

Ask HN: What are the biggest problems facing humanity? - gamechangr

What obstacles, if over come, would have the greatest impact?
======
phantom_oracle
Start simple, with the problems around you...

Hunger, conservation, disease, drinking water and dare I say it: war

There is no incentive to solve most of these issues, which is why there are so
many poor and hungry people in the world today.

If you only obtain info from HN, escape it for a bit and read blogs about NPOs
doing work in Africa.

A little perspective on reality will help you realize how meaningless "free
internet" is when somebody is looking for $3 to buy some rice for his 2 kids
and wife each day.

~~~
calbear81
I don't think we should discount the ability for access to information to help
someone get out of their situation. For example, perhaps somebody could learn
how to grow food instead of waiting for a handout with the help of articles on
irrigation systems and crop rotation.

~~~
gamechangr
Original OP. I'm a US citizen that lived 5 years in the South Pacific. I
actually think you both have a point!

I watched how the rural area we worked in was dramatically transformed by
simple cell phones. Things like pregnant women previously had to make a 40
hour walk to town and now could call for emergencies.

But technology did not fix many problems. I did see 30 person extended
families dependent on one person earning money. Access to the internet
introduced new problems, like pornography, which made the locals have a major
increase in STD's.

Information is tricky.

~~~
calbear81
Can you elaborate on this: "pornography, which made the locals have a major
increase in STD's"?

I would have expected the opposite to happen once locals had an opportunity to
satisfy their needs. Did pornography teach them something new?

~~~
gamechangr
The introduction of Pornography significantly increased sexual activity,
especially among teenagers.

My company was the major supporters of the ambulance and free health clinics.
With the increase of cell phones the STD rate almost tripled within five
months (2.8 times more). There also was an increase in teen pregnancies.

We have forms that are require be filled out and one of the consist findings
was that "pornography (called many names but usually just "naked pictures' )
shown in the villages were "increasing sexual activities". I'm sure a
researcher could break that down more, but it was self reported and quite
consistent response.

------
manidoraisamy
1) I think most people are stuck with mundane career based on the choice they
made, when they were 16. Finding their interest/potential today and matching
with opportunities could change the economic landscape completely.

2) Increasing conflict between nationalistic and religious ideology is a
problem with fear appeal. While country's representatives are elected by
people with healthy criticism, religion's representatives are accepted through
faith. This creates leadership vacuum to resolve conflicts (or misguided
leadership that causes more conflicts).

------
thanley
A lack of empathy for other people. Hopefully an increase in connectivity with
help to bridge that gap. I don't think I am truly empathetic to the struggles
of the people that produce the goods I use everyday. It is also nearly
impossible to abstain from using the things they produce. So would empathy be
paying a much higher price so they can live a better life? I'm not sure.

------
meeper16
Extending human lifespan to a very large degree, only then can we travel
through deep space after finding other inhabitable planets.

------
cyberjunkie
Poor mental health, which indirectly affects everything from the jobs they do,
how they treat one another, poor health habits, everything...

------
petervandijck
The large majority of people get fairly shitty education.

Global warning will cause tons of problems, lots of them food supply related.

------
ChrisGranger
In addition to the other comments, I'd say generation of enough clean/green
energy to meet our growing needs.

------
SamReidHughes
Automatic translation, high speed local transportation, an education system
that doesn't crush souls.

------
alansmitheebk
I'd say global warming, facism, and religion.

~~~
Varkiil
Please, tell us how those are obstacles. I am intrigued.

~~~
alansmitheebk
with respect to climate change, global warming is a threat to our entire
ecosystem. In the coming decades, governments around the globe will face
unprecedented national security threats mounted by flooding, extreme weather
storms, scarcity of fresh drinking water, and shrinking food supplies.
Countries that lack the resources or political will to act now may be visited
by great tragedies. Natural catastrophes and famines driven by climate change
may cause future wars and revolutions.

With respect to Fascism, the countries we used to refer to as "The Free World"
have become Orwellian police states. This is much more than a privacy issue or
a national security issue. We are headed towards a world where dissent is no
longer possible. As governments continue to spy on literally all of their
citizens, the types of non-violent protests and civil disobedience which
helped bring about the end of the Vietnam war and racial segregation in the US
will be proactively contained. Potential protesters will be identified,
harassed, and intimidated long before the target dates of their planned
protests. Heavily armed and violent paramilitary groups will occupy potential
arenas of demonstration in the run up to events such as political and economic
conventions. Meanwhile, the media will whip the public into a paranoid frenzy
over "terrorists planning to attack" these events.

With respect to religion, the Middle East will continue to fight wars driven
by religious fanaticism. I refer not just to radical Islamists, but to
Christian fundamentalists and Zionists (both Christian and Jewish). In the
Catholic spheres of influence, overpopulation and AIDS will continue to be a
problem because use of condoms is discouraged. In the US, major policies which
affect the environment and the fate of other nations will continue to be
driven by morons who believe that the Earth is 10,000 years old and that the
rapture is coming.

~~~
gamechangr
>What are the biggest problems facing humanity?

It seems a little bit of a stretch to answer with "the Catholic Church" and
"Zionist Christians" and even more surprising that you would group them with
"radical Islamists"? Really?

I noticed you mentioned religion instead of what I typically think of as
larger problems like, for example, global poverty, water shortage, and
disease? I guess I should ask, do you consider global poverty a bigger threat
than the catholic church?

Global Warming sounds right on though. Thanks for sharing your point of view,
hope to hear more.

