I have to fundamentally disagree with that statement Senormac. There is absolutely no link between religion and good or morals. One can be endowed with good and take a moral stance without being religious in any shape or form.

How many catholic priests have transpired and been proven to be paedaphiles?, how many muslims have committed heinous crimes, murders and other acts?, how many wars have there been in the name of religion over centuries?, these are all clear evidence that religion isn't the 'be all and end all' coveting good and morals. I know many people who have absolutely no beliefs, nothing, zilch, and they are good people who help their fellow people and equally I know many self centred, self opinionated, church attending bible punchers who wouldn't walk the length of themselves to help someone in dire distress. There is no tangible or plausible connection between religious beliefs and good or evil.

This highest being is merely imaginary and cannot manifest itself, and indeed, has never manifested itself only in myths and badly translated/interpreted books produced for the consumption of men BUT written by other mortal men, none of which is hard evidence or scientific by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Yet, there IS a link between the highest being of all and the word GOOD. Looking at religion is way to low of a view. That's just man. That's horizontal viewing. Look up.... at the top. At the Most High. That's where Good is

 

Dude, it's really best if you just keep your beliefs to yourself and others who feel similarly. You are really offering nothing, in a cogent way, to to this discussion of the future, spirituality, religion or anything, for that matter.

"Look up.... at the top. At the Most High. That's where Good is"

Up, up and away, in my beautiful, my beautiful, balloon.

 

Back on the thread. IMO the future is whatever one wants it to be and it's there for the taking if you are young(ish) determined and flexible. You will need to be adaptable and versatile and seek the new opportunities without too many preconceived ideas. IMO there will be a need for the traditional over the next 25 years and possibly longer but as techno takes a tighter grip the more stubborn will fall by the wayside and the whizz kids will predominate. Experience will always play a part but decreasingly so as technology advances. To an extent it's another phase of the Victorian era and the luddites will cling hopelessly to the past but the techno advances will continue unabated.

What I cannot quite get my head around in the simplistic sense is that in all of this the internal combustion engine is still the leading automotive source after a century plus. Yep, there has been attempts with steam, fossil fuels and now electric autos but they are still predominently reliant on the fossil fuels for automotive power plants. Cars by electric power are still very uneconomic and environmentally damaging to produce as is solar energy along with wind generators but the old internal combustion engine in cars is still #1 in whatever form it appears. There still appears to be nothing viable on the horizon to replace the traditional engine which IMO must make it the greatest invention in the last one and a half centuries as it was used to power most things even aircraft and boats.

Hmmm, I think maybe they miss the point. top ten inventions of the last 150 ye... - # Top 5 Lists # - tribe.net

 

Yep.. and I'll most likely be one of those luddites clinging hopelessly to the past and hand crafting religious themed toilet seats such as this one:



Isn't it luverly? The epitome of 'homespun' elegance Maybe just maybe I'll make the top 10

 

Oh boy, a bunch of sunshine and rainbows in here. My only wonder is who is going to stable us and feed us in the future, robots? Technology and advancement and ease of life is great and all but as I'm sure you have all noticed the increase in non-verbal communication avenues in the younger generation seems to be assisting an exponential rise in autism and other less apparent social disorders. I have noticed this phenomenon in my younger brother to a degree, the boy is deathly afraid of talking on the phone and in public he would never strike up small talk with a stranger just to pass the time unless he knew that strangers phone number and could text them. I can see how this type of behavior is likely to progress to even more intovertism.
As far as the religion aspect of the discussion goes, I have my own beliefs that I am quite firm in as are all of you. I have some major issues with most of christianity/ organized religions is that it breeds hatred, judgmental attitudes and in some cases even racism. I am a strong proponent of the belief that everyone is entitled to their own religious view and understanding and I am in no position to judge or criticize anyone for theirs. One of my problems with people in religious groups is the fact that they are often the most judgmental and closed-minded people that you will ever meet, which is funny because it specifically says in the bible judge not others and there is even a parable written about criticizing someone for having a splinter in their eye when you have a substantial tree stuck in your own. If you flip to the religious channel I would bet you my spare set of wheels in less than 10 minutes the guy talking will list off someone who is damned, going to hell, or some "immoral" action to avoid. It is comical and ironic that you can find the most hate filled people inside a church. Try this experiment if you like go into any church and ask for someone's opinion on gay marriage or ask them how they feel about X other religion and listen to the response you receive. To be christ-like as many proclaim they are should mean that you have no ill feelings towards others and love them in the same way that you love a dear friend even though they may have conflicting beliefs that is what most people in churches do not understand.
Another thing that is that the greater majority in organized religions is that the congregations are made up of people who cannot think for themselves, sheep. Some are very clever sheep and memorize speakers and sermons and regurgitate them back as their own but there are very few who actually come up with original ideas most just sit and blindly listen to whatever is being spoken to them that day and make no effort to research or fully explore the facts behind what their speaker is saying.
The last thing that I will add to my rant is the fact that when christ was on this earth he was actually pretty subtle about it most of the time and never seemed to want to force anyone to do anything. So, why is it that many groups have formed recruiters that go out and regurgitate and spout out everything that they have been told and if you do not feel like listening to them often times they become distraught and damn you to hell.
Back to technology in my current job I am often forced to wonder if we are doing too much to prolong "life" in individuals a few weeks ago I met a young girl and if not for the care of others and machines she would not be around. This young woman would not have disturbed me so much but it was the fact that she had never talked never expressed a single thought and never done anything for her family other than being a nice plant that they had created that they water and feed each day. This person's quality of life in my opinion was very poor and there was absolutely no way that this person was going to improve ever but as long as medical professionals were around it is reasonable to assume that she will continue to consume space and resources for another 23 years or more. Another example is a lady that came in and was brain dead she would not gag no matter what went in her throat or trachea and you could stick however many cue tips in her eyes as you wanted and she would not blink but the family insisted that she remain on the ventilator and that we keep her circulatory system going by using medications to regulate every sense of it. Examples like these cause me to ask myself how much is too much? and how many resources time and money is being wasted that could possibly be better spent on things other than making grandma invincible and "living" forever.

 

KD, that is truly a work of art and beautiful. Theme wise, hmmm, not really my bag I'm afraid but it represents lots of hard work. As Doug18 says, who am I to criticise anyones beliefs and I wouldn't even attemp to. Artifacts of art and beauty (even for a heathen engineer like me ) can be appreciated.

 

Hi Doug18, it appears we are on similar wavelengths on religious beliefs etc.

As time elapses the 'bots' (robots) will become 'smarter' and they will fulfill many roles which today seem impossible to achieve or even imagine. Think back to air travel, who would have imagined two centuries ago that humans would travel 10K miles virtually at the speed of sound for a vacation in some far flung country whisked there in a luxury jet powered aeroplane in a few hours they would have executed or sectioned you for even mentioning such a ridiculous idea.

As far as technology goes, medically we are seeing involuntary euthanasia even today but mostly the old and vulnerable. Many young people with severe disabilities wouldn't have survived 50-70 years ago without advances in medical sciences. I am of the opinion, and I restate it is solely MY opinion, that it is very questionable whether we should be saving any young person with medical science to live out their entire life as a 'vegetable' being totally dependent on carers or others. I'm afraid though I couldn't make that judgement and prefer to wimp out of being the decider on that subject.

When it comes to the youth of today, I believe they have already lost the powers of communication unless it's virtual and they will increasingly do so. Even in what I consider a third world like France every kid has a smart phone and they sit there texting or whatever each other and they are only 3 feet apart, nobody even bothers to speak.

Touching on 'modern' ailments like autism, dyslexia et al, I'm afraid I have very controversial opinions which many don't like or subscribe to. To wit, I don't believe these ailments actually exist. I believe they are the invention of the world of politically correct to envelope and include the uneducated, dim, thick or plain stupid who are often also a disruptive underclass in many cases. It is used as an excuse invented by the authorities to 'class', 'categorise' and 'pigeon hole' an element of society with which they are unable to deal with, hence the exponential rise in these modern 'ailments'. Again, that is MY opinion, yep, a bit brutal, but possibly true, but nobody, particularly their relatives who are equally to blame, will ever admit to this theory or explanation. When asked about this subject and I express my views it usually creates havoc and it sticks in the craw of many, c'est la vie.

 

There are quite a few modern "ailments" and diagnoses that could possibly be attributed to evolutions in the world of parenting as well.

The only thing that really worries me about my future, besides my toaster becoming self-aware of course, Is the mass implementation of autonomous cars. It is worrying to wonder if non-automated cars may become illegal on roads because they may be deemed a hazard and unsafe. Being that I am an avid gear head it would be devastating news. I mean in a world where F1 cars are hybrids is this thought so out of reach?

 

lol.. too homespun for my tastes But I do like to give gifts... I'm the continual joker It's in my nature.