Are humans as a species slowly going insane and heading for collapse?

Dbbl

Dbbl

Dbbl...again.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: BomSquad

In order for a species to evolve, any species, it requires stressors. An organism, a species, will never grow/evolve if stressors are not applied to it.

We are becoming stagnant.

Not enough war and false flags for ya? Crime not as exciting yet?

a reply to: TheGreatWork

Not to mention forced evolution...which changes the natural evolutionary course and provides synthetic evolution. Once we uncrack the whole gene code for editing and can edit human traits at will who knows what evolution looks like.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

We have looked down on and denigrated "tribal mentality" but in a lot of ways, isn't that how we are wired? We evolved to live in small/medium nomadic family units hunting and gathering for our survival. Occasionally running into other tribes to exchange ideas, trade, intermarry, and sometimes, war.

Now in a lot of ways we have given up the "tribe" for the "nation", but the "nation" may be too large of a unit for us to truly connect to, and the drive toward "globalism" where humanity is "one" may be too much for our little monkey brains to encompass. We can intellectually understand the concept and embrace it, but emotionally and spiritually it is alien to us as a species. We need "us" and "them" to ground our social groups. I'm not saying this is how is should be. I am saying that this is how we evolved and are wired to be. Sure, we can overcome our social evolutionary limitations, but we also need to recognized them.

Another thing that has always helped humanity in the past is that there was always another "frontier" to escape to. Now that humanity can be found almost everywhere on the globe, where does the excess population go to get their "alone time"? Many strive for the tribal sized communities, but when everything is urbanized (like in Universe 25 and its "walk up apartments"), where do we go to form that smaller communal unit?

a reply to: BomSquad

I recently read a conspiracy theory that cell phone radiation is putting holes in our brood-brain barriers. People are now susceptible to bacteria infections in the brain which cause them to be enraged about politics or enraged when driving a car.

originally posted by: BomSquad
a reply to: CriticalStinker

We have looked down on and denigrated "tribal mentality" but in a lot of ways, isn't that how we are wired? We evolved to live in small/medium nomadic family units hunting and gathering for our survival. Occasionally running into other tribes to exchange ideas, trade, intermarry, and sometimes, war.

Now in a lot of ways we have given up the "tribe" for the "nation", but the "nation" may be too large of a unit for us to truly connect to, and the drive toward "globalism" where humanity is one may be too much for our little monkey brains to encompass. We can intellectually understand the concept and embrace it, but emotionally and spiritually it is alien to us as a species. We need "us" and "them" to ground our social groups. I'm not saying this is how is should be. I am saying that this is how we evolved and are wired to be. Sure, we can overcome our social evolutionary limitations, but we also need to recognized them.

Another thing that has always helped humanity in the past is that there was always another "frontier" to escape to. Now that humanity can be found almost everywhere on the globe, where does the excess population go to get their "alone time"? Many strive for the tribal sized communities, but when everything is urbanized (like in Universe 25 and its "walk up apartments", where do we go to form that smaller communal unit?

Mars, Europa, Ganymede, Enceladus, asteroids?

a reply to: luthier

I'm all for that, but how realistic is it? In the past, who ever needed to up and move could do so. Who, in the future, is going to just up and move to Mars? Even if we had the technology to do so, the cost would prevent it for most of humanity.

To be frank, only the rich could afford it and they are the least in need of doing so. It is "the masses" that most feel the pressure to emigrate and they would have the least opportunity to voluntarily do so.

a reply to: BomSquad

Cost is going to be a different thing when AGI blockchain and crypto take over.

But thinking in terms of today's economic model Mars will not be a nice place for a long time. Colonies will need labor and rich people don't do that.

Have you looked at the plans for the colonies starting in the next 10 years?

Are humans as a species slowly going insane and heading for collapse?

As much as it deserves to.

No.

And yes I said deserves.

Anyone taken a good look at modern civilisation should be disgusted with it.

a reply to: BomSquad

Saw an article the other day saying that overall IQ was declining in western countries. This makes sense because we make it possible for stupid people to survive and reproduce.

Idiocracy was a documentary.

a reply to: Edumakated

Saw an article the other day saying that overall IQ was declining in western countries. This makes sense because we make it possible for stupid people to survive and reproduce.

My guess would be that a brain doesn't develop the same way when it's not faced with adversity. Problem solving helps create connections that will last a lifetime in the brain, while we try to mimic some of those problem solving tasks for newer generations, we also try to make that "safer" or easier to swallow for kids, IE: taking some of the stakes away from the outcome so that they don't have consequences for failure.

I don't think you're wrong that nature has a part, but nurture does as well.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: Edumakated

Saw an article the other day saying that overall IQ was declining in western countries. This makes sense because we make it possible for stupid people to survive and reproduce.

My guess would be that a brain doesn't develop the same way when it's not faced with adversity. Problem solving helps create connections that will last a lifetime in the brain, while we try to mimic some of those problem solving tasks for newer generations, we also try to make that "safer" or easier to swallow for kids, IE: taking some of the stakes away from the outcome so that they don't have consequences for failure.

I don't think you're wrong that nature has a part, but nurture does as well.

I don't disagree. Just from general observation and studies, the more educated you are and the more money you make, the fewer kids you have...

In urban areas, poor and stupid people breed like rats. This can only bring down the IQ of society as a whole. In addition, smart people tend to mate with other smart people... the same with stupid people.

a reply to: Edumakated

IQ rates the flyn effect etc are very flimsy ideas to begin with. People are specializing their education earlier which counterintuitively creates a decline of critical thinking.

They are finding liberal arts bachelors have higher critical thinking ability than engineers with the same metrics (GPA ) now colleges are wondering if they took out too many "junk" classes.

Finding grad students who don't just follow directions and need to set up there own experiments is beginning to be a major problem.

Can't YouTube something that doesnt exist yet.

My son is a year ahead in math but I watch him try and figure out how to fix his bike and I am embarrassed as a carpenter I haven't done better by him. But also wonder if it's a lack of common sense teaching in society in general.


This is why people are locking themselves in escape rooms. Critical thinking actually needs to be trained outside of schools.

Not sure about mental side, but we are extremely weak outside of our protective bubbles. One wonders how many people could survive a long term blackout, I don't think too many, but then the 3rd world would just continue as if nothing happened.

originally posted by: LDragonFire
a reply to: BomSquad

All animals living in zoo go insane, they have been separated from the natural world.

Us humans live in a zoo.

What an incredible experiment, i have never heard about this before, i need to research this some, more, and i gabbed this particular post as a quote , because i have some of the same symptoms that i have seen in a zoo, such as pacing around, back and forth, and have many times said that- I feel like a zoo animal, trapped.

This study is very interesting. I can definitely see at least some of it happening to humans on a world-wide scale (especially in the West and Japan).

a reply to: BomSquad

First of all I would like to say that post like these are what make ATS a great place to be!

I also, had not heard about the studies with mice but will be digging more into it in the future.

I think that everyone here have made some solid points. I can agree with most of them. I would also like to add my two cents.

I do not believe that it can come down to just a few of the theories presented here. I believe that it is very compounded. I believe that everyone who has replied to this post is correct and at the same time it's all of these issues put together. It's been going on for years and every so often another issues is added to the already many issues that started the downfall of society.

Personally I think the latest issue to add to the problem is the media. I know some will say that it has always been one of the issues but it is more pronounced and intense than it ever has been. That being said it could be that it only feels that way now because of our easy access to information that we didn't have 20 or 30 years ago.