Poll: Do you think history will look on our time as a golden age?

[Saltyk]

I'd say they'll look at the 70s-90s as a golden age. Before that we had struggles against social injustice, and I think it's all downhill from here, but 70s was the shiz.

Wow. 5 comments in and someone already proves what I wanted to say.

While we don't see this as anything close to a golden age, in the future, I'm certain people will. We've advanced more in the last 100-200 years than we have in pretty much the entirety of recorded history. I think history will view our time as a sort of Second Renaissance. With our advancement in technology, as well as social issue (it wasn't that long ago that women and minorities couldn't vote in America), as well as our understanding of the universe, it will likely be seen as a Great Awakening or something along those lines.

So, no. I wouldn't be surprised if people in the future view our age as a "Golden Age". Despite all the bad and terrible things that go on, such as war, natural disasters, famine, social injustice. Because in this age, for probably the first time in history, people can do something about it. The world is a lot smaller than it used to be. Communications across vast distances are possible. Even being aware of the things going on in places like Libya and Haiti is a great deal more than people could do just a few hundred years ago. And all those bad things did happen before. And they'll still happen 1,000 year into the future.

The bottom line is this. We may think today is a terrible time, but the people of the future will see our society and it's rapid advancement as a great time. And the problems will be seen as small concerns and hiccups along the way to our advancement.

 

[Scarim Coral]

The only time I would view "our time" as an golden age would be early 00's when products like broadband, Imac, mobile phones etc were new and amazing, pretty much before the birth of troll and the other bad stuffs.

 

[Agayek]

I really couldn't say...I mean we could be living in a golden age. As a species we're working on treatments, drugs and, cures for things like cancer and AIDs (the later was actually cured I think...) Not to mention a non-surgical drug that dramatically slows aging and, others that can keep people from needing to sleep

AIDS is nowhere near a cure. There's a vaccine (ie, it's useless if you already have the disease) that works on one specific strain of AIDS, and no one is sure how long it will continue to be effective. Just like the last half dozen vaccines.

HIV evolves at such a staggering rate that any treatment for it is relatively quickly rendered obsolete. We're making progress against it, but any time we make definitive strides, it evolves in a matter of weeks and whatever progress we've made is undone. HIV is simply too good at its job for us to cure AIDS anytime soon.

As for the OP:
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the late 20th century is regarded as a Golden Age a couple of centuries down the line. It was a world-wide era of relative peace and prosperity.

The 21st century, on the other hand, is likely to be regarded as the end of said golden age. It all depends on whether or not (and how well) we recover from the current economic and social crises that have sprung up all around the globe. However it ends though, the only thing I'm relatively certain on is that it will be marked as the beginning of China's rise as a global superpower.

 

[Wushu Panda]

I think Golden Age would be a bit too much.

It probably will be seen as an age when technology grew exponentially at the time. When humans could not control themselves and started manufacturing new devices every several months (looking at cell phone development). But if they look at the larger picture, they will note how we were selfish and neglected solving any real issues.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

I believe that we are seeing the decline of the west and the beginnings of the rise of the east as the dominant power. look at the recession, the hardest hit countries are all in the west and we are showing little sign of it getting better any time soon, while in the east there economy is getting stronger. We live in a world that is not really dominated by who's military is the strongest any more but rather who has the most economic power and influence.
It's nice to see the optimism in this thread and i hope to god you are all right and i'm wrong but i think progress will stall soon as once again it comes down to money. People are not willing to invest in radical new technology if they cant see an immediate return on that investment. Until we get the economy back on track then we will see less and less money going to scientific endeavours here. By the time we start to invest and get going again we will be behind the curve while in the east with there better economy and more money they will be forging ahead.
There are other things too but this is post is rapidly turning into a wall'o'text so i'll leave it at that.
History is written by the guy with the biggest stick so in conclusion i think that from the view of the west we will look back on this time as the beginning of the end of our rule and from the east then it will be seen as the dawning of a golden age.

Captcha: diedtab political

Captch...you are starting to freak me out dude

 

[Mr.PlanetEater]

Depends on how things go, if movements like the Arab movements and Occupy Wall Street continue to gain support and influence. We may in time look on this age as a silver age, especially for America, i.e. a time where while things weren't always perfect great strides were made towards true equality. Heck if these movements continue the way they are, we may look back on the mid 2000s as the disproving of Capitalism, much like the mid 1900s was the disproving of Stalinist/Leninist Communism.

 

[Furioso]

Sure we had major technological advances, but to what end? So we can watch "The Situation" get even orange-er in HD? No way in hell I would say its a golden age for anything... except Ben and Jerry flavors

 

[Jedoro]

No, because a show like Jersey Shore actually lasted a complete season.

 

[NoOne852]

After wagering the pros and cons, I think instead of progress, we've made congress. :B
/end bad joke

To be serious though, it's not really a golden age, but we have made some advancements. It seems we are getting closer to some break-throughs, but I can't say we will get them soon.

 

[spartan231490]

We look back on history and see times like the Romans and Greeks as golden ages because of the level of progress and development they harbored.

So do you think our time will be seen by future humans as a golden age?

Edit: I was thinking more along the lines of humans in general with our development of electricity, advances in technology, medicine, aeronautics, etc.

Interesting comparison, considering what happened to the Romans. I expect that future humans will see this as the calm before the storm of self-destruction that is to come.

 

[TheVioletBandit]

It depends on what the future is like. If the future is really bad in comparison to now then yeah of course they'll look back at this period as a golden age, but if it is drastically better than now it may be seen as a primitive stepping stone to that future.

This is the answer.

 

[I.N.producer]

I like to think of now as a yellow age. Not gold, but it's trying despite some glaring flaws. I think a golden age is on the way in the fairly near future.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Yes, since i am very pessimistic about our ability to stay alive and happy at said time point

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

There has certainly been a lot of technological advancements in the last 10 years alone and if anything, we'll be remembered for that.

 

[Korolev]

Depends on how the future turns out. If science advances to a point at which we can cure most diseases, treat an even more impressive array of cancers, replace missing limbs and organs with fully functional prosthetics (bionic limbs, bionic eyes, that sort of thing) or to a point in which energy becomes more available and languages are nearly instantly and accurately translatable, then no, the current modern period will be looked at by our ancestors much in the same way we view the 15th Century. As backward and horrible.

But if it all goes horribly wrong (which it might), then it will be looked on as a golden age. Many of you would scoff at this, but we've never had it better. Seriously. What, you think people 300 years ago were all well-fed and never fought in any wars? That people weren't racist and bigoted in the past? That diseases weren't around in the past? In the past, not only did you die sooner, not only was there NO forensic technology worth a damn (so if the merry police wanted you in jail, there was almost nothing you could do about it), not only was polio, plague, and smallpox rampant, unless you were born a king or an aristocrat, chances are your life sucked big time. The vast majority of humans had absolutely NO access to education, clean water, and effective medicine didn't even EXIST back then! If you went to a 16th century "doctor" because you had cancer, they'd probably claim that your "humours" were "out-of-balance" which would require draining blood or lymph in order to "rebalance" you.

Yes, the modern world has a lot of problems. There are a lot of poor and starving people in this world, with no access to the finer things in life. But go back 50, 100, 200 or more years ago, and you know what? THINGS WERE WORSE. MUCH WORSE. So people are starving in Africa. Think they weren't starving 400 years ago? So what if there are wars in Afghanistan or Iraq? There have ALWAYS BEEN WARS IN THOSE REGIONS. Ever heard of the Assyrian empires? The Phoenicians? Know why they aren't around now? Because they got stomped on by invaders. That's why. There isn't a SQUARE INCH of earth on this land, except for a few islands here and there, and Antarctica, that hasn't been taken over, conquered, re-conquered, liberated, conquered again, invaded, assimilated, broken down and re-assimilated. We have fought for ALL of our history, and that's a fact.

The past.... bah. The past was worse than what is happening now with this world. In every single way. Things are bad now.... but go back in time and things were worse. At least now we know enough science to begin to work towards lasting solutions. Extinction was always a possibility for humanity. Science is the only, I repeat, ONLY way to avoid extinction.

If the current trend of progress continues, this period will be looked upon as the turning point of humanity. The point in which we finally begin to master ourselves and our world and ensure our survival. If the current trend does not continue, this period of time will be looked upon as a period of hope, even if that hope was ultimately misguided. Let's all hope for the former, rather than the latter.

 

[Do4600]

This is not a golden age, it is certainly an age of important transition however.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Depends on how shitty the future will be.

You ninja'd me. Yeah, if things get really, truly shit after this period of time, then it probably will be.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Science is the only, I repeat, ONLY way to avoid extinction.

While I get the point you're coming from, science is showing that all life as we know it will go extinct in the extreme long run (relative to a human lifespan). Long-distance space travel to another, suitable system is most almost certainly impossible and our sun is going to gutter out and die billions of years from now; just for starters.

So no, we cannot avoid extinction; not even with SCIENCE.

 

[Hollock]

I have no idea. It might get waaay better in 100 years, and we could seem backwards and dark as shit then.