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Most humans are garbage.

GrownupGirl said:
But seriously, we're all going to die soon anyway, so what's the point of doing anything anymore? Graduating, getting a career, finding a spouse having kids? How can anyone do that without the fear of nukes, climate change, and plagues wiping us out. All our efforts, gone.

What do you expect me to do about it? I'm not Superwoman. I can't go out and save the world. I have a hard enough time going out to buy groceries every week. If I died, the rest of the world won't notice or care, it'll be like I never lived.

We're in the beginnings of another bird flu pandemic, I heard today someone in the USA was diagnosed today. They said the symptoms were mild, but it either won't be that way for most people, or they're lying to avoid hysteria. Better start buying toilet paper, masks and sanitizer while you still can. And cyanide, or helium.
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If by "soon" you mean a few decades, everybody always dies "soon."

When I grew up, I spent the first 30 years of my life with the world teetering on the edge of a nuclear apocalypse and expecting the population to explode and leave us all starving. We got on with life regardless, and none of those fears came to pass.

A big truth in life is that if you can't do anything about something, don't worry about it. Doing this will improve your life, regardless of what happens. The internet is full of hucksters who get their clicks by making people fearful.

There is a story about the French philosopher Voltaire. He was working in his garden when some students came over to ask philosophical questions. One of them asked him what he'd want to do if he learned the world would end tomorrow. He replied, "I think I'd like to work in my garden."

Humans have a knack for muddling through. Tend to your garden, and don't worry about that which you have no control over.
 
Humans have reportedly become less intelligent in the past few decades. Their IQs are dropping like flies. But most humans are anti-intelligence anyway. Smart people are just weird creepy eggheads with no life.

I knew stupidity had become an epidemic in the late 90s when the world became insanely obsessed with reality TV. And now it's an even worse pandemic than covid. Just look at the USA and it's mania with politics, and all the 2024 candidates are horrible. I hope I fall into a coma this November.
 
Yeah, I think a news media detox is in order for me.

Also I should avoid talking about the news with my family, they are certifiable with their theories.

I should sip coffee and stream music instead.
 
GrownupGirl said:
Humans have reportedly become less intelligent in the past few decades. Their IQs are dropping like flies. But most humans are anti-intelligence anyway. Smart people are just weird creepy eggheads with no life.

I knew stupidity had become an epidemic in the late 90s when the world became insanely obsessed with reality TV. And now it's an even worse pandemic than covid. Just look at the USA and it's mania with politics, and all the 2024 candidates are horrible. I hope I fall into a coma this November.
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Where I live now seems to be a bit anti-intellectual. The best money doesn't go to the people advancing medicines, etc. it goes to people who messed around in school, apprenticed as a builder and dodged their tax to buy a big truck. They're really celebrated here. Only people outside emergency services allowed out during the pandemic, even.

That leads to some difficult conversations with the kids. My oldest basically jacked-in school. "No point" was her response to my concerns. We always love and support her regardless of her decisions, but we were worried. But she was right. She's making an absolute fortune. Top 10% of earners in the country with no qualifications at all.

So what do I say to the two youngest? They're really keen on learning, big brains both of them, gifted, even. They both dream of doing great things, helping society. We back them too, 100%. But It's really tough to look at them and think "all this effort is pretty much for nothing, because when you leave uni with your degree in quantum physics, you'll be poor and delivering uber to some guy who basically cheats people during house sales and drives a merc." I have a love and passion for learning, but it wouldn't be right to encourage the same in my kids. I'll be steering them both to drop out and get jobs as tradies. Because even a passion for your career can't carry you through living in poverty and being kicked from pillar to post by society.

ETA: By the way, if it feels like I'm exaggerating, an example. Average hourly rate for a high school teacher is A$49.30. Going rate for a traffic control person (the person who stands there and turns the stop/go sign around for traffic at road works), A$44 – A$65 an hour (after 1 years experience). What's the point in trying when you can literally make zero effort, mess around and still get handed a job that pays A$125K per year? Higher than junior doctors (upto A$90K), medical scientist (A$95K) or child protection worker ($94K).
 
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GrownupGirl said:
Humans have reportedly become less intelligent in the past few decades. Their IQs are dropping like flies.
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I may have read the same article as you.
One theory is that ppl with lower intelligence produce more children.
"Don't shoot the messenger." :cool:
 
MNAus said:
Because even a passion for your career can't carry you through living in poverty and being kicked from pillar to post by society.
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If you don't share your love and passion for learning, you are guilty of a kind of child abuse. Why would you try to deny them something that offers so much reward? Learning is a joyous end in and of itself, independent of any wealth. It is like discouraging them from exercising or listening to music.

You tell your kids to follow their dreams but always have a plan B and C, just in case.
 
Judge said:
A new coffee poll might be good. Wouldn't dream of robbing you of the pleasure, though I'm curious to what other peoples' taste in coffee is these days. ;)
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Probably, since streaming Nine Inch Nails’ Downward Spiral album is not making me feel much better.
 
Jonn said:
Ppl probably know mine.
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My own perception of what constitutes really good coffee is hopelessly limited.

Not to mention that I only became a regular coffee drinker about five years ago. Past that it was just a "dessert drink" to me. Something I only drank in restaurants after a nice meal.
 
Jonn said:
One theory is that ppl with lower intelligence produce more children.
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Wasn't that the entire point of the movie Idiocracy? A movie made as a comedy that now watches like a documentary. And while anecdotal evidence is no substitute for hard data, at least in my area the stupid people are producing exponentially faster than the smart folks.
 
Metalhead said:
Bread and circus is a winning strategy for people in power, since all most people want to do is eat junk food and watch junk TV all day and night. They do not give a damn about anything outside of that. Humanity is a plague for which there is no cure other than a comet hitting the planet Earth. Good people are extremely rare.

The world is going to Hell and the average man is doing nothing about it other than watching more TV and eating more junk food. Most people are junkies, strung out on their petty little bread and circus lives.

Yeah, I am feeling a lot of misanthropy right now.
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A fair, understandable feeling. I think pretty much all of us go through this.

I think of the debunked study about alpha wolves, in times like this. Most people aren't garbage, but we will do some atrocious things when forced into artificial environments which aren't healthy for us. People are made to love. It takes work to turn them into the opposite.
 
Mr. Stevens said:
I think of the debunked study about alpha wolves, in times like this. Most people aren't garbage, but we will do some atrocious things when forced into artificial environments which aren't healthy for us. People are made to love. It takes work to turn them into the opposite.
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Been tentatively looking into Schopenhauer lately, and this is sort of the philosophy he espouses (I'm simplifying, but the same core tenet is there). He laid aside lofty biblical ideals of Virtue & Duty, and dealt with humans as they really are or could be. He had no illusions about how shabby humans often behave and how desperate, futile and random our existence is, suggesting that morality is only a conscious, deliberate, in-the-moment action of which anyone is capable though few choose. Yet, in spite of his misgivings, he urged us to look for romance in it all anyway.

That said, he was also a massive misanthrope, a philistine, and a defender of Conservative state violence against insurrection. He was also an avowed misogynist (he even wrote a treatise on how much he hates us), and once pushed a woman who was just going about her business at her work down a flight of stairs because she was being too noisy for him. So, you know, who cares what he thinks, and it's good he's dead.
 
Seladon said:
Been tentatively looking into Schopenhauer lately, and this is sort of the philosophy he espouses (I'm simplifying, but the same core tenet is there). He laid aside lofty biblical ideals of Virtue & Duty, and dealt with humans as they really are or could be. He had no illusions about how shabby humans often behave and how desperate, futile and random our existence is, suggesting that morality is only a conscious, deliberate, in-the-moment action of which anyone is capable though few choose. Yet, in spite of his misgivings, he urged us to look for romance in it all anyway.

That said, he was also a massive misanthrope, a philistine, and a defender of Conservative state violence against insurrection. He was also an avowed misogynist (he even wrote a treatise on how much he hates us), and once pushed a woman who was just going about her business at her work down a flight of stairs because she was being too noisy for him. So, you know, who cares what he thinks, and it's good he's dead.
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My knowledge is limited there, but I think he's an interesting thinker in some ways, though I have reservations. I didn't know the information you posted in paragraph two, though I get the impression his family was fairly complicated, and this probably colored his view of life more than he'd like to admit. I can't really accept a pessimistic view, even if I get his rationale. It's a bit like Camus' absurdity to me: superficially it make sense, but it still mistakes a human view for universal understanding. Life is only absurd based on our wants and expectations. Maybe we should examine those instead of seeing existence as absurd or worth pessimism.
 
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I used to think most of humanity was garbage.

Then, after I started working in the developmental disabilities field, I discovered a whole range of genuinely kind, dedicated and honest people. I was constantly amazed at the people I met, dashing every pre-conception I had about the human race.

Once I learned to see it, I saw it just about everywhere.
 
Au Naturel said:
If you don't share your love and passion for learning, you are guilty of a kind of child abuse. Why would you try to deny them something that offers so much reward? Learning is a joyous end in and of itself, independent of any wealth. It is like discouraging them from exercising or listening to music.

You tell your kids to follow their dreams but always have a plan B and C, just in case.
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TBH I find that a touch condescending and borderline rude. I am not guilty of child abuse. This is a serious issue that can't be wished away with a "follow your dreams" cliche.

Here's the reality. If they follow their professional dream to be, say, a teacher, they can say goodbye to any dream of having a family, it just won't be affordable. They can say goodbye to the dream of having any form of housing stability; as at best they will be shoved from one substandard crap-hole to the next every couple of years, at worst they have a massively increased chance of homelessness. They can say goodbye to job security. They can say goodbye to having anything resembling a pension to retire on. They can say goodbye to being able to afford any sort of therapies to help with their autism. Or holidays. Or disposable income to go enjoy some nice things together with any partner they might have.

How can I, in good conscience, watch my kids walk oblivious into that? With the massively increased chance of mental illness or worse? A few people have an absolute passion for a subject, and I guess if that's the case we have to cross that bridge when we come to it, because I can't imagine them entertaining other ideas. But for most, a job is only part of a broader set of hopes and dreams. And the fact is that in Australia unless you're VERY lucky or cut-throat, jobs that require a decent bit of study are not valued. Hell, they'll just import people with those skills instead.

So yeah, all else being equal, I'll be suggesting that they are more likely to be able to achieve their life goals and dreams by not pursuing academic success. Sure, love learning as a hobby, but the government here has made clear that you are NOT as valued if you do so for a career. As a parent I have to set aside my biases (one of which is for learning) and try to help them have a happy, content and safe life. Which would I prefer: a depressed, frustrated PhD who has just been kicked out her 5th rental; or a not super smart but cheerful daughter working as an electrician, planning her future family in their new apartment?
 
I personally don't think most humans are garbage! But I also know exactly what you're talking about.

I think our modern society is starting to show cracks in its foundation, and people turn to various substances and habits to cope with it that might not have been so commonplace decades ago. Being overworked, misunderstood, underpaid and worn down makes people susceptible to all kinds of external influence. Modern stressors (even if some of them are manufactured) are part of the burden. Even the person who can't put their phone down for 5 minutes is unknowingly being subjected to all sorts of influences constantly, being pulled in various directions and having their emotions caught up in it.

(I'm speaking from a first-world context because it's the only viewpoint I have, so I apologize for potentially being dismissive of truly horrible things that others face on an ongoing basis that likely don't even compare)

Rather than condemning those who have been affected so negatively, I just feel bad for them. I want good things for other people, and I feel that if I condemn those who are struggling, I'm just part of the problem. Sometimes even reaching out to someone in need and asking if they're doing OK can make the world of a difference.

The only way to 'fight back' is to spread kindness and try to elevate one another, IMO
 
I don't know if my advice will really work, but I mostly try to only focus on the people in my family who I know love and care about me. I certainly don't always see eye to eye. My mom believes vaccines cause autism, but if I'm being honest, my relationship with her has never been the best, so I don't pay it any mind. My stepmom, who I have a much better relationship with, also believes that to an extent. "I don't think vaccines are for everyone". That's something I very strongly disagree with, but she's a (mostly) good person beyond that. Focusing on the good in life is really my way of pushing forward
 
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