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

[Jacco]

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.

 

[Krantos]

depends what you mean by "our time." I think history will look on the 20th Century as the Golden Age of the USA. Our prosperity, influence, etc. is waning now, just like the British Empire's did.

As for the current century, about all we know now is that the world is facing an economic crisis, with only a few developed countries unaffected.

 

[latiasracer]

I Don't think so. Hundreds of wars, Major Pollution - Yep we have really Balls'd up this time.

The Golden age will be when we get spaceships, Really cool ones!

 

[pppppppppppppppppp]

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.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

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.

I don't think I would call this a golden age though. Not because the 90's were or, the 80's but because I don't think a golden age can be considered a golden age unless it is completely good for society or, civilization as a whole.

The world isn't completely screwed, even if many believe it is but, the world isn't nearly perfect either. It never will be either since every organism would view a golden age differently but I think I may be thinking too big now.

I wouldn't even call this a golden age for any given entertainment industry. The 1980's was a great decade for film and metal. The 1990's was a great year for hip-hop and video games. The aughts (00's) weren't terrible either.

I really don't think we're in a golden age though. But hey, maybe by the time I'm Eleventy-One I'll get on the extra-net and read about how great the beginning of The New Millennium was. It seems weird thinking about it...someday people could be talking about how great the year 2011 was or, 2012.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

20th Century, possibly a Golden Age. 21st century? I don't think so.

 

[willsham45]

Maybe to someone.

No time is really called a golden age. I have a feeling it may just end up as being know as the time the economy when to shit again.

 

[Comando96]

Depends what happens.

1) If the world keeps going then we will be viewed clearly as the beginning of a great golden age of humanity.

2) If we nuke each other we will be viewed as self destructive fools who educed our own destruction for reasons morbid curiosity.

3) If we lead ourselves down the path of ruin via peak oil and climate change being real leading to social, economic collapse then we will will be viewed as short sighted spoilt, debortuaristic (New word!) fools who did not heed the warnings there were in plain view.

1) A Golden Age
2) The Sunset on Humanity
3) A Golden Age not reaped but prostituted.

 

[baconbaby299]

Technology is advancing. 20 years a go it would be inconceivable to have a device the size of a raspberry that can sing you 1000's of songs at your will. 100 years ago a system of fibre-optics linking the entire worlds information would be a thing of stories.

On top of that, war. World War 1 was the second worst war (in terms of deaths and damage) to ever happen, and brought new technology. The first is of course World War 2 which introduced lots of new weaponry and ultimately ended in the discovery of fission as Hiroshima will tell you.

And luxuries, at this rate fossil fuels will run out in the very foreseeable future unless we do something, but by not doing anything we give ourselves amazing lifestyles with computers, televisions, music, light and heat in one room. Maybe we don't do anything and people look back and think, "Wow, I wish I lived then". Or maybe we do something along the lines of Buzz Lightyear's quote in the original Toy Story where we "discover crystallic fusion". In which case we'll probably keep advancing at a faster an faster pace.

In conclusion I do believe we are in a golden age, in the year 200BC nothing much would haver changed by 100BC. But in (around) the last 100 years we've perfected Flight, Fission, Fibre-Optics, Genetic Engineering, Automatic Weaponry, Rockets, The Internet, Space Travel, Satellites, Advanced Radio, Mass Media and the iPhone 4S.

 

[Velvo]

20th Century, possibly a Golden Age. 21st century? I don't think so.

I'd say I agree with this mostly... but.

Note that OP uses terms like "Greek" and "Roman" to describe past golden ages. They are localized in space as well as time. I doubt Finland was having such a golden age at the time. In this time period, the world is much more homogeneous in terms of economic and technological prowess than it was those many ages ago. To speak of a golden age, in say, the United States during the 20th century may be accurate, as it saw the US go from a land of great swaths of wilderness and global indifference to a land of incredible affluence and presence on the world stage.

In the United States, the 20th century saw such advances as theoretical physics, flight, mass hygiene, mass production, the rise of the middle class, vaccine programs, computer and technology booms, educational reforms (in fact, basically the entire public education system was born in the 20th century) and labor rights reforms. It was a time when the average man or woman was suddenly given immense freedom, and the average education of a person dramatically increased, worldwide.

The 21st century seems to be showing signs of a growing gap between the rich and the poor in the US, which has always signaled the stagnation and corruption of any civilization. However, there are many amazing technologies which are being developed, many of which will blow our minds through our skulls. If you can't call that progress, I don't know what you could.

Perhaps the 21st century will be a golden age for other civilizations though. India, China, the Middle East, maybe parts of South America, they all have the potential to create amazing culture and practical ideals if they merely work out their social problems.

Or maybe we will make first contact with an invading species and it will all be over. Who knows?

 

[Terminate421]

No, It'll be the dark ages. The age in which trolls run rampant and people hack other people "4 teh lulz"

EDIT: Wait....I thought this was for the golden age of the internet. Woops.

Probobly not, we haven't done much other than deal with a shitty economy.

 

[dietpeachsnapple]

We are in a period of exponential technological advancement. Some regions of the world have almost obliterated hunger and real strife, leaving only the angst due to social structures (politics, illusions of class mobility, etc.). We still have a ubiquitous and affordable fuel source we use for EVERYTHING (gasoline). The end of our golden age could happen a few ways. Very Roman, as we tear ourselves apart politically (domestic or foreign). The loss of our luxuries due to the loss of that ubiquitous fuel source would disrupt our systems from food distribution to worker commute. I am sure there are other ways, but these feel particularly palpable.

(A better golden age would be if the ENTIRE world shared those luxuries. That is another age from now I think.)

 

[Greatjusticeman]

Maybe.

I think we are on the precipice of either a great change, or things being fixed and staying normal.

 

[Codeman90]

I'm thinking less "golden age" and more along the lines of "The beginning of the end". Althought things are still going relatively....well I guess. Not as bad as they could be. This is going to be looked upon as the time when everything started going wrong.

 

[afroebob]

people always look at the generation before them as the golden age its human nature

 

[DarkRyter]

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.

Conversely, people also look back on the Greeks and Romans as Jesus killing, boy lovers.

People will not look back on our time as a golden age, because they will be robots and thus, have no programming allowing for value judgements and/or idioms such as "golden age".

 

[Dr Snakeman]

Well, that depends on how much worse or better life gets in the future, now doesn't it? If we create Skynet and the machines take over, then the present day will look pretty good to our children. But if we solve all of our problems and all becomes well with the world, then our current lives will look pretty crappy in comparison.

In all likelihood, though, it won't be either one. The present day won't be a "Golden Age", it'll just be an... age. Just like all the others. History isn't a chronicle of things getting better or worse over time, it's just a record of the stuff that happens.

 

[LordFisheh]

I tend to think that people will see our time as the brink of massive technological change. maybe they'll wonder what it was like to be there as things swept forward, or what it was like to be one of those left behind.

But then again, everyone wants to see their own time as special, our current time could be a meaningless dead end.

 

[WarpZone]

If you're talking about the Information Age, I'd say the Golden Age was about ten to fifteen years ago. Now it's just the inevitable slow decline as companies consolidate and cut corners while raising the prices. Those of you older than me might remember when the airline industry was hip and sexy and could afford to hire all the best young talent and every flight was like some kinda amazing catered party in the sky. Now it's just a bus service with wings.

You could argue that it's already happened to the games industry, but I dunno, we'll see if one more big technological advancement comes along to put AAA quality into the hands of Indie studios. Barring something like that, yeah, I suspect the games industry might be past its prime, too.

Ultimately it depends on how you define an "Age." I'd call the Youtube phenomenon stagnant, but stable, for example. Hardly in decline, but perhaps past its peak of cultural relevancy.

The good news is if technological advances keep accelerating as they have historically, we probably have some interesting new ages to look forward to within our lifetimes. But I think the golden age of free speech on the internet is drawing to a close. If the freedom-hating conservatives in this country don't kill it, the telecom lobby will. And once America changes a policy like that, all the other countries tend to follow suit.

It's been fun, guys.