Discussion
Interesting topic Op.
as some have already mentioned, depends on what factor are we defining peak?
Peak technology? not by a long way. Until we have fusion reactors giving us unlimited energy at cheap prices, interstellar travel, star trek transportation devices or flying cars then were still a way off.
Peak health? we have advanced massively over the last 100 years and life expectancy has gotten to the point where its so high that we now have to rethink how the pension service is going to cater for all these extra years of life.
Peak happiness? This I think depends on your age and your past life experience. 80 years old and lived through world wars / cold wars - you're probably thinking todays world is smooth sailing. Myself being mid 40s I believe we are on the decline due to cost of living / threats of WW3 / distrust in politicians, especially after the COVID debacle / job losses through AI advancements
Peak motoring? Again, if you are in my age group, you've lived through the days of fitting TSW venoms to your RS Turbo, racing your mates down dual carriageways without fear of mobile speed cameras or drone surveillance and riding Motorbikes without being dobbed in by the "DASHCAM" helmets. Admittedly, the build quality on 80s & 90s cars was terrible and modern cars run rings around the old stuff, but I cant seem to get excited about jumping into an autonomous electric mode of transportation, no matter how good it may be. Driving used to be a hobby, now it more of a means to an end.
as some have already mentioned, depends on what factor are we defining peak?
Peak technology? not by a long way. Until we have fusion reactors giving us unlimited energy at cheap prices, interstellar travel, star trek transportation devices or flying cars then were still a way off.
Peak health? we have advanced massively over the last 100 years and life expectancy has gotten to the point where its so high that we now have to rethink how the pension service is going to cater for all these extra years of life.
Peak happiness? This I think depends on your age and your past life experience. 80 years old and lived through world wars / cold wars - you're probably thinking todays world is smooth sailing. Myself being mid 40s I believe we are on the decline due to cost of living / threats of WW3 / distrust in politicians, especially after the COVID debacle / job losses through AI advancements
Peak motoring? Again, if you are in my age group, you've lived through the days of fitting TSW venoms to your RS Turbo, racing your mates down dual carriageways without fear of mobile speed cameras or drone surveillance and riding Motorbikes without being dobbed in by the "DASHCAM" helmets. Admittedly, the build quality on 80s & 90s cars was terrible and modern cars run rings around the old stuff, but I cant seem to get excited about jumping into an autonomous electric mode of transportation, no matter how good it may be. Driving used to be a hobby, now it more of a means to an end.
Terminator X said:
IMHO mankind has peaked in the past (pyramids etc) and then fallen away. Current mankind will be no different IMHO, perhaps AI will be the downfall only to build back up again in a few hundred years.
TX.
That’s not quite accurate TX.
Depending on geography various empires came and went.
The same can be seen in every continent.
It just happens the empires of the Hispanics and English have waned and been replaced with the Americas and now we have China and in time India coming to the forefront.
Wars have come and gone albeit now our potential for self destruction is much greater and we are at a perilous point globally.
The USA is on the brink of tearing itself apart but if it does, globally the impact will be relatively short lived.
The global population will peak at 10.something billion around 2100 then fall substantially in the decades and centuries after.
Provided we have not completely screwed the climate mankind will carry on.
Is this something that people often do when they look back with rose tinted glasses? The past often appears to have been better because we forget all the crap stuff?
It totally depends on what your definition of "peak mankind" is. Yes we probably have passed peak "building stuff out of stone" but I doubt we've passed peak "building of stuff". We think the pyramids are an amazing feat but can you imagine people from ancient Egypt looking at a modern skyscraper, railway, giant tunnel under the sea, crazy long bridge even the complexity of a modern house.
Standing in docklands a couple of weeks ago I was watching a huge tower block being built and you actually realise what a ridiculously complex feat of engineering, design and planning goes on. We just don't think about it & take it for granted.
We are far from being an old civilization so there's plenty of development to come yet
It totally depends on what your definition of "peak mankind" is. Yes we probably have passed peak "building stuff out of stone" but I doubt we've passed peak "building of stuff". We think the pyramids are an amazing feat but can you imagine people from ancient Egypt looking at a modern skyscraper, railway, giant tunnel under the sea, crazy long bridge even the complexity of a modern house.
Standing in docklands a couple of weeks ago I was watching a huge tower block being built and you actually realise what a ridiculously complex feat of engineering, design and planning goes on. We just don't think about it & take it for granted.
We are far from being an old civilization so there's plenty of development to come yet
It's a complex subject. We have easy and instant access to more information than ever before and yet the flip side is that there is an equal amount of disinformation out there which has to be assessed and navigated.
Relationships and experiences are not the same as when I was young. Now everyone is glued to a screen whether they're at home or walking through busy streets. We've lost the subtlety of body language, and a lot is interpreted from texts, emoji's, length of time someone takes to reply, etc. Nobody watches a gig anymore; they watch a tiny screen of a gig.
Automation is taking a lot of monotony out of repetitive tasks and AI is starting to negate the need to become an expert in a lot of our jobs. We learn from repeatedly doing the monotony on our chosen field enough to become experts. Now I can feed a complex wordy contract into AI and have it spit out in basic summary and run down of everything in there.
Working from home and automation in a lot of jobs means that there is more opportunity to be sedate and that results in health issues. Again, the flipside to that is there seems to be more people going to a gym these days than ever before. I knew maybe 3 or 4 kids at school who were gym freaks. Now it's unusual to see an 18-year-old lad without a 6 pack and pecks.
Peak mankind, maybe but I'm not so sure.
Relationships and experiences are not the same as when I was young. Now everyone is glued to a screen whether they're at home or walking through busy streets. We've lost the subtlety of body language, and a lot is interpreted from texts, emoji's, length of time someone takes to reply, etc. Nobody watches a gig anymore; they watch a tiny screen of a gig.
Automation is taking a lot of monotony out of repetitive tasks and AI is starting to negate the need to become an expert in a lot of our jobs. We learn from repeatedly doing the monotony on our chosen field enough to become experts. Now I can feed a complex wordy contract into AI and have it spit out in basic summary and run down of everything in there.
Working from home and automation in a lot of jobs means that there is more opportunity to be sedate and that results in health issues. Again, the flipside to that is there seems to be more people going to a gym these days than ever before. I knew maybe 3 or 4 kids at school who were gym freaks. Now it's unusual to see an 18-year-old lad without a 6 pack and pecks.
Peak mankind, maybe but I'm not so sure.
There is the risk of "peak mankind" but nuclear fusion is within sight and would have a huge transformative effect on economies and development - food becomes cheap and plentiful, disposable incomes increase, ultimately the ability to travel, including in space, gets easier and quicker.
I always think the Star Trek/Orville outcome is interesting - it's cheaper and easier to live, so mankind stretches it's aspirations to find the next challenge.
Mind you, I am a natural optimist and humanist.
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