Sabine Hossenfelder in Back Reaction:
The clock says 3:30 am. Is that early or late? Wrapped in a blanket I go into the living room. I open the door and step onto the patio. It’s too warm for December. An almost full moon blurs into the clouds. In the distance, the highway hums.
Somewhere, someone dies.
For everyone who dies, two people are born. 7.5 billion and counting.
We came to dominate planet Earth because, compared to other animals, we learned fast and collaborated well. We used resources efficiently. We developed tools to use more resources, and then employed those tools to use even more resources. But no longer. It’s 2018, and we are failing.
That’s what I think every day when I read the news. We are failing.
Throughout history, humans improved how to exchange and act on information held by only a few. Speech, writing, politics, economics, social and cultural norms, TV, telephones, the internet. These are all methods of communication. It’s what enabled us to collectively learn and make continuous progress. But now that we have networks connecting billions of people, we have reached our limits.
Fake news, Russian trolls, shame storms. Some dude’s dick in the wrong place. That’s what we talk about.
More here.