jwm@STDC.JHUAPL.EDU (Jim Meritt (381-3551)) (04/12/90)
>> EVERYONE on this list has access to more raw power, more information, >> better food, better housing, more comfort,.... than any of the Roman >> emperors. > > Absolutely true. However, one has to question to what extent all of >these benefit us. e.g. our "better food" and more comfort have led to a >lifestyle that is distinctly unhealthy- witness the prominence of heart >disease and stress symptoms that are incurred in earning these things. Check expected lifespans now and five hundred years ago and your question will be answered. > Furthermore, there is no doubt that the resources that support these >things are taken from the third world at ripoff prices. An obviously false statement. Not if it happens or not, but that there is doubt. Since I have seen people disagree with your statement, there exists doubt. Perhaps you mean YOU do not doubt? > I'm not suggesting a cataclysmic end to this situation, but there is >no doubt that the hugely wasteful techological lifestyle that we lead in the >West has to be moderated. You seem to love saying "no doubt" as though it lends truth to your statements. A shame it doesn't. Jim
pmorriso@gara.une.oz.au (Perry Morrison MATH) (04/13/90)
In article <9004121323.AA13770@stdc.jhuapl.edu>, jwm@STDC.JHUAPL.EDU (Jim Meritt (381-3551)) writes: > > Absolutely true. However, one has to question to what extent all of > >these benefit us. e.g. our "better food" and more comfort have led to a > >lifestyle that is distinctly unhealthy- witness the prominence of heart > >disease and stress symptoms that are incurred in earning these things. > > Check expected lifespans now and five hundred years ago and your question > will be answered. Most of this is due to the simple application of common sanitary principles (don't throw your crap out the front door etc) and the 19th century technology of immunization. This is the major contribution to our extended lifespan, plus antibiotics. We would probably live even longer if we didn't pursue the unhealthy lifestyle I described earlier. Hence, some rather simple technologies have given us enormous health advantages that are to some extent squandered. > > Furthermore, there is no doubt that the resources that support these > >things are taken from the third world at ripoff prices. > > An obviously false statement. Not if it happens or not, but that there > is doubt. Since I have seen people disagree with your statement, there > exists doubt. Perhaps you mean YOU do not doubt? Phew! I don't see how this trivial comment contributes to the debate. But I can be trivial too. You refer above that I should check expected lifespans.... and that will answer my question. I didn't ask a question. I made a statement. Now wasn't that a neat noncontribution :-). Let's not be petty. > > > I'm not suggesting a cataclysmic end to this situation, but there is > >no doubt that the hugely wasteful techological lifestyle that we lead in the > >West has to be moderated. > > You seem to love saying "no doubt" as though it lends truth to your statements > A shame it doesn't. Sorry God. I should have recognized absolute truth in your own statements.