A pretty cool perspective

[Liar]

I have this friend of mine who is, pretty much, constantly high. And he emails me all kinds of weird shit. UFO conspiration theories, Youtube clips of cute pets, recipies for broccoli crepes, you name it.

Here's one I got a while ago, that was pretty cool reading. Now, I don't know where it came from originally, and I don't know aboit all the numbers, though they seem approx. right. But either way, I thought it was a cool thing. Or maybe I'm high too, I dunno.

Take a look in the rear view mirror. Check out the 20th century that we just recently slugged our way out of.

Lots of interresting things happened. Devastating disasters, fantastic achivements, the birth and death of empires, massive industrialisation, instant global communication, world wars, nukes, moon landings, Buddy Holly, computers, the Titanic and Birgitte Bardot's tits.

But that's all peanuts, ripples on the surface, compared to the single most staggering factor from the recent century, one that people tend to forget about.


You. The human race. You went nuts.


In the year 1900 there were 1.6 billion people in the world
In the year 2000 there were 6.1 billion people.

It took 123 years for the world population to double from 1 billion in 1804 to 2 billions in 1927.

It took 47 years to double that to 4 billion.

And then 25 years add another 2 billion to 6.

There are ten times more people in the world today than during the Enlightment. There are three times more people in the world today than during the great depression. There are twice more people in the world today than when The Beatles released Rubber Soul. Since Spice Girls had their first hit and Tupac was shot, the population of the world has increased with another billion.

So, what does this mean? The human race is exploding, and the human society, economy and culture explodes with us.

History is not linear. It's periodical and exponential, and we've just now hit the most insane burst of history ever. Science is breaking barriers faster than ever. Larger numbers of people, and higher percentages even, are leaving poverty behind. You are exposed to ten times more published text than your grandparents was. You own and can operate ten times more machines than your parents did at your age. More music has been written and preserved in the last 30 years than in all of human history before that. There is no time like now, nothing in history comes close.

Enjoy the ride.

 

[Safe_Bet]

I have this friend of mine who is, pretty much, constantly high. And he emails me all kinds of weird shit. UFO conspiration theories, Youtube clips of cute pets, recipies for broccoli crepes, you name it.

Here's one I got a while ago, that was pretty cool reading. Now, I don't know where it came from originally, and I don't know aboit all the numbers, though they seem approx. right. But either way, I thought it was a cool thing. Or maybe I'm high too, I dunno.

You're right. Too cool!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

You're right. Too cool!

Sigh Since the beginning of the 20th Century the basis of population growth has not been birthrate, it's been increased longevity. Unless current technology under research pays off, this will condition will end around the year 2030 when the populations of the world, both developed and otherwise, start hitting the magic 85. Then the world's population will start to decline drastically. It already is in Japan, Italy, Russia and Spain. Most of Western Europe in next, followed by Iran and the Middle East. The only reason that North America will continue to expand is immigration. This is all well documented and published by the UN. Your goofy friend's Malthusian dreams are just that, dreams. Unless the Human Immortality project seriously pays off, with in a century or two, the entire planet will have the population of North America. It will be an innnnnnnnteresting world.

 

[cantdog]

Sigh Since the beginning of the 20th Century the basis of population growth has not been birthrate, it's been increased longevity. Unless current technology under research pays off, this will condition will end around the year 2030 when the populations of the world, both developed and otherwise, start hitting the magic 85. Then the world's population will start to decline drastically. It already is in Japan, Italy, Russia and Spain. Most of Western Europe in next, followed by Iran and the Middle East. The only reason that North America will continue to expand is immigration. This is all well documented and published by the UN. Your goofy friend's Malthusian dreams are just that, dreams. Unless the Human Immortality project seriously pays off, with in a century or two, the entire planet will have the population of North America. It will be an innnnnnnnteresting world.

Actually, VM, it was you . You projected Malthusian dreams onto the e-mail. The point it was making is, this is an unprecedented and interesting world. There are no dreams there, no trends projected, just an appreciation of the situation which obtains now. You can quit sighing.

 

[Liar]

Sigh Since the beginning of the 20th Century the basis of population growth has not been birthrate, it's been increased longevity. Unless current technology under research pays off, this will condition will end around the year 2030 when the populations of the world, both developed and otherwise, start hitting the magic 85. Then the world's population will start to decline drastically. It already is in Japan, Italy, Russia and Spain. Most of Western Europe in next, followed by Iran and the Middle East. The only reason that North America will continue to expand is immigration. This is all well documented and published by the UN. Your goofy friend's Malthusian dreams are just that, dreams. Unless the Human Immortality project seriously pays off, with in a century or two, the entire planet will have the population of North America. It will be an innnnnnnnteresting world.

Wotcha sighing about? If I may be so bold to point out, nobody said anything about an exponential future increase. Not me, not my friend, not whoever he quoted. History is periodical, and this period will pass. But this period is now. Unprecedented in the past, and if you're right (there are conflicting forecasts there, eveything form a steady 9-10 billion, to a slow erosion of the population and over to said implosion of population, depending on the emphasis of different factors), will be equally unprecedented in at least the foreseeable future.

Which would, if you ask me, make it even more interresting to be born in this day and age.

Edited to add: Heh, didn't see cant's reply.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Yeah, I can certainly believe it. That's what most of the problems in the world are now: elbows and noise.

 

[Liar]

Yeah, I can certainly believe it. That's what most of the problems in the world are now: elbows and noise.

And we make it worse by choice even. Something like 10-15% of us lived in big cities in the year 1900. Now that's approx 50%.

People love to rub up against each other. Simple as that.