Makes me wonder...

[unknownuser]

If the world is so "advanced" today, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? Much more than ever before.

We've got medicine, technology, an abundance of food, transportation and all that wonderful stuff...
Yet, thousands of people everyday and passing away do to diseases and conditions that weren't even around years and years ago.
We have so much food and such a large variety but we have people who abuse it both ways - eating too much, or purposefully eating much too little. With the food comes the mental eating disorders.
We have cars, planes, trains, and ships, but did you know that the risk of you being in a fatal car crash is a startling 1 out of 125?!
Food, plants, and animals are fed or treated with different chemicals and preservatives for them to stay fresh longer, grow quicker, and taste better- this in turn is slowly poisoning us.


Life just seemed so simple "back then"... You'd live on a tiny farm with your family and maybe some close relatives, help out with the chores, feed the animals naturally grown grass and crops, eat delicious family meals together prepared from the crops and animals you raised, help take care of your younger siblings, and sleep. Sure there were the hard things that were challenging and stressful like building a shelter, having enough food stored for the winter, and enough firewood to last you through the cold winter months... but I feel that people back then actually felt like they had a purpose in life and felt motivated to do what they had to. They probably very rarely, if ever, had free time (unlike many of us teens that spend so much time bored out of our minds or doing really stupid pointless things). Life felt like a challenge, like an adventure, you were anticipating what was coming next, and you were ready to roll with the punches. I don't know about you guys, but most days, I just don't feel like I have the will to live and trudge on... I mean, everything just seems to be getting worse. :/

What have you got to say on this topic? I'd love to hear. :]

[dead]

We brought it upon ourselves. We know how we are creating the problems. The thing is no one really gives a shit or at least does anything.

[Korashk]

If the world is so "advanced" today, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? Much more than ever before.
I'm gonna have to stop reading right here for a second. This is simply false. Objectively false. The problems of today are WAY less than the problems of times long past. Both in terms of number and severity.

We've got medicine, technology, an abundance of food, transportation and all that wonderful stuff...
Yet, thousands of people everyday and passing away do to diseases and conditions that weren't even around years and years ago.
And people in olden times died by the MILLIONS because of diseases that either don't exist today, or are curable/not life threatening because of treatment.

We have so much food and such a large variety but we have people who abuse it both ways - eating too much, or purposefully eating much too little.
And in olden times, if you weren't upper class starving to death was a real and constant worry.

We have cars, planes, trains, and ships, but did you know that the risk of you being in a fatal car crash is a startling 1 out of 125?!
Admittedly, this one didn't happen back in the day. One might want to note that while 1 in 125 may seem daunting. It's less than a 1% chance, in return for being able to easily travel which in turn allows you to provide for your family without being a farmer. I think the trade is fair.

Food, plants, and animals are fed or treated with different chemicals and preservatives for them to stay fresh longer, grow quicker, and taste better- this in turn is slowly poisoning us.
Evidence for this? Note that if you provide it I will in turn provide you with evidence that foods prepared "organically" are at least as "poisoning", if for different reasons.

Life just seemed so simple "back then"... You'd live on a tiny farm with your family and maybe some close relatives, help out with the chores, feed the animals naturally grown grass and crops, eat delicious family meals together prepared from the crops and animals you raised, help take care of your younger siblings, and sleep.
You are extremely ignorant if you think that this is what life was like before the industrial revolution and that the problems you list are at all inconsequential or less weighty than the problems of today.

but I feel that people back then actually felt like they had a purpose in life and felt motivated to do what they had to.
And people today don't?

What have you got to say on this topic? I'd love to hear. :]
You can live like that if you want to. Just don't be deluded into thinking that things were better "back in the day".

[Iris]

I saw this thread last night, and went to sleep thinking I'll write my rant response tomorrow, but looks like Korashk beat me to it. Screw it, I'm going to respond anyway.

If the world is so "advanced" today, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? Much more than ever before.

That's a joke, right? Nowadays a problem might be coming out to your parents, or trying to get a job. Back then it was surviving. I'm pretty sure they had it worse.

thousands of people everyday and passing away do to diseases and conditions that weren't even around years and years ago.

Just in case you're referencing cancer, there is evidence to suggest that people in the Middle Ages and even earlier times had cancer. Most people then didn't even live to be Middle Aged though, so there was probably less cancer. :rolleyes:

Diseases: the number of deaths due to disease is significantly lower than in the past. The Bubonic plague, which killed about one third of Europe is practically non-existent today, and easily treatable. Yellow Fever-yes, it is still a problem, but the extent of it's effects are, again, much lower than in the past, now that there's a vaccine. Smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases in history. It killed hundreds of millions of people, but has been eradicated, due to vaccination. Influenza, one of the more common diseases, killed about 20-100 million people in 1918. In 2009 though, with the swine flu, it only killed about 18,000 people. Cholera, if untreated, has a 50-60% mortality rate. But with modern medicine and proper treatment, it kills less than 1%.

It's interesting to note that the most deaths due to disease occur in third world countries where modern medicine is often unavailable. What do you think that says about disease in the past?

We have so much food and such a large variety but we have people who abuse it both ways - eating too much, or purposefully eating much too little. With the food comes the mental eating disorders.

Do you think no one had eating disorders in the past? Eating disorders don't come from availability of food, but mental issues like low self-esteem. Having a lot of food is not the problem here. It's better than in the past, when dying of starvation was a very real thing.

We have cars, planes, trains, and ships, but did you know that the risk of you being in a fatal car crash is a startling 1 out of 125?!

Do you really want to compare deaths due to mode of transportation? In the past you had a wagon and some animals. The threat of being robbed/attacked or running out of food or water on your trip was constant. Trips that would take 4 hours by plane took months by wagon. Ever heard of the Oregon trail? Do you know the stories of the people who died along the way? And back then, when the only way to travel across oceans was on a long, dangerous, often disease-ridden voyages on ships that could easily capsize, and often did, was it safer?

Food, plants, and animals are fed or treated with different chemicals and preservatives for them to stay fresh longer, grow quicker, and taste better- this in turn is slowly poisoning us.

Yeah we're just withering away from all the poison in our systems.

Life just seemed so simple "back then"... You'd live on a tiny farm with your family and maybe some close relatives, help out with the chores, feed the animals naturally grown grass and crops, eat delicious family meals together prepared from the crops and animals you raised, help take care of your younger siblings, and sleep. Sure there were the hard things that were challenging and stressful like building a shelter, having enough food stored for the winter, and enough firewood to last you through the cold winter months...

How is that a good life?? You're describing the fight to survive. They had to live in constant fear that there'll be a flood, fire, infestation etc. on their nice little farm. There were no hospitals; if you had a heart attack, you died. Most people didn't get the right nutrition. Often there wasn't enough food. They lived in constant danger of death. It wasn't a nice little camping trip like you're describing. One thing goes wrong, and your food for the winter, or your home, or your life, is gone. You don't hear the stories of the people who lived this way and died; you only hear stories from Laura Ingalls Wilder, who (barely) survived.

but I feel that people back then actually felt like they had a purpose in life and felt motivated to do what they had to. They probably very rarely, if ever, had free time (unlike many of us teens that spend so much time bored out of our minds or doing really stupid pointless things). Life felt like a challenge, like an adventure, you were anticipating what was coming next, and you were ready to roll with the punches.

No. Life felt like a never-ending struggle to survive another day. They were motivated by their will to survive. Their lack of free time led to a lack of education, and lack of any other prospects other than the repeating the situation they lived in, in their youth. They were simple, yes, but that isn't good. Not understanding leads to fears, superstition, (religion) and other non-helpful, and often detrimental, things.

I don't know about you guys, but most days, I just don't feel like I have the will to live and trudge on... I mean, everything just seems to be getting worse. :/

Hon, that isn't a problem with a society, but a problem with you. Maybe you should go talk to a psychologist about this?

I'd just like to apologize if I come off as harsh-this topic has been annoying me for a while, and you're just the unwitting person who brought it up.

We brought it upon ourselves. We know how we are creating the problems. The thing is no one really gives a shit or at least does anything.

That statement is ridiculous. First of all, the vast majority of problems we have now are significantly lesser than in the past. That's not to mention that the world is more humanitarian in general. There are lots of people out there who are giving a shit and doing stuff. Do you know how many charity organizations exist today? Stop complaining and volunteer at a soup kitchen if you're so broken up about this.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do my laundry, and enjoy the marvels of modern technology.

[CaptainObvious]

If the world is so "advanced" today, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? Much more than ever before.

We've got medicine, technology, an abundance of food, transportation and all that wonderful stuff...
Yet, thousands of people everyday and passing away do to diseases and conditions that weren't even around years and years ago.
We have so much food and such a large variety but we have people who abuse it both ways - eating too much, or purposefully eating much too little. With the food comes the mental eating disorders.
We have cars, planes, trains, and ships, but did you know that the risk of you being in a fatal car crash is a startling 1 out of 125?!
Food, plants, and animals are fed or treated with different chemicals and preservatives for them to stay fresh longer, grow quicker, and taste better- this in turn is slowly poisoning us.


Life just seemed so simple "back then"... You'd live on a tiny farm with your family and maybe some close relatives, help out with the chores, feed the animals naturally grown grass and crops, eat delicious family meals together prepared from the crops and animals you raised, help take care of your younger siblings, and sleep. Sure there were the hard things that were challenging and stressful like building a shelter, having enough food stored for the winter, and enough firewood to last you through the cold winter months... but I feel that people back then actually felt like they had a purpose in life and felt motivated to do what they had to. They probably very rarely, if ever, had free time (unlike many of us teens that spend so much time bored out of our minds or doing really stupid pointless things). Life felt like a challenge, like an adventure, you were anticipating what was coming next, and you were ready to roll with the punches. I don't know about you guys, but most days, I just don't feel like I have the will to live and trudge on... I mean, everything just seems to be getting worse. :/

What have you got to say on this topic? I'd love to hear. :]

We don't have so many problems. By every reasonable standard, we have by far the highest standard of living we have ever had, and it's not even close. I'd give any one of the millions of examples, but the last 2 posters got a few of them, and they're so myriad that adding one or two more doesn't add much.

You're just saying something classically described by "the grass is always greener." You aren't seeing the many negatives, and focusing only on the positives.

[huginnmuninn]

now a days you dont have to work and you can get food stamps. if you get hurt you can go to the hospital and they cant deny admission. if you do have a job you dont have to work from sunup to sundown just to barely get by. in the olden days you had to constantly worry about diseases because it was a lot of a bigger problem than it is now. there are new diseases because people are living longer and bacteria and viruses are adapting. if you didnt have a job you died from starvation unless you were lucky and people gave you money.

[LivierGleek]

I think you have a good point. We're soo bored and all and population is getting bigger, we're killing everything on this earth, there's more diseases coz theres more chemicals. so yeah, livng back then was actually better in some ways.

[CaptainObvious]

there's more diseases coz theres more chemicals.

no, there's not. there's way, way way way way way less disease nowadays than at any time in human history. with the obvious exception of the AIDS epidemic, major diseases have only continued to be eradicated (or serious treatment improvements made) in the modern day. in the 40s and 50s cancer was incurable unless it could be surgically removed, and since almost half the population smoked...

like i said, serious grass is always greener going on here.

[DerBear]

to be honest this thread is a little closed minded we are far better off that we were in the olden days

[Peace God]

If the world is so "advanced" today, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? Much more than ever before.
Yeah lets not consider the severity of the problems lets just tally them up without regard to how bad each problem is. By that logic, suburban American teens have "more" problems than starving African kids.

I mean, who cares if he's going to die of starvation in a few days, at least little Mtulu doesn't have to worry about high cholesterol or his iPhone being stolen. Amirite?

[DerBear]

Yeah lets not consider the severity of the problems lets just tally them up without regard to how bad each problem is. By that logic, suburban American teens have "more" problems than starving African kids.

I mean, who cares if he's going to die of starvation in a few days, at least little Mtulu doesn't have to worry about high cholesterol or his iPhone being stolen. Amirite?

Agreed

[Infidelitas]

We expect wayyy too much from technology, and when they fail, we don't know what to do

[HaydenM]

Yeh, Today's problems are nowhere near those of the past. The reason we have more health problems is because we live long enough for them to be seen. And I would much rather worry about whether i will have toast or cereal tommorow for breakfast than whether i will eat at all tommorow.