Evidence: We are not alone (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Sunday, January 04, 2015, 15:28 (3611 days ago) @ David Turell

David: Your facts are perfectly correct. And I remind myself that current philosophers refer regularly to Plato and Aristotle.
> 
> My point differs in that you are referring to the foundations of knowledge and thought built by previous humans. We have built on that previous development. I think we are more complete now that we have modern research and communication to show all of us what the rest of us have done in the past. The explosion of knowledge I've seen in my lifetime is amazing. Don't you think human thought evolves?--I see history as more of a wave. Most people think a wave rushes to the bottom and then races back up to the top before crashing again, but that is not actually true. The vast majority of change happens immediately after the peak/trough, and then slows down as it passes the point of equilibrium and approaches the subsequent peak/trough, repeating the cycle until all the input energy is spent. -To frame this analogy in terms of humanity, I think we started with much more potential energy (capability/brainpower) than what we have today. We took off out the gate like a rocket. 90% of the change in a wave happens in the first 10% of the motion. So there was a surge in technological increase. Then, as our potential caught up with technology, our growth slowed, and we became more and more reliant on our technology, which further diminished our capability. We peaked, technologically. -When we hit that peak, our tech was at its highest but all the things that made great in the beginning were practically gone. And we crashed, back out of the gate, racing backwards, losing our technology while simultaneously looking more of our potential energy. Whether that occurred as a result of the biblical flood or some other cataclysm may be arguable, but the fact that advanced civilizations around the world disappeared at nearly the same time is undeniable.-The wave was reset and we started climbing again, trading our individual potential energy, supplanting it with technological progress, until we are where we are today. At the top of the wave, seemingly riding high but unaware that we are sitting at the cusp of a major reversal in progress.

--
What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.