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When someone says "it's [current year] so [bad thing] should have stopped by now", I get confused. It feels like it's implying that humans today are fundamenta

When someone says "it's [current year] so [bad thing] should have stopped by now", I get confused. It feels like it's implying that humans today are fundamentally different from humans in the past. In fact it feels dangerous to me that we often speak of ourselves as almost a different species from humans in history. From an evolutionary perspective humans from any moment in recorded history are basically indistinguishable. Our brain capacity hasn't changed. We're not kinder. We're not less selfish. We do know more about many things (and less about some things). We have better tools. We've refined more matter into new forms. We have access to more useful energy. But those changes don't change who people are. No human at any point in history should be content with the state of things, but I don't think that struggle is easier today than it ever has been. We're pushing the boulder up the hill and we'll never reach the top, but should never stop pushing. Being in the industry, I'm glad you're not content with the state of things. It takes people like you, so thank you for your effort to make our world a better place. Even if we may disagree with nuances of the motivation.

ryukafalz 3y ago
> It feels like it's implying that humans today are fundamentally different from humans in the past. In fact it feels dangerous to me that we often speak of ourselves as almost a different species from humans in history. From an evolutionary perspective humans from any moment in recorded history are basically indistinguishable. Our brain capacity hasn't changed. We're not kinder. We're not less selfish. When people say this (myself included), I think it's a normative statement, not a positive one. Of course we're the same humans we have been for thousands of years. But the act of calling out our failings as a society can itself, sometimes, spur people to try to change it for the better. In 2023, we are (positively) essentially the same as our ancestors. But also in 2023, we should (normatively) strive to be better than them, and to be conscious of our failings when we don't.

ryukafalz 3y ago

> It feels like it's implying that humans today are fundamentally different from humans in the past. In fact it feels dangerous to me that we often speak of ourselves as almost a different species from humans in history. From an evolutionary perspective humans from any moment in recorded history are basically indistinguishable. Our brain capacity hasn't changed. We're not kinder. We're not less selfish. When people say this (myself included), I think it's a normative statement, not a positive one. Of course we're the same humans we have been for thousands of years. But the act of calling out our failings as a society can itself, sometimes, spur people to try to change it for the better. In 2023, we are (positively) essentially the same as our ancestors. But also in 2023, we should (normatively) strive to be better than them, and to be conscious of our failings when we don't.