I’ve spent the past three years watching documentaries, network news, independent news, conspiracy theories.. I’ve read books, magazines, seen -every- TED talk, listen to every religious/atheist debate on youtube, read the Old Testament, the New testament and the Quran.
I’ve come up with a proposal to help humanity evolve as a whole and meet the demands of the 21st century and I’d love to hear your thoughts. This may seem a bit longwinded, may come across as a rant — but if you have 5-10 minutes to spare hopefully it will be worth it.
I feel that the problems facing the world today can be summed up as an attempt to make a delicious pizza:
1. THE CRUST
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No true pizza can be called a pizza without a solid, tasty crust. In this instance, lets tackle the issue of our planet. The majority of scientists today claim that global warming is a man made disaster lurking on the horizon with symptoms already showing up today. The minority believe that global warming is inevitable. I agree with both.
The problem with the global warming theory is that the answer always seems to involve the human race making sacrifices, living life in a simpler, humbler way. I think that that’s the reason why so many people brush it off. Who wants to give up a chance at the good life.. that luxury car.. that amazing HD screen.. it’s not like they’re telling us we need to work less hours. The average human being works until their retirement. And no job is easy, by definition, most jobs are tasks. We’re a species that loves being rewarded, pampered and spoiled. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The solution henceforth isn’t really attractive when we’re asked to spend less, consume less, travel less or erect crude contraptions in our backyard that produce minimal quantities of alternative energy. A better approach would be the frame of mind that distinguishes the “X-Prize” foundation.
Science is not always a burning topic on the layman’s daily ritual of work, family and bills. Many TED talks showcase brilliant ideas and theories, but their funding is absurdly minimal at best.
The way to make a fantastic crust would be to create a transparent think tank based community of scientists, working against the clock, to create ATTRACTIVE ways to create solutions for our resource based way of life. A few examples would be; a modern car so luxurious and beautiful even the wealthiest people would covet. Solar panels that are smaller, more efficient, cheaper and less intrusive.
Many of the most revered breakthroughs in the history of mankind came from extreme action; long, hard hours. A vision. Determination. Funding.
We are spending too much money in other questionable areas that can be relocated to science.
A final thought regarding the importance of acting NOW, with extreme measures, is something my dad told me a few weeks ago. He’s a professor of speech pathology doing a world tour of lectures. I emailed him, asking him how wonderful it would be to achieve a breakthough and help millions of people all over the world.. his response, which is one we unfortunately hear too often these days, is that science takes many many years and he’ll be lucky to have a tiny improvement in his lifetime. I’m sorry, but that isn’t taking extreme measures. That’s the apathy of an institution without sufficient funding and resources.
A counter to that would be the war in Iraq. When a few highi ranking officials believe that an enormous and costly campaign in a foreign country is important — you won’t see people taking baby steps.
Which brings me to my next point:
2. THE CHEESE
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Religion. Ignorance. Faith. Dogma. Creed.
One thing that always astounded me from watching people like Hitch or Dawkins debating is the circular logic to the debates themselves.
The atheists always have the answers to the questions. The literal, factual, peer reviewed data. The religious proponents will always, without fail, resort to the old or new testaments and to the Quran. I won’t waste anymore time making this point (you have to reach this conclusion by yourselves), but there’s a reason Mr. Dawkins refers to people that accept evolution and realize the phallacy of god and religion “Brights”.
It takes courage, commitment, self reflection, a desire to know the truth and gobs of humility to leave the religious mindset — but the payoff is worth it. You get an accurate perspective on life.
The problem with religion is, in this day and age, simply this: it takes funding away from science and incorrectly “educates” an entire generation of human beings. a 13 billion year old galaxy, the big bang, evolution and natural selection can all be scientifically proven. It’s as simple as that. Look at the amount of money religion attracts. All religions. It’s in the tens, even hundreds of billions. Has that changed the reality of starving people in Africa? Has it done anything to really promote
