World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[Ziggy]

What are you talking about? I would say the average person is more informed today than before smart phones. The internet is access to knowledge and information and making it easier to access is a good thing. But I guess you are only talking in a labor sense, and yes I would agree being more informed and less ignorant is not going to get people to do minial tasks and accept substandard pay.

"More informed" about what though? What all the new memes are, what hilarious things cats can do, and what story from The Onion someone posted on Facebook and now everyone thinks it's real. That's what the average person is more informed about because of smart phones.

[Ziggy]

I'd even guesstimate that 20% of phone usage goes to actual vocal communication.

Probably far, far less.

I wont be surprised when I'm ~60 years old and everyone my age has brain tumors.

#cell tumor ftw

# was it worth it?

[pepharytheworm]

I find it funny a video game is used to show how phones negatively inpact intelligence on a video game forum.

[Jmustang1968]

I use my phone for useful things all the time. Alerts, email, breaking news, maps, social apps, etc... Basically a mini computer with internet access in my pocket that can make calls. I use it dor almost everything I use my PC for except word processing and games.

[Pulsar_t]

Regarding the smart gadgets argument.. My own take: people who are curious or empathic or smart will use them to learn about the world and what inhabits it. This is an intrinsic quality that is hard to implant regardless how "smart" the gadgets become. I guarantee you that if someday books could be sold as pills to be absorbed into the mind immediately, a large segment of the populace would choose assorted byproducts that would reinforce their apathy or their comfort-zones on the socioeconomic spectrum. I think I read somewhere that the attention span and vocabularies of industrial world citizens have notably diminished in the past few decades, but I'm too lazy to query for a link right now :p

[Erik_Twice]

I don't necessarily think it's a red herring. Anytime you want to insert a peacekeeping force there's the risk of bloodshed and loss of life for the intervening country's military.

Sure, but it's not what keeps an intervention from happening. The problem is not the human cost, or even the fact that the public wouldn't support it, the problem is that we may not be able to do anything of use.

Even in a best case scenario in which we can make the rebels win the war is a terrible scenario because it means only a single ethnic group wins the war and unstability will still exist. Eventually, we would need to take out our forces and fighting will resume.

There's obviously a difference between a peacekeeping force and launching a full-scale invasion.

I don't think there is, you have to get involved, destroy the enemy and control the ground. The alternative is another Bosnian war where the peacekeeping forces do nothing while the war rages on.

I really think it's a fucked up situation, all potential solutions are bad.

I think I read somewhere that the attention span and vocabularies of industrial world citizens have notably diminished in the past few decades, but I'm too lazy to query for a link right now :p

People read and write more than they have ever had in history and by a wide margin. Think about it, were it not for internet forums and chats, how much would you write?

Still, they are the same arguments that were made against literature, radio and television.

[Pulsar_t]

I hope you're right Anyway my handwriting has become a lot worse in recent years

Dunno if this is the best place to post this one:



For a civilisation ingrained into millennia of culture, today's Chinese seem to be lacking common sense morals. Plenty of people have said this, and I'm beginning to believe there's some truth to that stereotype.

[MrPopo]

Sounds like they've found a way to deal with jaywalkers.

[Blu]

Seriously, what a perverse set of circumstances that allowed this culture to develop. Especially when the courts enable people to murder someone without harsh penalty to deter the crime from being committed. I wonder how prevalent this truly is, in proportion to the total population. How sad.

[Pulsar_t]