Technick

Hmmm....very interesting set of posts.

One thing I notice is that everyone who is pessimistic about the future is American. The three posters who look forward to the future (myself included) aren't.

IMHO, this is a testament to a very scary trend developing in the US; the supression of technology particulary by the religious right. It strikes me as a whole lot of Americans are scared that advances in science and our understanding of the world will leave no place for a God, which the more secular nations have little concern over.

Unfortunately if Americans continue to sit around worrying more about a fictional Apocalypse in a 2000 year old story book than planning for the future, they will soon find their super power status slipping.

As for the current worry about oil supplies, who cares if oil runs out? Britain faced a similar problem in the 18th century as the country was steadily deforested and wood, the major fuel and building material became scarce. New technology enabled builders to use other materials for construction, and the introduction of coke as a fuel allowed Britain to move into the industrial revolution, greatly improving the quality of life for its citizens.

You don't hear the rest of the world bleating about energy crises and the end of days. Why? Because we have faith in our own abilities to adapt and survive and populations that embrace change as new and exciting.

Unfortunately conservatives, who seem to be the majority in only one nation, the USA, by their very definition discourage change. The inability to adapt effectively and the refusal to embrace new ideas has been the downfall of nearly every civilisation throughout history. Consider that the next time some one tries to ban stem-cell research and stop teaching evolution in schools.