Please forgive my agitation, but do you happen to find any connection between the recent study speculating with the idea that human brain has reached its full capacity, and the reports of Clarke Gable's grandson being arrested for pointing a laser at a Police helicopter somewhere in Hollywood? Not that said grandson was too bright to begin with, neither was the above theory proven beyond reasonable doubt...but it got me thinking. It also made me do the *facepalm*.
I mean, come on! Sometimes it does seem that the world is going to end any day now. Climate changes, yet another global economy crisis, deterioration of education, reality show boom, people still starving in Africa and what else not. Is the end of evolution near? What happened to civilized progress and reaching for the stars?! I guess now everything is in the hands of the Russians - they remain the sole nation that still does missions to the International Space Station after the end of NASA's shuttle program (to be fair, the Americans keep sending spacecrafts in outer space but I guess the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything doesn't really hide somewhere on Jupiter...or does it?).
I don't care for conspiracy theories or for unfounded pessimism, but there are times when things just look dodgy to me.
Another musing in the spirit of "just because": would you agree that the peak of human advancement was reached and we have plateaued? Aside of the rapid development in technology in the past two decades (surely a miraculous one, if used right), people haven't much moved forward ideologically or in terms of embracing universal values in order to really improve their state of being. Because let's face it - no one came up in recent years and said: "Hey, I got it! I finally figured out how humanity can live in peace, wealth, love and understanding. There's no more need of armed conflicts, cutting forests, over-consumption, or feeling bad about yourself and life!" If religion and philosophy are in decline, politics almost completely morphed with business, and scientific solutions to many terminal conditions yet to be found; and if people still struggle to make sense of their existence after so many wonderful discoveries have been made to their aid already, then when are we going to succeed in becoming the intelligent, good and happy species that we truly are?
Of course, I tend to be a great big cheerleader for happy endings, or rather - for utopic visions of Earth's future. I know; human beings are complex (often irrational and oddly backwards) creatures and life is even more perplexing. There are no universal truths, and every culture, every person brings a different outlook to what's good and what's bad. But still I see an entirely different principle of human existence, therefore I always try to save the world.
Imagine the potential - and the benefits - of technology working in tune with nature, freedom of self expression, creative entertainment and fulfilling work! It often throws me in terrible fits of despair, considering how far we have gone to fuck things up, but mostly it keeps me alert. I try to accept that people have a long journey left to travel until things like sexual hatred, violent religious fundamentalism, and short term profits (to list but a few) become obsolete. And till then, given that our pretty small planet endures these processes, I will keep right on cheer-leading. Call me naive. I prefer to think of myself as human.
To conclude on a slightly more positive note, however, I give you some updates from one of my favorite (and quite benign) time-wasting websites. The images I've chosen illustrate a human mindset that seems to make more sense than pointing a laser to a Police helicopter, and also give me some hope that even if our brains cannot get any smarter, there are plenty of ways we could utilize their current potential, however big or small it might be.
:)
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