The Future of Civilization? Hmmm…
WARNING: This film will either make you want to vomit (as in my case) or perhaps laugh yourself silly. It shows exactly the kind of future Science tells us to look forward to… the kind without any ecological systems thinking whatsoever. Please feel free to vent your comments.
[youtube V7FVjATcqvc]
This guy is a frickin’ idiot. Lets grind him into gas. How do people like that get a PhD. PhDon’t. See you for battlesstar galactica tomorrow:) you better not be watching it.
Cheers,
tony
“…when we look around space we see no evidence of type-1, 2, or 3 civilization ANYWHERE.”
“…NOTHING known to science can destroy a type-2 civilization.”
You can always tell the elite scientists apart from the n00bs by the shocking conclusions they make about that which they cannot observe.
Anyway, dude TOTALLY forgets here to mention kryptonite. And Superman, the ultimate hero and savior of Metropolis, dying at the hands of a super villain named “Doomsday” represents some quaint type-0 coincidence?
On a slightly less sarcastic tip, this clip goes right along with the Religion vs. Rewilding chapter to show how Scientist purvey a similar “one world”-view as do proselytizing Monotheists. Their bi-polar offering of total annihilation or salvation (technological or divine) sound the same to me: fundaMENTAL.
I’ve heard him speak elsewhere on other ‘stimulating’ topics of science and technology always omitting species die off, global warming, wage-slave labor, a scarred and dying land, etc. His ideas are what you get when you divorce people from place and treat abstractions as if they were real.
Not even taking into consideration the horrible ramifications of a global “type-1” civilization, the trends he observes are flat out WRONG. Not now, not ever has the natural trend been towards completely monotheistic culture. It goes along with the “Resistance Vs. Rewiding” concept. English dominates the landscape? It’ll get separated into dialects. Cities seek to destroy diversity? You get ethnic neighborhoods. Whenever a single order tries to reign, it’s usually defeated and when it isn’t, it’s always at the loss of human beings. This man is one of the reasons I can breathe a little easier knowing that complete hegemony will break someday.
micho kaku did an interview as well this week with KBOO. they all just ate it up. all i could think was…i cant let the plants hear this.
sincerely
Oh yeah, I think I saw this programme on tv in the UK. Wasn’t wildly impressed with the guy, and his predictions…..a load of rubbish of course. I think vomiting was a very human response. I feel sorry for anyone believing it……
Yuck, no, didn’t see this exact programme. He must have done a few. Too depressing to keep watching….what a wanker!
The sooner this all comes down the better. My cat agrees.
I feel kinda bad for this guy. I don’t think he knows what it’s like to engage in a truly intimate relationship with his surroundings and community of people. I think he believes that a boring, isolating monoculture is as good as it’s gonna get (as long as he can have central air conditioning and food shipped in from halfway across the world). 🙁 And that makes this video so depressing. Not only that, but he dismissed people who have very good, humane reasons to fear such a scenario as terrorists! That scares me, a LOT, considering that he is defending the dominant culture, the status quo!
Well I’m not sure why a astronomer is talking about civilization. SETI itself is not sure what is out there. When he talks about how mathematically, the galaxy should be teeming with life, he is discussing the Drake Equation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation). The reason for not seeing all this life is called the Fermi Paradox. They were crated as a thought problem, more of a “hmmmm what if” type set up, not proof (through there are equations that seek to do just that.) As a side note, Marvel comics points out that the planet eating entity, known as Galactus, solves the Femri Paradox.
Statistically, I feel that somewhere, there has to be these types of civilization, I mean the universe is too vast for it not to be possible. (and I mean this on a true universal scale, billions of galaxies) Would I bet money on it? Hell no.
The odd thing is, Michio Kaku is a really bright guy. He talks about the basic needs of humanity in a very open and enlightened way. A fulfilled humanity requires two things, he says: “First, to fulfil whatever talents we are born with. However blessed we are by fate with different abilities and strengths, we should try to develop them to the fullest rather than allow them to atrophy and decay. Second, we should try to leave the world a better place than when we entered it. As individuals, we can make a difference, whether it is to probe the secrets of Nature, to clean up the environment and work for peace and social justice, or to nurture the inquisitive, vibrant spirit of the young by being a mentor and a guide.”
I think he has become blinded by the question, “What happens to humanity in the distant future?” If we have fucked up the world so much that humanity is destroyed then who cares what comes after?
I think Michio Kaku is a very intelligent/interesting person.
However, I think he has a skewed perspective on cultural transitions and civilization. I don’t blame him fully, he’s probably read too much Science Fiction… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Sci-Fi is damnnn interesting. However, we must be extremely careful with playing god, even forfeiting the opportunity rather than toying with it.
Though I personally think, in an ideal world, there will be a very limited amount of people living the way Kaku describes. Perhaps we can keep the island of Japan a sprawling mega-metropolis while the rest of the world walks away from such civilization in their day to day. Perhaps we can keep the scientific exploration/invention without globalizing it into a uniformly destructive hive.
Just a thought.
Kieth,
you lost me at “probe the secrets of Nature.” The guy is a sick fuck and an idiot. How smart can someone really be if they buy into the bullshit mythology of civilization so emphatically? The guy is a moron.
Peter,
You can’t have both. Cities only come through hierarchical social structures that exploit the land and grow to the fullest extent possible. At this point, complete collapse is unavoidable.
If this had not been posted on this blog, I would have really wondered if this was a joke or not…and even then, I wasn’t really sure.
I might feel a little pity for the guy if I didn’t know that people like him would destroy my people for just wanting to live as TRUE human beings. He reminds me of those who came here – Turtle Island (america) – armed with a bible in one hand and a gun in the other giving the Indigenous peoples a “choice”…
Either you’re with him or you’re a terrorist…now…where have I heard that line before…No, really, just as them, I have absolutely no pity for them. They want to play predator and prey…yeah…
I’ll play…predator!
YES he said it himself, he IS civilized!
Misko