Biggest Problem Facing Humanity

[Seret]

The planet simply can't support 8 billion people living like Americans or Europeans.

Well, it'd be much better off with 8 billion Europeans than Americans. However, the fact that Americans use about twice as much energy per capita for the same standard of living should be seen as encouraging. It shows that there isn't a hard and fast rule for joules per dollar of GDP. In fact growth in several European countries (such as Denmark and Sweden) have shown a marked decoupling between GDP growth and energy use. The UK uses the same amount of energy per capita now that it did 50 years ago, despite GDP growing 2700%. These are all encouraging signs that we might be able to make it work.

[JiWint]

Humans selfishness

[Aladran]

Overpopulation

We don't know how to manage our ressource but we are still growing in number...

We will hit a breaking point, where an overpopulated earth will see a great disparities between the rich and the poor.

Since the rich tend to be richer and fewer, and the poor get poorer a in a larger number.

We will get to a point of big social challenges regarding, health care, feeding, housing, etc...

[magnemoe]

The only thing you need are robots and engineers.

Then they have to compete with the first world countries who have plenty of both.

No its not an catastrophe however China's growth is a large part that they make factory workers out of peasants and gain an magnitude increase in productivity.

Then the supply of workers dries out they have to increase productivity who is harder and gives less growth.

[mardlamock]

Governments and monopolies. The selfishness of human being and lack of critical thought in certain societies. The fear of the unknown, the fear of change. Those are the biggest problem humanity faces.

[Clockwork13]

Not really a reason to worry about over population. They are already preparing to colonize mars, but if we don't evacuate to mars soon enough, I believe we are going to die to nuclear war. Russia and Korea already hate us, so the chances of a nuclear war are rather high.

[Seret]

I believe we are going to die to nuclear war. Russia and Korea already hate us, so the chances of a nuclear war are rather high.

Who is us? The USA? Good news, you don't need to worry. The Russians don't hate you, and have no reason to start anything with you. South Korea are your allies, and North Korea are no threat to you (although they are a threat to your South Korean and Japanese friends).

On top of that, even if there was a nuclear war, it wouldn't be the end of humanity. The human race survived multiple ice ages, we'd survive a few sunbombs.

[CrotalusAtrox]

My opinion is that the largest problem humanity faces... is a combination of many of the aforementioned. Things like, a lack of education, global warming (though, I think people tend to glorify this one a bit), over population, etc. However; I think that if a proper space program was created, one that wasn't afraid of ambitious goals (like the NASA of the sixties) many of the issues we are facing now, could be 'cured.' The problems associated with the manned exploration of space lend themselves to creative answers, which then (eventually) trickle down to the general populous in the form of useful products (like memory foam, scratch resistant lenses, water filters, telecommunications, etc).

Recap

'Biggest' Problem = loads of smaller problems

solution (My opinion) = Manned space exploration

[Klingon Admiral]

The biggest problem of humanity is the rapidly growind competence of machines.

[Seret]

The biggest problem of humanity is the rapidly growind competence of machines.

Why would that be a problem? Seems like exactly the opposite to me. Has the irony of entering that text into a thinking machine connected to a world wide information web not occurred to you? Things like KSP and this forum only exist because of the increasing competence of our machines.

[NASAFanboy]

The biggest probelm?

Congress.

Why we can't have nice things.

[Seret]

The biggest probelm?

Congress.

Why we can't have nice things.

Not really a biggy for the 96% of us lucky enough to not live in the US

[jrphilps]

What do you guys think is the single biggest problem facing humanity at the moment?

I once answered a similar question on the coolscifi forums, about 2 1/2 years ago. http://coolscifi.com/threads/what-are-your-thoughts-of-the-2012-scenario.4262/page-2 The greatest threat to mankind lies with something called the convergence.

[Anodizer]

A great majority of things wrong with the world today is due to lack of compassion and the expansion of greed..

This leads to great efforts to keep those who are lower on the food chain from being properly educated through things like anti-intellectualism, religious dogma,

nationalism(in the US, we call this "patriotism"), racism, etc.

[lodestar]

Trying to immanentize the eschaton.

[m4v]

Not enough pirates.

[John Crichton]

Education!! And then education again!!

The only reason all the other issues don't get tackled like they should is due to a lack of education. If more people had a good education (and genuine interest/curiosity), they would see through all the political BS and focus on the issues at hand.

If education was better, more people would cringe at:

1) "Evolution is only a theory."

2) "Global warming is just a hoax."

3) "Global warming is real, but humans aren't the key cause."

4) etc.

I also put a LOT of blame on the mass media. They changed from being NEWS outlets holding politicians accountable to mere propaganda networks who care most about the message than facts.

PS: First post...and it's a rant, lol.

Edited February 3, 2014 by John Crichton

[vexx32]

I think the root problem, which is in some ways partially responsible for most (if not all) of humanity's major problems... would have to be beliefs. Usually, religious ones, and especially ones that encourage blind faith. It tends to hamper education and put barriers up against progress all over the place (heck, some scientists have been arrested just because some religious organisation didn't agree with them)... and most importantly, I think, seems to perpetuate a confidence that "everything will work out somehow".

I mean, it's good to have hope, sure... but I don't think it's good to have hope for a better future unconditionally. How much hope is there really, if a large portion of the world's population has some major health problem, or is starving, or is living on the streets? Hope's all well and good, but you have to back it up with some real action, in my opinion.

[KerbMav]

We lack education, in both mind and character.

Overpopulation could be managed with clean energy, sustainable agriculture and global cooperation - but we are basically programmed to think mostly for today and for us/our family only. We are able to extend it to our peoples/nations to a certain degree, but our compassion rarely can be stretched to encompass the species as a whole - it usually is already limited by perceived differences in faith, race or even more minor trivials.

Likewise with diseases: e.g. with enough education and less self-centered thinking we could get rid of the menace of HIV in a few years and could concentrate funds and efforts on easing the lifes of everyone that has been infected - no need for research in vaccination here in a perfect world, only certainty and self-control, testing and honesty.

We as a species are lazy, the leash and whip namend money is needed to get us to work and share its fruits with our fellows, to feel ourselves being treated fairly. Only the necessity for learning and working in a field of interest that fits our abilities to receive our sufficient share has to be understood and accepted.

Everyones life would be better if we could manage to get rid of the whole concept of money: without money clean energy costs nothing, medicine costs nothing - automation of work would not even cost jobs, it would create freedom from work!

If this is communism ... well, ok. But honestly, I do not see much difference between "you have to work for a living" and "you have to work to pay for a living" - only the big perks maybe and we all work for freeloaders today anyway, freeloaders on both ends of the "food chain" though.

[Sparker]

Overpopulation, in my opinion. It causes many other problems, like lack of resouces and energy, wars and so on. Also education which goes together with religion and beliefs like on two sides of scales. I think that humanity in the 21st century can go on without religion. Oh hell, there are so many problems when I start thinking of this question. Maybe there's something a little wrong with human nature itself? Like too much greed or something like that. Just look at this at greater scale. We still have wars and many resources are spent for having wars instead of uniting together and solving global problems mentioned above.

[John Crichton]

I think the root problem, which is in some ways partially responsible for most (if not all) of humanity's major problems... would have to be beliefs. Usually, religious ones, and especially ones that encourage blind faith. It tends to hamper education and put barriers up against progress all over the place (heck, some scientists have been arrested just because some religious organisation didn't agree with them)... and most importantly, I think, seems to perpetuate a confidence that "everything will work out somehow".

I mean, it's good to have hope, sure... but I don't think it's good to have hope for a better future unconditionally. How much hope is there really, if a large portion of the world's population has some major health problem, or is starving, or is living on the streets? Hope's all well and good, but you have to back it up with some real action, in my opinion.

Reminds me of a great quote from Religulous (awesome movie!):

The irony of religion is that because of its power to divert man to destructive courses, the world could actually come to an end. The plain fact is, religion must die for mankind to live.

The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge having in key decisions made by religious people, by irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken. George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq, but he didn't learn a lot about it.

Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking. It's nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith, and enable and elevate it are intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction. Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don't have all the answers to think that they do.

Most people would think it's wonderful when someone says, "I'm willing, Lord! I'll do whatever you want me to do!" Except that since there are no gods actually talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don't. How can I be so sure? Because I don't know, and you do not possess mental powers that I do not.

The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that's what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting **** dead wrong. This is why rational people, anti-religionists, must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who consider themselves only moderately religious really need to look in the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings you comes at a terrible price.

If you belonged to a political party or a social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, violence, and sheer ignorance as religion is, you'd resign in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, for the true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the billions of their fellow travelers.

If the world does come to an end here, or wherever, or if it limps into the future, decimated by the effects of religion-inspired nuclear terrorism, let's remember what the real problem was. We learned how to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it.

That's it. Grow up or die.

[lodestar]

It's amusing how so many posts on this topic are actually saying: "The biggest problem facing humanity is that not everyone agrees with me".

[WhiteWeasel]

It's amusing how so many posts on this topic are actually saying: "The biggest problem facing humanity is that not everyone agrees with me".

The biggest problem facing humanity is pretty much anyone with the "I'm right you're wrong" mentality. Say otherwise to them and this happens:

Started wars, bogs down politics, annoying people to have a conversation with.

Edited February 4, 2014 by WhiteWeasel

[Vanamonde]

It has come to the attention of the moderating team that the discussion here has become entangled in "political, ideological or religious" issues, which are off-limits for this forum (2.2.b). Please avoid these subjects in future, and as for this thread, it is closed now.