| >> | 1542510166024.jpg -(38745B / 37.84KB, 602x520) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. ![]() >>66271
>>66263
Well said, society functions like a metronome, and a swing to one end necessitates a swing to the other. As it is said, there is no light without darkness. And as Star Trek tells us, the only way to a utopian future is through decades of hell. Let's hope that's truly the case because we might be in for a hell of a ride.
>>66265
First, I apologize for the rant.. but.. well, I feel the dichotomy of the Vaccines-R-Gud vs the Vaccines-cause-enthusiasm is a false dichotomy that hides the reality of the situation by way of polarization
I'm just going to have to point something out here, something that I personally have never heard voiced, aside from in my own opinion. Vaccines are not good for humanity. And not for the reasons the so-called anti-vaxxer movement stereotypically claims. I believe if you understand the basics of evolutionary theory, you might agree with me, unless you've been overly-conditioned by the polarized propoganda that surrounds both 'sides' of this issue.
To put it in terms Sisko would understand, giving yourself a vaccine is like playing a game of slow pitch softball with children. Getting a disease and beating it yourself is like playing real baseball, with adults, some of which might play in the minor and major leagues. You might get your ass kicked, but as long as you survive, it'll make you a better player. The idea of 'herd immunity' weakens the entire herd by selecting for immune weakness, by taking away the only real form of natural selection that still exists in a civilized species. And worst of all, it's predicated on the false belief that antibiotics are more than temporary. But they aren't. We are engaged in an arms race between microbiota and science which we are mathematically guaranteed to lose. It is inevitable, and worse yet, it may be less than a century away. We can develop as many antibiotic compounds as we like, but life, as Jeff Goldblum says, "uh.. finds a way", and with microbes it does so very quickly, as the microbes living on and around your body have had a generation or two born in the time it took you to read this. Ever see soap or hand sanitizer that claims it kills 99.9% of all germs? Consider that the .1% that survives passes on its survival techniques. It is only a matter of time before evolution overcomes scientific innovation. And all the while, we are training our immune systems for weakness. And it's not just genetic, by the way, I'm not just saying the people who have genetic defects that make them have a weak immune system are the problem. Consider epigenetics, the emerging science that studies the shells of chromosomes. These shells, long thought to be more or less worthless, contain a vast amount of information and control which genes are activated, which are turned off, as well as a wealth of hormonal triggers. But the interesting thing about epigenetics is that we see that things that happen to you in your lifetime can affect which genes are hormones are triggered not only in you for the rest of your life, but in your subsequent children, and their children as well. Three generations. Epigenetics, so far as we know is mostly related to dietary and IMMUNE responses. That's right, immune responses. By dicking around with our immune systems, we are likely affecting the way that our children's, and their children's immune systems function. And what's worse, in most modern societies, there is no control group. No one who doesn't take these vaccines to point to and say 'hey look these guys are shit so therefore vaccines work'. And all for what? To eliminate polio? You realize that only about 1-3% of polio cases ended up with paralysis? Most people wouldn't even know they had the disease. The worst part is anyone who wants to opt out gets lumped into the same category. Sorry, but life is suffering. No one likes being sick, but give it a century or two and vaccines will have only paved the way for some unforseen microbe to kill hundreds of millions, who will have no antibiotics to turn to, and whose ancestors ensured they would have a weakened immune system because walgreens was giving away flu shots for only $20. Humans are so short-sighted when it comes to the future of their own species. If you're going to get vaccinations, it should be as minimal as possible, against the worst diseases only. Not the flu. Not chickenpox. That's fucking stupid. Your immune system needs to do battle with the real thing, as it has since time immemorial, that's how it works. And don't even get me started on fertility treatments.
Secondly, your claim that things were better for most societies in the dark ages than before the Roman Empire seems like a sweeping generalization that ignores the fact that many agricultural and technological innovations were simple lost from one generation to another. Things, technologically, scientifically, and intellectually speaking, were worse than before the days of the Roman Empire for most of Europe, for the first several hundred years at least.
But back to Ziyal's point, (>>66271), whatever hardships the human race endures only serve to propel us to the next level of our evolution. And there are a lot of things facing us in the future, but I am (relatively) hopeful that we can not only overcome them but emerge the better for it.. I only fear that it will take centuries to get there and I'll have to deal with the shit. >>66271 |
