TEDTalks: Jared Diamond Talks About Why Societies Collapse [video]
source: http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/07/tedtalks_jared_diamond_tells_u.php
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- GrrlScientist
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sffsmessiah
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so basically, when short-term benefits for elites outweigh long term benefits of people, it causes the extinction of culture, leading to massive death and environmental degradation...
...unless of course the culture has the FORESIGHT and WISDOM and DESIRE to CHANGE ITS DIRECTION
water, soil, climate change, invasive species, photosynthetic ceiling, population, toxics... all these problems are about to be resolved in 50, 20 years. In some places 5 and even 1.
Unfortunately, stongly held beliefs (religion, social cohesion...) makes it DIFFICULT TO CHANGE. Because of the identification of one's self as ESTABLISHED (meaning inability to change), a culture CANNOT EVOLVE or adapt to its situation.
Furthermore, this transformation cannot happen individually. It is the interconnection of the group that creates the ability to work together. This should be OBVIOUS because we are all DEPENDENT on Society, while SIMULTANEOUSLY making it up.
So, we have to work together, totally connected as a common culture. If we do not, we will be exterminated by our own ignorance and (lack of) action.
We are losing our resources. We are by definition, unsustainable, meaning our lives CANNOT BE SUSTAINED. This means the problem will be RESOLVED, in one way or another. We can choose to change, or Nature will change us. We can be around to see it or not.
Thus, the young must be EDUCATED.
(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...)It is our choice or not, whether war, disease, and starvation will exist or not.
We must do the mathematics, logic, philosophy, science it takes to understand and change the CORE PROBLEMS we face today and in the future.
We have caused many of these problems and have the technology and understanding of why they are problems. Now lets decentralize it, disseminate it, and change, so we can fix those problems.
- 2 years ago
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sffsmessiah
