Brain rot in the form of social media. Cognitive decline from possible long COVID. Constant exposure to microplastics from various sources (water contamination, water bottles, plastic wrapping, cars via tire breakdown).
This timeline fucking sucks.
Hot water can be taken for granted, as can indoor toilets. And central heating.
With modern electronics and circuitry you can’t even kill yourself with a toaster in the bathtub since it will trip the central breaker.
Every generation goes through the same shit in one version or another.
Polio was diagnosed in an unvaccinated man in upstate NY (2022) [1]
The anti vax movement and distrust of science has exploded since social media.
> of the west there isn’t much of a concern about a mother dying giving birth.
Depends on the state, or country. In the US, legality of abortion is left up to the states due to repeal of Roe v Wade by SCOTUS that’s hell bent on this Christian crusade.
Women have resorted to unsafe methods of abortion where traveling to an abortion clinic is not viable. In one case of a TX women, state courts refused to allow abortion to save mother [2]. She was fortunate to be able to travel to another state and get the medically required abortion.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/health/new-york-polio/index.h...
[2] https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/11/texas-abortion-lawsu...
It’s important context because of the insular nature of these types of communities - the splash damage of a polio or measles outbreak has limited impact outside of the community.
Outside of these isolated areas, most of the slow burn is within the MAGA cult of personality, which will likely start to break and fade over the coming years, along with the pandemic memory.
We must fix that construct: "«distrust [] has exploded since social media»". Which makes some sense, it is expectable in broad terms.
In 2021 a large wave of communication appropriated the banner of Science, through voices that had clearly never seen science in a postcard. (It probably varied with regional communication.) So, distrust spread.
What you are seeing is a crisis in authority - which also causes the first phenomenon of the rise of ignorant voices.
distrust of science comes from the fact that something that had nothing to do with Science was called Science and used against people. Mind you that the scientific method is all about debating hypotheses not censoring dissenting voices, which is exactly what happened during the Covid era. Of course distrust will spread.
The problem is that the direction of improvement in lives has changed.
Compare today to the 90s and there’s very little reason to believe that today is better than the 90s in a developed country.
What’s frustrating is that we have MORE tools to be in a much better shape right now. We have things available to us today that people wouldn’t have dreamt of in the 90s, including smartphones. But unfortunately, those tools are being used almost entirely for the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few and for disinforming and misleading people to accelerate the concentration of wealth.
Be careful where you get your data - news is biased towards sensationalism and negativity.
https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2011-005.pdf
Today it is at 5 per 1,000.
Please read a history book before you start supporting a reset to what we used to have.
> would have been in clover to have just those problems
The wisdom of the wise men will perish. Isaiah 29:14
For it is written: "I will make the wisdom of the wise men perish, and the intelligence of the intellectuals I will reject." 1. Corinthians 1:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written: "He catches the wise in their own cunning." 1. Corinthians 3:19
The wise have been put to shame. They have become terrified and will be caught. Look! They have rejected the word of Jehovah, And what wisdom do they have? Jeremiah 8:9
Corinthians, in the New Testament, as far as it is relevant has a better standing, coming from the standpoint of illustrating that Wisdom as it is to the Almighty looks entirely different to Wisdom according to mortals, for things happen in Eternity, that a population of transient mortals may not see or recall for generations. At best though, the scripture isn't indicating this is God's active intent/doing, but taken at face value Human Wisdom != God's Wisdom. Not necessarily useful on our timescales except as a reminder that things can happen that can completely turn established order on it's head, nothing is set in stone and impossible to see change, and that in those Times, it is important to remember we are not perfect, and to meet the adversity in question with humility, and a courage underpinned by faith. Regardless of the particulars of your faith, it isn't terrible advice or Scripture. Certainly more timeless than the Isaiah verse. 3:19 is much the same schtick.
Props for casting where angels fear to tread. It will largely land on deaf/unprepared/unwilling ears however. Then again, you got me to actually look at the book, so you might consider that a win I suppose. Given the room, don't be surprised if there is a poor reception.
its ridiculous to use such a thing to degrade modern intellectual persuit.
please keep your 1st century book of wooly mumblings in the tax free echo chambers where it belongs, adults are talking.
But for sure if you focus yourself on all the negative since its so juicy it will easily drag you down the pit of despair. At any point of time in mankind's history there was plenty of bad stuff happening, often cataclysmic compared to our times.