Pace of Social Change

June 30, 2015 6:30am by


Source: Bloomberg

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  1. constantnormal commented on Jun 30

    Merely the steepening curve as we accelerate toward whatever future awaits us at the Singularity, as predicted/depicted by Toffler in Future Shock (1970).

    One will find a similar accelerating curve in new technologies, despite the technologically blind uttering warnings about the “demise of innovation and technological progress”.

    The term “Future Shock” refers to the increase in the rate of changes beyond what the mainstream human psyche or society can accommodate, with an inevitable fracturing of society into what Toffler called “islands of stability”, which might be in some cases represented by a rise in fundamentalist religions, in other cases by the rise of throwback groups that seek to segregate themselves from the mainstream.

    As to exactly what awaits humanity when the slope of the rate of change approaches vertical, it need not be the stereotypical AI-dominated future (for either good or ill), it could just as easily resolve itself via a “war to end all wars” (catchy phrase, that) chaotic collapse, wherein humanity either sends itself back to the Stone Age via a lethal global conflict with the weapons of that time (which might include smart nano-viruses, as well as having nuclear proliferation expand to every neighborhood street gang), or simply wipes life from the planet in a more rapid and direct manner than the approach we are currently pursuing via global climate change.

    It all makes the tapestry of daily news today seem rather hum-drum and blasé …

    • rd commented on Jun 30

      Or maybe everybody suddenly becomes tolerant of other tribes.

  2. reedsch commented on Jul 1

    Except for the race outlier, it’s a better measure of the pace at which mainstream Christianity is becoming irrelevant.

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