We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Debate House Prices
In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non MoneySaving matters are no longer permitted. This includes wider debates about general house prices, the economy and politics. As a result, we have taken the decision to keep this board permanently closed, but it remains viewable for users who may find some useful information in it. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
David Attenborough....
Graham_Devon
Posts: 58,560 Forumite
Love this quote from him yesterday. Very apt considering the immigration and pyramid schemes on here....
"Anybody who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a world thats finate is either mad or an economist".
So why do we continue to chase pyramid schemes?
"Anybody who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a world thats finate is either mad or an economist".
So why do we continue to chase pyramid schemes?
0
Comments
-
Graham_Devon wrote: »Love this quote from him yesterday. Very apt considering the immigration and pyramid schemes on here....
"Anybody who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a world thats finate is either mad or an economist".
So why do we continue to chase pyramid schemes?
He is also very outspoken -- and completely correct -- about overpopulation, describing the human race as biologically speaking a plague.No-one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money as well.
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
Margaret Thatcher0 -
Attenborough is my hero and I often say it's Humans that are the greatest pest, and as a life long tree hugger I'd like only 1bn people on planet, however, we are where we are and in fact Attenborough is wrong on the growth thang.
The point he is missing is that Humankind will adapt, synthesise new resources, produce fuel from engineered bacterium, invest in straight to solar (instead of second hand solar contained in fossil fuel), grow protein in the lab, invest in multi storey farms, find alternate synthetic resource replacements, geow on floating platforms and underground, invest in all manner of unimaginable technologies and so on.
DEVON - read predictions about this same subject going bacl 25, 50 and 100 years. They always got things hopelessly wrong. No one imagined pure theoretical phsyics into the nature of matter would one day lead to mobile communication, internet and GPS.
It's actualy very short sighted not to realise this.
What really bothers me is destruction of natural habitat, such as plastics in the ocean.0 -
The point he is missing is that Humankind will adapt, synthesise new resources, produce fuel from engineered bacterium, invest in straight to solar (instead of second hand solar contained in fossil fuel), grow protein in the lab, invest in multi storey farms, find alternate synthetic resource replacements, geow on floating platforms and underground, invest in all manner of unimaginable technologies and so on.
There is something in that but I think it's too optimistic to assume that technology and necessity being the mother of invention will solve all problems. Population growth is considered exponential I believe whereas growth of availabilty of resources is not. And even if three dimensional farms and vehicles that run on plankton fill a lot of the gap, what is the overall quality of life going to be like for the 15, 20, 30, or 50+ billion that are going to inhabit the planet, if the species survives that long ? Chances are that nature's self-regulation will result in some dreadful incurable plague that will cull the numbers back drastically. Or the sheer stress of life among dozens of billions of humans, and the ever greater competition for resources will eventually lead to the lunatics finally taking over the asylum and some sort of mutually destructive holocaust that will have the same effect.No-one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money as well.
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
Margaret Thatcher0 -
GeorgeHowell wrote: »There is something in that but I think it's too optimistic to assume that technology and necessity being the mother of invention will solve all problems. Population growth is considered exponential I believe whereas growth of availabilty of resources is not. And even if three dimensional farms and vehicles that run on plankton fill a lot of the gap, what is the overall quality of life going to be like for the 15, 20, 30, or 50+ billion that are going to inhabit the planet, if the species survives that long ? Chances are that nature's self-regulation will result in some dreadful incurable plague that will cull the numbers back drastically. Or the sheer stress of life among dozens of billions of humans, and the ever greater competition for resources will eventually lead to the lunatics finally taking over the asylum and some sort of mutually destructive holocaust that will have the same effect.
I'm pretty sure that man will finish off man. Either through war or the effects of our resource usage on the world destroying our ability to live here.
The one question I do ponder is what do we need more of? Why do we need to keep progressing?
Let's take the western world for a moment. What are we currently missing that makes us feel the need to drain the worlds resources and leave nothing for future generations? I don't know. If it's a faster ipad, they can keep it or a mobile that can tell me my nephew has just had a poo, they can keep it.
The 3rd world certainly have stuff to strive for, however, we could share we we have with ample left for our own consumption. We just won't. The economic landscape determines we just need more and more "stuff".
Trains were a great invention. The car was a great invention. The computer, brilliant. But do we really need a new ipad or mobile phone that can control the TV from our office, or can tell us how fat we are today? Do we really need to throw such massive resources away after just 2 years in order to be able to use a new app on shiny new hardware that allows us to open the fridge door from the lounge?
We were talking about this the other day, and computers changed the world....but what have computers really changed in the last 5-10 years? Nothing of much importance. It's mostly facebook, tweeting and pretty pointless apps that just serve to make us even lazier and feed the need for the next upgraded device. Even the big computer plays like Dell are starting to struggle as Windows XP still does everything every business wants and business don't need computer upgrades anymore, hence Microsoft forces their software (and the hardware) to become redundant.
Computers changed the world, they bought us automation, safety, e-mail, communication. Now, we have mobiles in our pockets more powerful than computers 12 years ago....and what do we do with them? Post pictures of cats in sunglasses on facebook.
We've got what we need. The rest is simple greed.0 -
GeorgeHowell wrote: »There is something in that but I think it's too optimistic to assume that technology and necessity being the mother of invention will solve all problems. Population growth is considered exponential I believe whereas growth of availabilty of resources is not. And even if three dimensional farms and vehicles that run on plankton fill a lot of the gap, what is the overall quality of life going to be like for the 15, 20, 30, or 50+ billion that are going to inhabit the planet, if the species survives that long ? Chances are that nature's self-regulation will result in some dreadful incurable plague that will cull the numbers back drastically. Or the sheer stress of life among dozens of billions of humans, and the ever greater competition for resources will eventually lead to the lunatics finally taking over the asylum and some sort of mutually destructive holocaust that will have the same effect.
George... I shudder to think what our population world figures would be if the planet had not suffered great loss of life in the various wars that have taken place over the last century, especially destruction from the air as well as the land.
It is my opinion that Mother Nature will have the last word in population figures in the future by taking measures to avoid a population overload.0 -
So you don't ponder then?0
-
Doesn't take much to upset you... does it!Jesus. Do you know what, even if you're right, what are you going to do? Your life seems to revolve around finding things to upset yourself over, how do you ever expect to be happy? You can't change it so go with it.
You're like a massive vacuum that sucks the life and fun out of everything it comes near.0 -
I have a lot of respect for Attenborough....the thing I find strange is how right wingers do as well....I mean doesn't his value system go against the principles of capitalism?Graham_Devon wrote: »Love this quote from him yesterday. Very apt considering the immigration and pyramid schemes on here....
"Anybody who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a world thats finate is either mad or an economist".
So why do we continue to chase pyramid schemes?0 -
Graham_Devon wrote: »Love this quote from him yesterday. Very apt considering the immigration and pyramid schemes on here....
"Anybody who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a world thats finate is either mad or an economist".
So why do we continue to chase pyramid schemes?
There are still many contributors to these forums who believe that all of the emerging economies can get richer year on year, without any of the western economies getting poorer as a result.
Eventually, everyone can be rich - can't they?
We can, as a nation, provide public services and benefits, even if we aren't collecting the money to pay for them through taxes.
We can all minimise our own taxes, without that meaning that the rates of taxation will have to be increased.
We will all be millionaires due to HPI, and that will be really good for us as a nation."When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson0 -
Graham_Devon wrote: »Doesn't take much to upset you... does it!
Like unnecessary versions of windows
That would have been a funny post if you understood irony or were capable of poking fun at yourself occasionally.
Anyway, no, don't confuse upset with pity. I can't even begin to imagine how people like you can manage to salvage any joy from life. You dislike everything around you and the world you live in.
If you genuinely believe all that stuff you typed you'd join the Amish, or perhaps the Darwells.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 353.7K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.2K Spending & Discounts
- 246.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.2K Life & Family
- 260.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards