New important futurology topic – the dystopia of utopia – a common scifi trope. We should remain aware of is the flawed logic and failure of utopia, especially in the context of Futurology. A utopia would be ‘an ideal commonwealth whose inhabitants exist under seemingly perfect conditions. Hence utopian and utopianism are words used to denote visionary reform that tends to be impossibly idealistic.’
Why is utopia impossible for humanity? Who wouldn’t want to live that way? Let’s take a few moments to talk about why utopia doesn’t work, and consider some historic examples of aborted utopias.
First and foremost – utopias don’t work for people and here’s why: my idea of ‘perfect’ is different from yours. Billy Fleming makes an important point about utopia in this article. ‘Margaret Atwood reminds us in The Handmaid’s Tale, an ideal society is never ideal for everyone. The difference between utopia and dystopia is often little more than one’s vantage point.’
Humanity’s innate diversity means we’re constantly at odds with each other when it comes to what we want out of life, what makes us tick. The only way to solve that ‘problem’ is for everyone to live, think, and see things the same way. Know what you get when you do that? ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ I’ll have more to say about that later.
Another problem – balancing priorities, resources, and power. Power is corrosive and corrupting to humanity. We’d constantly be fighting the influence of bad actors tipping the balance of power in their favor. Those bad actors might be coming from inside or outside the community, forcing you to treat citizens and neighbors as both assets and liabilities. If you ever figure out how to do that correctly, let me know.
How do I know that utopia won’t work? History. We’ve tried this before! New Harmony, Indiana thrived for a while on principles of equal rights and equality of duties only to fall apart due to competing ideologies, quarrels, and ‘ nature’s own inherent law of diversity.’ The Oneida Community pursued the idea of ‘individual spiritual perfection within a harmonious society‘ but declined over practices like ‘complex marriage’ and ‘community criticism’ sessions. (Fun fact – the Oneida community founded the company that makes your favorite forks and knives – they’re still in business today!)
There are other examples, too. The Amana Colonies were founded by Inspirationists, and based their society on shared religious principles for over seventy years, only to fall victim to external economic pressure. Even the former Soviet Union, on paper, was an attempt to create a society based on Marxist-Leninst principles of socialism. We all know how that ended.
Could utopia work under the right circumstances? Sure, maybe. AI-based governance could be a way for us to cede authority to an objective resource but even modern AIs have a serious problem – they’re learning from humans. When it comes to computers, it’s ‘garbage in – garbage out’ – and we’re the garbage. Could we fix that? Will advancements in quantum technology allow us to simulate future outcomes before assimilation into our universe?
Again, maybe – but that brings up a new potential danger: Quantum annihilation. We’d be constructing and destroying other universes as a science experiment. What consequences would we face, if other citizens of the multiverse started coming back through the doors we’re opening? I talk about that in The Conquered.
What are other possibilities? Virtual reality? Best case scenario – Ready Player One. Worst case scenario – Mark Zuckerberg. Either way, the odds are good but the goods are odd. No bueno.
So yeah – utopia – it’s a third rail for humanity. If you take nothing else from this, remember: there’s a ‘dystopia’ that comes with ‘utopia.’ Scifi loves to pontificate about ‘here’s how utopia could work,’ but the reality is utopia is also dystopia, depending on who you talk to.
@alexisdyslexic@cycling So my point is not to act as if Davis is the worst - it's not. But I want to show that you don't have to scratch deeply to hit the car-centrism and ableism. Therefore holding it up uncritically as "Platinum Bike-Friendly" does us a great disservice. #UCAccessNow#CarCenrism#Cycling
@meganL@cycling the best in North America is probably Montreal. But Not Just Bike just made a clap back video about how poorly Montreal stand up to European cities. I don't think we have a good infrastructure anywhere in North America.
But I think we're at an inflexion point and a lot is going to be built out soon.
When @glitter and I got to the bottom of a long hill while #cycling yesterday, I heard the tell-tale sign of a #tubeless leak in my front tire, a well-used #Panaracer#GravelKing. She even said it was smoking, but I knew it was just sealant blowing out.
Thankfully, it was at the end of our ride and I didn't have to deal with steering on a floppy tire. I did snap this picture, though. :blobfoxsweating:
I tried seating it again today and it just wouldn't hold air because of the same spot. That's when I noticed the bulge in the sidewall near the bead, so I decided to toss the tire and put on a fresh (identical) one I had in reserve. The new tire seated without issue, aside from how I had to do it twice because I put it on the wrong way the first time. :blobfoxgooglymlem:
This isn't a knock on Panaracer tire quality, of course. The tire's been through a lot and there was only so much tread left anyway.
Nie wiem czy @muzykametalowa wie, ale wokalista amerykańskiego Trivium dwa lata temu wydał solowy projekt "Rashomon" jako Ibaraki (jego mama jest Japonką).
Mieszanka elementów black metalu, echa Opeth i jako goście między innymi Nergal i Ihsahn. Jakże jest to mega album.
"Jak uczynić miasta przyjaznymi dla wszystkich? Urbanistyka już od ponad stu lat zajmuje się badaniem i planowaniem wygodnego życia dla mieszkanek i mieszkańców. Wydawałoby się, że naziemne przejścia dla pieszych, ścieżki rowerowe, maszty telekomunikacyjne czy słupki chroniące chodnik są racjonalnym standardem. Są jednak tacy, którzy widzą w nich zagrożenie, a za pierwsze na polskim ziemiach miasto 15-minutowe uważają... Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Łukasz Drozda opisuje jak prawicowy populizm i myślenie spiskowe stwarzają problem dla przyszłości otaczającej nas przestrzeni, dotykając nawet najbardziej liberalnych światopoglądowo miejsc w kraju, a także to jak przeciwstawić się tego typu zagrożeniom. Rosnąca liczba teorii spiskowych coraz bardziej uniemożliwia przeciwdziałanie kluczowym wyzwaniom współczesnej urbanizacji – od sprawnego internetu bezprzewodowego i zakorkowania miast, aż po walkę ze zmianami klimatu. Nie mówiąc o dostaniu się z wózkiem z domu do żłobka."
Łukasz Drozda, " Miejskie strachy. Miasto 15-minutowe, 5G i inne potwory", 2024
Wpis na udostępnionym poniżej blogu zawiera kolejne linki prowadzące do treści, podzielonej na części, tworzących całość. Moim zdaniem warto przeczytać, odświeżyć wiedzę o zasadach prowadzenia satysfakcjonujących dyskusji.