4 days ago: Human beings have been destroying things since the dawn of man. As always it's about the quality of the people who inhabit the world and their ability to perceive the world correctly and then do the right thing once that understanding is acquired.
5 days ago: I think you have the wrong view of philosophy, you can consider the idea's for tools, houses, etc, essentially metaphysical constructs before we inject information from our brains into the universe to re-arrange matter and energy according to information (our inner imaginary metaphysic).
The problem is not with philosophy but developing methods to find out whether our ideas are congruent with reality but our IDEA of reality is used to figure out what reality is.
Consider the idea that the universe is self-aware in some sense, capable of self-processing and self-configuring itself, this is not a 'mystical, non scientific idea'. Since one could say we possess some limited amount of self awareness, and therefore because we are just pieces of the universe. The universe might also have this property but is just dormant potential or just unconscious self-processing.
Or consider the idea that the our universe is a simulation, there are ideas that one can use to test for this idea. Basically when you get down to it, what we call "reality" has expanded and grown and changed over historical time. I think you have the wrong idea about 'science' because you don't seem to grasp the very importance of concepts to science. Information is extremely important.
The problem is the vast majority of human beings just don't think clearly about how to determine valid informational constructs from invalid ones. This is where analytical tools like math and science come in. But note that MATH is essentially metaphysical. There is no 'reality' to mathematics, it is a pure informational system we overlay on top of nature.
Think of newtons "laws", the aren't really "laws" in the sense that we have 100% precision, so even if your accuracy describes something fairly well, if it ain't perfect, well then you haven't found the right ideas and information and ways to structure it to clarify what you're seeing.
May 15 2013: Problem is the population's intelligence level is by and large not that high. Just look at what the US got with the bank bailouts. The leaders of the world aren't exactly role models either, living opulent self destructive life styles.
If you think people are going to give up stuff like internet, movies and videogames. I think you're dreaming. Everyone is betting on technology.
May 13 2013: I'm sorry but no, the bible is not from god. Anyone who believes they should get their morals from a guy who casts demons into farm animals clearly has problems.
Matt. 8:30-34
"30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region."
Apr 17 2013: What's missing from this talk is the class system, many "psychiatric illnesses" are a response to a threatening and hostile way of living. The way modern societies are structured are not healthy.
I'd talk more about ideology, the class divides that driven people to exclude and look down on one another as drivers of depression, etc.
All these talks take place under an ideological paradigm that 'anyone who doesn't want to live like we do must be disordered'.
Apr 12 2013: "could intelligence be distributed through the body in ways we might not expect? "
No because electrical signals are limited by the speed of light and cellular communication is limited by distance. There are different parts of the nervous system that command certain regions of the body but I think disabled people are evidence enough of what happens when things go wrong.
Mar 25 2013: Reality is that people are more aware of how fucked up the world is, the 24/7 news cycle on the net really can suck the life out of you. So humanity is sobering up a little bit about how fucked up the world is and how stupid 'the other half' of humanity really is.
Internet comments on youtube or popular news sites are a case in point. Heck even comments on TED can lean pretty badly towards people with uninformed views of the world.
That being said, the reality is simply that there is more things to do so people are more drained of energy. The internet = draining because there is just so much interesting stuff to do you can get caught up in it for hours.
Mar 17 2013: School is work, everyone forgets that for most kids learning is stressful because they are not in the highest intelligence bracket. Very smart people forget what comes easy, naturally and is fun/stimulating to them, is painful and stressful to most other human beings.
Learning = work = stress to most people to whom must spend more time and energy to learn and because its painful it's not very fun.
Mar 14 2013: It's not a personal attack, the idea that you have billionaires and homeless people within the same nation and it isn't for a scarcity of homes for instance. Rich people owning multiple homes that could house and feed many human beings.
The idea, the conceit that I am personally attacking you is laughable given your lack of historical understanding.
Mar 14 2013: "the corporation, especially the more modern multi-national type is a perversion of free markets and free people."
This is a nice myth. Capitalism has historically always been perverted, violent thing. You are just another example of being historically illiterate about the history of capitalism and enclosure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclosure
The process of enclosure has sometimes been accompanied by force, resistance, and bloodshed, and remains among the most controversial areas of agricultural and economic history in England. Rich landowners used their control of state processes to appropriate public land for their private benefit. This created a landless working class that provided the labour required in the new industries developing in the north of England.
TEDCred score: +6.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.
A comment on Conversation: Does Technology destroy our relationship with Nature?
A comment on Conversation: Is it time for philosophy to do away with metaphysics?
The problem is not with philosophy but developing methods to find out whether our ideas are congruent with reality but our IDEA of reality is used to figure out what reality is.
Consider the idea that the universe is self-aware in some sense, capable of self-processing and self-configuring itself, this is not a 'mystical, non scientific idea'. Since one could say we possess some limited amount of self awareness, and therefore because we are just pieces of the universe. The universe might also have this property but is just dormant potential or just unconscious self-processing.
Or consider the idea that the our universe is a simulation, there are ideas that one can use to test for this idea. Basically when you get down to it, what we call "reality" has expanded and grown and changed over historical time. I think you have the wrong idea about 'science' because you don't seem to grasp the very importance of concepts to science. Information is extremely important.
The problem is the vast majority of human beings just don't think clearly about how to determine valid informational constructs from invalid ones. This is where analytical tools like math and science come in. But note that MATH is essentially metaphysical. There is no 'reality' to mathematics, it is a pure informational system we overlay on top of nature.
Think of newtons "laws", the aren't really "laws" in the sense that we have 100% precision, so even if your accuracy describes something fairly well, if it ain't perfect, well then you haven't found the right ideas and information and ways to structure it to clarify what you're seeing.
A comment on Conversation: Why are YOU killing the planet?
If you think people are going to give up stuff like internet, movies and videogames. I think you're dreaming. Everyone is betting on technology.
A reply on Conversation: Does creationism indicate bad education? (If so how can we fix this, and should it be taught?) Does Creationism have any credibility to it?
Matt. 8:30-34
"30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region."
A comment on Talk: Thomas Insel: Toward a new understanding of mental illness
I'd talk more about ideology, the class divides that driven people to exclude and look down on one another as drivers of depression, etc.
All these talks take place under an ideological paradigm that 'anyone who doesn't want to live like we do must be disordered'.
A comment on Conversation: Is the heart overlooked when it comes to intelligence?
No because electrical signals are limited by the speed of light and cellular communication is limited by distance. There are different parts of the nervous system that command certain regions of the body but I think disabled people are evidence enough of what happens when things go wrong.
A comment on Conversation: Were you happier in the pre-internet era?
Internet comments on youtube or popular news sites are a case in point. Heck even comments on TED can lean pretty badly towards people with uninformed views of the world.
That being said, the reality is simply that there is more things to do so people are more drained of energy. The internet = draining because there is just so much interesting stuff to do you can get caught up in it for hours.
A comment on Conversation: How can we best engage college students in the idea of learning instead of just getting a degree?
Learning = work = stress to most people to whom must spend more time and energy to learn and because its painful it's not very fun.
A reply on Conversation: Is capitalism sustainable?
The idea, the conceit that I am personally attacking you is laughable given your lack of historical understanding.
A reply on Conversation: Is capitalism sustainable?
This is a nice myth. Capitalism has historically always been perverted, violent thing. You are just another example of being historically illiterate about the history of capitalism and enclosure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclosure
The process of enclosure has sometimes been accompanied by force, resistance, and bloodshed, and remains among the most controversial areas of agricultural and economic history in England. Rich landowners used their control of state processes to appropriate public land for their private benefit. This created a landless working class that provided the labour required in the new industries developing in the north of England.