Humankind's best days ahead or behind?

[GandK]

Alain de Botton on Tim Ferriss's podcast today: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/11/10/alain-de-botton/

Ooh... thank you! I love AdeB.

[Dragline]

He's essentially a Catholic philosopher in atheist clothing.

He could have used a better partner in that debate, though. Gladwell was playing it for amusing insults, which were not actually terribly amusing.

[Ego]

He could have used a better partner in that debate, though. Gladwell was playing it for amusing insults, which were not actually terribly amusing.

This is the first of these Munk Debates I've seen. I got the impression everyone was hoping to spit out a one line zinger that would be added to a youtube montage. Gladwell was the most egregious.

It seems much more useful to watch people who disagree as they try to find common ground and a way forward than this glorified bickering. This was more of a primer on the tricks and techniques smart people use to win arguments. That can be fun to watch, but it leaves me wanting to take a shower.

[Slevin]

Society is degrading yes, but its because the old narrative of infinite growth and consumerism is not working nearly as well anymore and our culture hasn't caught on yet. Energy is key right now. Overall, everything is getting better yes (in terms of life-span, wars, poverty, etc..) but falling energy inputs threaten to unravel all of this. The only reason we have developed what we have and improved what we have over the last 200 years is because of super-dense, portable energy (oil).

We actually have plenty of nuclear energy for the next couple of millenia if we play the cards right.

[Riggerjack]

Best days are ahead. There is no argument.

My proof? 30 years ago, Michelob was considered a good beer!

[Ego]

Best days are ahead. There is no argument.

My proof? 30 years ago, Michelob was considered a good beer!

I guess it depends how you look at it. Craft beer and the ubiquitousness of bacon are evidence of decline in my book.

[Chad]

Craft beer is a sign of decline?! How so?

[Ego]

I'm now renting to high-earning Millennials who, I am learning, are deeply in debt. They are the perfect fodder for ERE. The guys are all (but two) bloated like the the Pillsbury Doughboy. Speeding up the process of slow-office-death with craft beer, sushi, Extraordinary Deserts and bacon. While peering into the recycle bin I did the mental math on a week's worth of bottles. It made me sad for the future of humanity.

[Chad]

Ah, that makes sense.

[Ego]

I should mention that I like the way the Amazing Randi looks at drugs and alcohol.

“Because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers. And I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That may mean giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I’m willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world.”

I get the impression that my new tenants are using craft beer to cope with what would otherwise be an unsustainable lifestyle.

[IlliniDave]

The craft beer may just be a misguided attempt to define their lifestyle. It's "cool", and paying $10/bottle or whatever makes one appear affluent and/or beholden to (the shallow interpretation of) YOLO.