Ask HN: What are the biggest problems facing humanity?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9562124

by gamechangr • 11 years ago

9 16 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

What obstacles, if over come, would have the greatest impact?

alansmitheebk2• 11 years ago

I'd say global warming, facism, and religion.

Varkiil• 11 years ago

Please, tell us how those are obstacles. I am intrigued.

alansmitheebk2• 11 years ago

with respect to climate change, global warming is a threat to our entire ecosystem. In the coming decades, governments around the globe will face unprecedented national security threats mounted by flooding, extreme weather storms, scarcity of fresh drinking water, and shrinking food supplies. Countries that lack the resources or political will to act now may be visited by great tragedies. Natural catastrophes and famines driven by climate change may cause future wars and revolutions.

With respect to Fascism, the countries we used to refer to as "The Free World" have become Orwellian police states. This is much more than a privacy issue or a national security issue. We are headed towards a world where dissent is no longer possible. As governments continue to spy on literally all of their citizens, the types of non-violent protests and civil disobedience which helped bring about the end of the Vietnam war and racial segregation in the US will be proactively contained. Potential protesters will be identified, harassed, and intimidated long before the target dates of their planned protests. Heavily armed and violent paramilitary groups will occupy potential arenas of demonstration in the run up to events such as political and economic conventions. Meanwhile, the media will whip the public into a paranoid frenzy over "terrorists planning to attack" these events.

With respect to religion, the Middle East will continue to fight wars driven by religious fanaticism. I refer not just to radical Islamists, but to Christian fundamentalists and Zionists (both Christian and Jewish). In the Catholic spheres of influence, overpopulation and AIDS will continue to be a problem because use of condoms is discouraged. In the US, major policies which affect the environment and the fate of other nations will continue to be driven by morons who believe that the Earth is 10,000 years old and that the rapture is coming.

meeper16• 11 years ago

Extending human lifespan to a very large degree, only then can we travel through deep space after finding other inhabitable planets.

ChrisGranger• 11 years ago

In addition to the other comments, I'd say generation of enough clean/green energy to meet our growing needs.

phantom_oracle• 11 years ago

Start simple, with the problems around you...

Hunger, conservation, disease, drinking water and dare I say it: war

There is no incentive to solve most of these issues, which is why there are so many poor and hungry people in the world today.

If you only obtain info from HN, escape it for a bit and read blogs about NPOs doing work in Africa.

A little perspective on reality will help you realize how meaningless "free internet" is when somebody is looking for $3 to buy some rice for his 2 kids and wife each day.

calbear812• 11 years ago

I don't think we should discount the ability for access to information to help someone get out of their situation. For example, perhaps somebody could learn how to grow food instead of waiting for a handout with the help of articles on irrigation systems and crop rotation.

gamechangr3• 11 years ago

Original OP. I'm a US citizen that lived 5 years in the South Pacific. I actually think you both have a point!

I watched how the rural area we worked in was dramatically transformed by simple cell phones. Things like pregnant women previously had to make a 40 hour walk to town and now could call for emergencies.

But technology did not fix many problems. I did see 30 person extended families dependent on one person earning money. Access to the internet introduced new problems, like pornography, which made the locals have a major increase in STD's.

Information is tricky.

manidoraisamy• 11 years ago

1) I think most people are stuck with mundane career based on the choice they made, when they were 16. Finding their interest/potential today and matching with opportunities could change the economic landscape completely.

2) Increasing conflict between nationalistic and religious ideology is a problem with fear appeal. While country's representatives are elected by people with healthy criticism, religion's representatives are accepted through faith. This creates leadership vacuum to resolve conflicts (or misguided leadership that causes more conflicts).

thanley• 11 years ago

A lack of empathy for other people. Hopefully an increase in connectivity with help to bridge that gap. I don't think I am truly empathetic to the struggles of the people that produce the goods I use everyday. It is also nearly impossible to abstain from using the things they produce. So would empathy be paying a much higher price so they can live a better life? I'm not sure.

SamReidHughes• 11 years ago

Automatic translation, high speed local transportation, an education system that doesn't crush souls.

cyberjunkie• 11 years ago

Poor mental health, which indirectly affects everything from the jobs they do, how they treat one another, poor health habits, everything...

petervandijck• 11 years ago

The large majority of people get fairly shitty education.

Global warning will cause tons of problems, lots of them food supply related.

Ask HN: What are the biggest problems facing humanity?

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