeys and algae in a sealed glass enclosure. An equilibrium will be found.

 

[arknor]

Our peak was around 20 years ago - arguably earlier. Back when we had technology to make our lives easier, but we were still allowed to be actual people. All I see now for us is some weird segregated future, Demolition Man / Equilibrium style.

80s or 90s, mobile phones just killed so much.

no need for a memory, no need to calculate, easily distracted with a short attention span.
A computer has essentially removed a large chunk of our brain

technology has literally made people have short attention spans with the way it's been designed to manipulate peoples dopamine levels, people don't even really seem connected to the real world anymore
Modern education seems terrible as well and more about forming opinions in peoples minds before they start to think for themselves

 

[jsmoke]

So peak = comfort?

The ultimate goal of mankind is to become comfortable?

Like always it depends on how you define peak, what is the purpose of life, is it too remove all suffering and fear is it to be happy or seek pleasure?

Is your life really better than the last generation?

What happens when you die?

Are you just becoming lazy and ungrateful?

Plenty of variables

 

[2004typer]

So peak = comfort?

The ultimate goal of mankind is to become comfortable?

Like always it depends on how you define peak, what is the purpose of life, is it too remove all suffering and fear is it to be happy or seek pleasure?

Is your life really better than the last generation?

What happens when you die?

Are you just becoming lazy and ungrateful?

Plenty of variables

All good points, but on the comfort topic, not really, that's why I termed it as an artificial peak, in that the innate need in the first instance is survival, a facet that most of us have quite easily now (i.e. shelter, food etc.), hence in these terms we do have comfort, but at the expense of this comfort are we ruining our future progression, and is what a lot of us have now the best we'll ever have before a decline?

 

[Quartz]

Is there anything better to come or have we reached our artificial human peak due to how we live now?

Hell no! The best is yet to come. Many of us live a relatively cushy life here in the UK, but there are many who do not. Capitalism and the free market have reduced the percentage of people living in extreme poverty worldwide from 90% in 1800 to 10% today but there is that 10%. And that 10% is extreme poverty, not mere poverty.

Humanity has nowhere near plateaued. People love doom & gloom but they're wrong.

 

[FoxEye]

Our peak was around 20 years ago - arguably earlier. Back when we had technology to make our lives easier, but we were still allowed to be actual people. All I see now for us is some weird segregated future, Demolition Man / Equilibrium style.

It's just a long, slow slide towards Idiocracy from now on

 

[Mysterae_]

Are we at peak humanity now? Not a ******* chance while 84% of the world's population still believe in religion and bomb the **** out of each other because of those differences.

"Humanity is the human race, which includes everyone on Earth. It's also a word for the qualities that make us human, such as the ability to love and have compassion, be creative, and not be a robot or alien. ... But when you talk about humanity, you could just be talking about people as a whole."

 

[Angilion]

[..]Do we need to drastically change our outlook and actions to progress, or do we continue as we are? [..]

Continuing as we are isn't a viable option. It's not sustainable. It's not even intended to be sustainable. It's been wildly successful for humanity, which is part of the problem. Humanity is winning so hard that we don't know how to deal with the results of that victory. The most obvious example of that is the change in human population, a change made possible only by success. Resource shortages, pollution, climate change, reduction of biodiversity, increased fragility of civilisation, etc. All manner of things are worsened by the sudden massive increase in population.

I think it's possible that humanity will fail as a result of its own success and human civilisation will decline or even collapse entirely. But humanity is pretty good at solving problems and all that success has massively increased the total of human knowledge and capability. So I think it's also possible that humanity will solve the problems, cobble together a more robust and sustainable civilisation and carry on nicely. Maybe this is the great filter stage of the Fermi paradox.

 

[RxR]

Peak liveable-climate conditions have already passed. But may return (improve a bit) in 100-300 years.

 

[Rroff]

We are far from an enlightened species - many people's approach and outlook when it comes to life is little removed from animal - going through the actions of the path directly in front of them rarely questioning things. Around the world there are many people living under senseless persecution, etc.

Carl Sagan had a hope there was an emerging consciousness of self-awareness and bettering ourselves both for the sake of ourselves and the world we live in but he was hopelessly optimistic - the likes of Elon Musk have realised we aren't going to come to it for ourselves.

 

[RxR]

Buckminster Fuller had similar (to Sagan) techno-social utopian ideas almost 100 years ago. Cf "Critical Path".

 

[tamzzy]

 

[R.P.L]

Hell no! The best is yet to come. Many of us live a relatively cushy life here in the UK, but there are many who do not. Capitalism and the free market have reduced the percentage of people living in extreme poverty worldwide from 90% in 1800 to 10% today but there is that 10%. And that 10% is extreme poverty, not mere poverty.

Humanity has nowhere near plateaued. People love doom & gloom but they're wrong.

Bu the question wasn't whether or not we're perfect now - it's whether or not we've reached the peak of what we're capable of. Humans are inherently imperfect, so it's quite possible that trying to force an unsustainably high level of perfection on us will have negative consequences, which I think is something that can already be observed now.

 

[adam cool dude]

My quality of life hasn't really changed since I was a little child so not a lot has really changed.

Of course I have my own money now and am richer as I get old but that is par for the course.

I guess the only major change in my lifetime is the internet and its wide spread use. It doesn't really add anything but makes life quicker.

 

[Quartz]

Continuing as we are isn't a viable option. It's not sustainable.

I disagree. Once we get off this planet resources are pretty much infinite.

Bu the question wasn't whether or not we're perfect now -

I didn't answer that question.

it's whether or not we've reached the peak of what we're capable of.

And I did answer that one. But let me repeat: no, we're nowhere near our peak.

 

[flea.rider]

peak as in evolution ? then no .. but there will be a couple more wars till we sort ourselves out .. man has great potential ..we also have a great greed and a wanting for more ..
once we lose this we will be going in the right direction ..
but those that control will always be the obstacle.

 

[Stumble Bum]

Peak humanity??

We still have people being extremely ***** to each other because they believe in imaginary friends.

 

[2004typer]

peak as in evolution ? then no .. but there will be a couple more wars till we sort ourselves out .. man has great potential ..we also have a great greed and a wanting for more ..
once we lose this we will be going in the right direction ..
but those that control will always be the obstacle.

Yep, those are my thoughts in general, we have the capability to achieve a lot more I think, but are we going to make it unsustainable to do so on our current trajectory.