Saturday, August 10, 2024

A Genuinely Long Term Prediction

 



There’s your inflation of the future.  The danger of climate change will cause loss of life with corresponding negative impacts from the direct and observable effects - the severe weather and temperatures.  I still have yet to see something that puts together such an estimate that includes the impact of misinformation and how the grifters don’t care about the future.  Even if the shrinkage from grift is included a reasonable annual figure for economic loss is a third of annual global GDP.

The “end of the world” rhetoric from conspiracy theorists is just a marketing ploy.  Humans as a species are remarkably resilient, and the calculation to figure out what happens in the future is extremely difficult.  The seeds of that 1/3rd loss were planted long ago, and nurtured by the fertilizer of bullshit that is misinformation.  Every major advance in communication has driven a corresponding uptick in the spread of wrong information.  And that’s to the point where we’re now at a “I’m going to take your stuff and there’s nothing you can do about it” elected official attitude.  And make no mistake, the vast majority of that is driven by gung ho conservatism and capitalism - an unholy marriage great for a decent lifestyle in the developed world, assuming you were born with the right skin color and lucky enough to be from a family with some legacy money to pass on.

Here we are, still barely putting a dent into the misinformation explosion from the internet and we soon will have to put up with its younger and prettier sister, AI.  The scammers are chomping at the bit for the tech companies pouring billions into AI research with some vague promises of AI solving all our problems, including climate change, to give them new toys to take your stuff.  And the right wing grift machinery will do what they’ve always done - blame everyone but themselves for their brutally obvious hypocrisy.  Because it works.  The happy balance between conserving what works because it deserves to be conserved with absorbing the social impacts on an ever increasing population of poor people.  Economic slavery substituting for direct shackles and chains.

The bad news is that your leaders don’t want you to be well off and educated.  The poorer and dumber you are the better you will fit in with the real New World Order.  Competition for resources will substitute who is a better taker for who is better at making something useful people want as they can only afford what they absolutely need.

By 2050, I expect that climate change won’t be solved but we’ll settle for mitigation.  A short term plugging the leak, that is short term of generations as opposed to a real solution hundreds of years down the road.  Our resilience is unlikely to allow extinction, but we’ve learned to complain about what we hate today a lot in the Industrial Age.  Within this, the future of gematria and other internet nonsense will always have a place.  The negative impacts of misinformation on education and mental health - not being able to afford necessities while being dangled a carrot that you never quite reach.

And if I’m wrong, no big deal.  It’s a self correcting closed system.  Without direct intervention and input of effort something will give out.  There’s a really good chance a global economic collapse that makes 2008 look like a kids party will happen before a climate change mitigation unfolds.  I hope I get to see what the uber rich do for entertainment when hunting, golfing and boating aren’t fun anymore.  Joining skiing in the dead pastimes that aren’t worth being involved in anymore.  

If one is serious about mitigating the upcoming economic trauma, it’s pretty clear where to start.  The hero worship of obvious criminality needs to end now.  Enjoying your two digit gematria numbers today will be little help in a hyperinflation future.

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