Is this the best time (overall) to be alive in human history?

sawyerloggingon said:

Late 50s early 60s you didn't have to worry about being mugged or raped or abducted as a child.

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It's actually safer now. The only reason why it seems differently because we sensationalize and broadcast every incident we can. Most people lived unaware of the danger then. But now, we hyperfocus on it. This country is actually really really safe.

sawyerloggingon said:

HUH??? WTF??? Are you insane? :lol:

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I amnot insane at all.

The picture you show is of a modified car, that was modified in the '80s or later.

We are talking about being back in the time and what the cars were like at that time, not modified versions of those cars later, but a HEMI powered 1963 Plymouth would kick the crap out of that car every day and twice on Sunday.

Paschendale said:

It's actually safer now. The only reason why it seems differently because we sensationalize and broadcast every incident we can. Most people lived unaware of the danger then. But now, we hyperfocus on it. This country is actually really really safe.

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That is a very good point.

More knowledge is not always a good thing.

Mason66 said:

I amnot insane at all.

The picture you show is of a modified car, that was modified in the '80s or later.

We are talking about being back in the time and what the cars were like at that time, not modified versions of those cars later, but a HEMI powered 1963 Plymouth would kick the crap out of that car every day and twice on Sunday.

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Restored not modified and those old cars were very cool.

Paschendale said:

It's actually safer now. The only reason why it seems differently because we sensationalize and broadcast every incident we can. Most people lived unaware of the danger then. But now, we hyperfocus on it. This country is actually really really safe.

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In no way is it safer now than in the 50s.

sawyerloggingon said:

Restored not modified and those old cars were very cool.

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You don't think that car you showed in the pic was modified?

It was lowered probably with a new type of suspension, big wide Wheels added and I suspect power steering and many other things were added. Do you think the car still has the original engine or do you think ther is a SBC in it?

That is not how they looked or drove back in the 30s.

I have a device in my pocket that can, within seconds, access any bit of information mankind has ever gathered.

It is mostly used to take pictures of cats and tell complete strangers about mundane events.

So, to answer the poll, I don't know.

Mason66 said:

You don't think that car you showed in the pic was modified?

It was lowered probably with a new type of suspension, big wide Wheels added and I suspect power steering and many other things were added. Do you think the car still has the original engine or do you think ther is a SBC in it?

That is not how they looked or drove back in the 30s.

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Well it's what Bonnie and Clyde drove! :lol: C'mon just admit it, those old cars had extreme class, don't make me put you on ignore.:lol:

sawyerloggingon said:

Well it's what Bonnie and Clyde drove! :lol: C'mon just admit it, those old cars had extreme class, don't make me put you on ignore.:lol:

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My car has a robot brain that calculates mid-crash how fast to deploy airbags so as to best protect me. This is combined with the fact that another seven decades of engineering means that the impact forces are distributed through the rest of the car instead of sending an engine through my ribcage.

But yours is shiny. I like shiny.

Deuce said:

My car has a robot brain that calculates mid-crash how fast to deploy airbags so as to best protect me. This is combined with the fact that another seven decades of engineering means that the impact forces are distributed through the rest of the car instead of sending an engine through my ribcage.

But yours is shiny. I like shiny.

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Mine is cool and from when men were men and not afraid to go through wind shields and have steering wheels embedded in their rib cage, you SISSY!:lol:

Voltaire X said:

In my opinion, this is the best time to be alive in human history, on an overall level. Obviously if you look at specific people or countries, you can say it's worse now (such as comparing Syria now to Syria 5 years ago), but on a global scale this is the best year ever. This video made by the BBC statistically demonstrates this:

Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four - YouTube


Basically, never before have so many people had such a long lifespan and such a high standard of living. The income figures shown are in real terms, meaning they adjust for inflation. The reason I am making this a poll is because there seems to be a fallacy (in my opinion) that a lot of people have today that life was somehow better back in the '50s and '60s. People have this illusion of a golden era. I say it's just nostalgia goggles, and that we humans are much much better off than ever before.

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Just strictly from a medical standpoint, I'd have to say it's a good time to be alive. In the United States and other First World countries, at least. Few die of appendicitis, diabetes is manageable, heart failure is understood . . . and so many other conditions that might have killed us before we turned 30. PLUS, and as important, medicine can now adequately control pain. Yes, it's a good time to be alive.

And it'll get better.

MaggieD said:

Just strictly from a medical standpoint, I'd have to say it's a good time to be alive. In the United States and other First World countries, at least. Few die of appendicitis, diabetes is manageable, heart failure is understood . . . and so many other conditions that might have killed us before we turned 30. PLUS, and as important, medicine can now adequately control pain. Yes, it's a good time to be alive.

And it'll get better.

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Yeah, but that's a bit of a double edged sword. It's great when children are involved, but when you've reached an age after living a long and full life, dealing with body betrayal issues sucks even harder when you're told you have to stick around for it. :mrgreen:

Voltaire X said:

In my opinion, this is the best time to be alive in human history, on an overall level.

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It is not too bad, but I would pick the last couple of decades of the 19th century plus the following dozen of years. That's when we (the West, but also Japan, Russia, et al) had the most hope and the most conceptual breakthroughs. We thought we had a grip on reality and that we knew how to make things - gradually and steadily - better and better, for everyone.
Peace, commerce, science, technology - all coming together, along with liberal reforms and spiritual transformation of whole societies.

Or so it seemed.

Then, the 20th Century had arrived (by 1913, in real terms), and everything went to hell in hurry.

(The cultural phenomenon of "Steampunk" suggests that I am far from alone in this "Victorian" sentiment).

clownboy said:

Yeah, but that's a bit of a double edged sword. It's great when children are involved, but when you've reached an age after living a long and full life, dealing with body betrayal issues sucks even harder when you're told you have to stick around for it. :mrgreen:

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Never fear . . . that's probably going to change.

for untold thousands of years, technology has been advancing, but at a snail's pace. for the past hundred, it has increased exponentially, and is still accelerating. this is certainly an interesting time to be alive.

i often think about how remarkable it is that i carry a device the size of my high school calculator, and on this device, i can instantly communicate with pretty much anyone in the world in a variety of ways. that's somewhat mind blowing after thousands of years of analog mail and geographic isolation. i can only imagine where we're going from here, assuming we don't screw it up.

sawyerloggingon said:

Well it's what Bonnie and Clyde drove! :lol: C'mon just admit it, those old cars had extreme class, don't make me put you on ignore.:lol:

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Yes the cars were very classy. Most of them have been over modified so as to not be even a small percentage of what they were.

I love the Cadillacs from the 30s but I would never buy one.

Today:

1. There are few diseases today that can't be cured or stabilized.
2. I can fly anywhere in the world and within a day be reunited with family I haven't seen in years.
3. I'm capable of purchasing fruits from 10,000 miles away after a 5 minute drive to the market.
4. My cellphone can make a call to somebody on a different continent.
5. I don't have to worry about dying from scurvy.
6. My car keeps me within a 10 minute drive from a doctor.
7. If I take care of myself and eat well, my health expectancy is in the 80s.

120 years ago:

1. I could die from syphilis.
2. Move to another continent? Never speak to family members again.
3. Die from there not being enough potatoes.
4. Wrote a letter to somebody in a different continent? Lolz. Pray it gets there.
5. Not enough vitamin C? Hahaha. Yer ****ed.
6. Live 20 miles from a doctor? Hope he gets there in time.
7. Life expectancy? Take the 20 above and multiply it by 2 - then hope you live that long.

10,000 years ago.

1. Die from arrow to the leg.
2. Lost family 20 miles ago? Hunt new family.
3. Can't find enough rats to survive.
4. Communication? Axe down people for berries.
5. Die from it being too cold.
6. Doctor? Try shaman with funny looking bird on his head.
7. Life expectancy? Multiply this number on this list by 3 and consider yourself lucky.

You can't even begin to compare the quality of life enjoyed by humans today to that enjoyed by humans just 120 years ago. Hell, even the 50s sucked for most people. They just refuse to acknowledge it.

Mason66 said:

Yes the cars were very classy. Most of them have been over modified so as to not be even a small percentage of what they were.

I love the Cadillacs from the 30s but I would never buy one.

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To be honest


The muscle cars of the 60-70s are not all that fast in comparison to todays cars. The Mustang GT of today is fast then all but the most limited edition race prepped mustangs of the 60s. The Honda Accord V6 is faster then all but the highest performance models of the muscle cars. Not to mention it is safer, more comfortable and gets better milage

Absolutely the best time in human history... life spans are long, no slavery, access to education, child birth is routine and women don't die like they used to, health care, womens rights, employment conditions, travel, vacations, technology, freedoms of speech, assembly, press and petition are HUGE, voting... the list is almost endless as to why today is better than the rest of human history.

sawyerloggingon said:

In no way is it safer now than in the 50s.

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Statistically speaking, it is absolutely safer today than it was in the past. Unfortunately, the proliferation of bad stories in the news has contributed to the overwhelmingly negative perception of safety in the year of 2013.

It's just like alcohol incidents in the Coast Guard, when I first got in underway communication was limited and so we kept with the mantra "What happens underway, stays underway."

By the time my enlistment was up, every single incident made it's way up the chain to PAC AREA and new rules were handed down.

Mason66 said:

I think the cars sucked before 1940 and definately after 1973.

1973 was the last real car.

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The 1980's and 1990's were definitely bad years for automobiles, but starting in the early 200's things definitely started to improve.

I did however enjoy my 1973 Chevy custom pickup. Her name was Gloria.

Mason66 said:

The same 500 CU engine in the 1975 model put out 195 I believe. The 195 can't power that huge car but the government forced car companies to improve fuel economy so that is what we got.

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I agree that government regulations provided us with some sub-par vehicles, but auto makers have definitely come around and even excelled at making super fast/ safe vehicles.

Tesla currently being at the front of this race:

I voted No. Because it isn't the kind of world I like how things are.

Nonetheless, that is why I'm alive. To save the world from the evils that ruin it.

I'm unhappy with how many people condemn Christianity, and freedom. Good things like that. If you are good you get labeled crazy. If you are evil you can get glorified as being entertaining. It's wrong.

Many of us say best music from 64-74..
Best time to live--When you live.

sawyerloggingon said:

Late 50s early 60s had the best music that's for sure and you didn't have to worry about being mugged or raped or abducted as a child.

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Today sucks!

The PC is killing my eyes (so as I am seriously considering getting rid of it), food is full of **** (additives, preservatives, E101, GMO, etc), bankers gone wild, crime, people are unhappy... I'd take the 50's any time.

At 59-YO, I also think of tech, every day..
I hope to see fusion on line and then used to propel spacecraft..
Eliminate garbage with Mandatory recyling--energy from biomass as well as future new jobs, at higher tech..
In 100 years, I can see us unloading landfills with those folks cursing the 20th century.

Jerry said:

It is for me. This is when I was meant to be alive, though since I was a kid I felt like tech is dragging behind what I need.

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