What gives you that "Holy shit we're living in the future!" feeling?

[Triple Zero]

Just found this thread on Reddit, and since it's a topic that is often discussed (in a way) here, I thought I'd do you all the pleasure of linking it:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/czkt7/what_gives_you_that_holy_shit_were_living_in_the/

[Doktor Howl]

We aren't living in the future, Trip.  We're living in the break of time out of joint, where all the cool shit never happened, and all the old horrors just pool up around us.

[Cuddlefish]

Y'know, I used to say that to myself a lot a while back. Now all I think is that we're not really moving anywhere. Sure, there's some new tech and whatnot, but nothing that isn't based on anything that we haven't already had.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

The fact that I (can) know within minutes of a major event occurring anywhere on the planet. Or that I can educate myself in a matter of one hour about the back-story behind every political movement in any corner of the globe, or any religion. I have nearly immediate access to almost any piece of relevant information, practically for free. 150 years ago, people were still living, communicating, and organizing in more or less the same ways they had been for 500 years before that. Today, the way people communicated five years ago seems old-fashioned.

[Zenpeanut]

Being able to find any category of shops near here and their address, hours, and reviews from 50 people, then plot a bus route complete with time tables, all within 5 minutes.

Not nearly as amazing as Vex's answer, but it did it for me.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Quite a few things give me that feeling. On a larger level, things like the European Union, Russian Federation, and a Peoples Republic of China that is to be reckoned with.

On a smaller level, noticing how quickly things become obsolete. I still have my first cell-phone, which I was cutting edge in 2004. Or the knowledge that measuring something in kilobytes is absurd. Things like that. That, and having a bunch of gadgets has gone from being something nerdy to being a status symbol.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

We aren't living in the future, Trip.  We're living in the break of time out of joint, where all the cool shit never happened, and all the old horrors just pool up around us.

This pretty much sums it up for me. 


At this point we were supposed to have jetpacks and flying cars and that kind of thing. 

[Doktor Howl]

We aren't living in the future, Trip.  We're living in the break of time out of joint, where all the cool shit never happened, and all the old horrors just pool up around us.

This pretty much sums it up for me. 


At this point we were supposed to have jetpacks and flying cars and that kind of thing. 

And space colonies.  And deep sea habitats.  And bionics and shit.  And clean air and water, and cheap power, and a stable population, and big fucking robots.  And maglev trains everywhere.  And a self-managing house.

But what I got instead was a fucking Ipod and a laptop.  Granted, the two of them represent more computing power than existed in the world when I was born, but am I supposed to be happy with that?  All the developments that have gone forward have done is increase the workload of some at the expense of others, and kept everyone doped up with benzos and television.

We wimped out after the moon landings.  We got a look at the universe, and ran and hid in our living rooms to watch TV until the scary universe was safely forgotten, or became religious fanatics that deny that universe even exists.

So, yeah, that's the "future".  A world full of cowering primates.  Sort of like the way we started out...We had a brief century or three of real progress, and now we make toys for ourselves and pretend that we're all science-fictiony.

[eighteen buddha strike]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

[Doktor Howl]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

So, 1880.

[eighteen buddha strike]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

So, 1880.

Well, yeah, but the sheer scope of our ability to destroy our environment has increased exponentially since then.

[Doktor Howl]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

So, 1880.

Well, yeah, but the sheer scope of our ability to destroy our environment has increased exponentially since then.

Only due to a larger population, and that's still debatable.  The 1880s were the worst time for pollution in history, at least in the USA.  LOL coal-powered industry.

[eighteen buddha strike]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

So, 1880.

Well, yeah, but the sheer scope of our ability to destroy our environment has increased exponentially since then.

Only due to a larger population, and that's still debatable.  The 1880s were the worst time for pollution in history, at least in the USA.  LOL coal-powered industry.

Well, I'll admit that in general our attitudes have evolved a little bit since then. We're not wantonly firing into herds of buffalo from the sides of coal-powered trains, none-the-less the general increase of the human population itself is taxing on our environment. Its hard for me to imagine a future scenario where that growth over-taxes at least one of the resources we need to survive, and when a species expands beyond its ability to support itself... well,

On the other hand, I have to admit that I'm a fan of global communication and information sharing. Although, some have expressed fear that the shift from the micro to the macro will inevitably limit personal freedom, reducing the role of the individual from an independent thinking body to merely another cog in the machine, or perhaps another synapse in the macro-neural network of humanity 2.0.

I guess I find it hard to imagine a future without horror, but that same horror has always been with us, something hardwired into mankind itself. On an individual level, our empathy and our morality serves us very well, but when I try to envision our species on a macro level... it honestly terrifies me.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Only some of us are living in the future. South of the Equator, it's still the 19th Century. Except Australia, where it's 1974.

Also, I agree about space and deep-sea colonies. What pisses me off about that is it's entirely possible, but apparently nobody wants to.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

I get that "living in the future feeling" from massive environmental disasters seemingly too numerous to count, coupled with global plutocracy masquerading as free enterprise.

So, 1880.

Well, yeah, but the sheer scope of our ability to destroy our environment has increased exponentially since then.

Only due to a larger population, and that's still debatable.  The 1880s were the worst time for pollution in history, at least in the USA.  LOL coal-powered industry.

Well, I'll admit that in general our attitudes have evolved a little bit since then. We're not wantonly firing into herds of buffalo from the sides of coal-powered trains, none-the-less the general increase of the human population itself is taxing on our environment. Its hard for me to imagine a future scenario where that growth over-taxes at least one of the resources we need to survive, and when a species expands beyond its ability to support itself... well,

On the other hand, I have to admit that I'm a fan of global communication and information sharing. Although, some have expressed fear that the shift from the micro to the macro will inevitably limit personal freedom, reducing the role of the individual from an independent thinking body to merely another cog in the machine, or perhaps another synapse in the macro-neural network of humanity 2.0.

I guess I find it hard to imagine a future without horror, but that same horror has always been with us, something hardwired into mankind itself. On an individual level, our empathy and our morality serves us very well, but when I try to envision our species on a macro level... it honestly terrifies me.

"overpopulation" is bullshit. the earth could easily sustain a human population of 100 billion. we're not in the least big "taxing the environment." we're careless with it and we're bad at distributing goods, but it isn't the planet's fault that our politics and economics are bottlenecking our population.