humanity
The evolution of humanity, from one advancement to the next.
Most Sadistic Cults of the 20th Century
"Don't drink the Kool-Aid" doesn't sound like such an important warning, but if the People's Temple followers in Jonestown would've been given this advice, over 900 lives would have been saved. Until September 11th, the largest loss of American civilian life occurred when cult members of the People's Temple ingested fruit punch that was laced with cyanide in a mass suicide. Cults are both fascinating and terrifying. Their mystery draws the attention of the public, but the often brutal and radical ways of cults instill fear. Some of the deadliest cults since the 1950's may not be the most well known, but their attacks were brutal, and their unconventional views attracted individuals to support their dangerous causes. As a result, when the 10:00 news asks, "Do you know where your children are?" you better hope they're not joining a cult with a 16-year-old who claims to be a 500-year-old vampire. Individuals of all ages join cults for many reasons; whether it is for friendship or identity, or as a result of pressure, people are constantly joining ranks among the masses to be part of a movement that they believe in. Since the 1930's, cults have been a primary subject in sociological study. Cults are made up of people from all walks of life, and are formed all over the world. The reasons why vary—from the belief that they themselves are vampires, to the idea that children born after 1981 must be terminated because they are evil.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
New Rose Hotel Bar
Hanging around in here seven hours now. New Rose Hotel Bar. Saturday night, and as always I drew every eye in the place the second I appeared. I paused and lounged against the door frame for maximum effect: Ten-gallon hat with twin rotating satellite dishes, gleaming mirrorshades, neon shirt at maximum power, its humming gas-filled glass tubes filling the bar with flickering light, flashing "CYBERSTUD!" in pin-wheeling letters of orange, purple, brown, setting off the latest Parisian fashion, recycled crushed-velvet Elvis jeans stuffed into cowboy boots of solid chrome.
By Jeffrey A. Corkern9 years ago in Futurism
Lucid Dreaming Is the Best Way to Probe the Unconscious Mind
I used to think I would stumble upon my lifelong interest through serendipity someday. I was waiting for the elusive AHA moment, and never thought to solicit my brain for the information. But now that I’ve asked and received an answer, I’m not sure what to do.
By Brian Stanton9 years ago in Futurism
Creepy Mind-Blowing Theories About the Universe
As children we are constantly questioning everything. Like 'how does that work' or 'where do babies come from?' The questions were endless and since then we’ve been ingrained to ask questions. As we get older, queries become more complex. For most people, one question stands out the most - the meaning of life. This question is more nebulous than just what is the meaning. Before we can even crack the surface of that question we need to answer a vast subset of inquiries first, like: is our reality even real? Why we are here? Are we alone in the universe? How did the universe begin? The answers to these questions, so far, are for the most part theories, but some can be explained by hypothesis and observations. There is much compelling evidence for each idea, but you certainly shouldn’t, for the sake of your sanity, take these theories as gospel. The following is an examination of the most mind-blowing theories about the universe that will make you question your entire existence.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
Who Will Survive the Next Biotic Crisis?
While the next biotic event is probably not in the near future, fossil records clearly testify that extinction is an unavoidable fate for all species. The real question remains: what is left in the wake of mankind? Our lineage is more likely to be altered through evolution than entirely snuffed out.
By Brian Switek9 years ago in Futurism
Why 3D Printing Will Change the World
1984, Orwell’s prophetic year of Big Brother, saw the release of the Mac which broke the idea that centralized control could ever be what it was before. That year also saw the first workable prototype for a 3D printer. Built by Charles Hull, the technology was then known as stereolithography. We know it as 3D printing, and that’s a term that covers a variety of different processes which may revolutionize all stages of the global manufacturing and distributing process. In that very science fictional year, Hull set off a revolution that is only now seeing fruition. 3D printing continues to threaten the social and economic structures which preceded it. When we speak about 3D printing, we’re speaking of a general technique of printing successive layers to form a three dimensional object at the end. From powder to paper to human tissue, these thin membranes are laid down like the construction of a plaster mask. From that simple concept, the 3D printer offers the reverse of Ford’s mass production revolution. Printing one item is now as cost effective in some cases as manufacturing a thousand items in the traditional way.
By Chris Lites9 years ago in Futurism
Ghosts Amongst the Stars
The old man sat on the rock near the top of the small hill as he had for many years now and watched the first stars begin to peek out of the deepening purple sky. The boy at his side, watched solemnly, as he had for most of his young life. They sit in silence.
By Futurism Staff9 years ago in Futurism
Freeman Dyson's Vision of the Future
Professor Freeman J. Dyson has been discussing mind-boggling concepts in a calm, matter-of-fact, one-should-expect way since 1956. 'One should expect that within a few thousand years of its entering the stage of industrial development, any intelligent species should be found occupying an artificial biosphere which completely surrounds its parent star.' It is his hobby he says disarmingly, something that grew up alongside his career as one of the finest mathematical physicists of the last century. To his former colleagues at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies, Dyson was known for his understanding of what goes on in the core of a star or in the interaction of high-energy beams of subnuclear particles—contributions that earned him the American Institute of Physics' Heineman Prize and the Royal Society's Hughes Medal.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
Is Technology Making Us Dumb?
It won’t be long before computers can think faster and better than humans. Artificial Intelligence exists, and it is getting smarter at an incredible rate. As so many focus on how well machines can think, alarmingly few people are concentrating on how well humans are thinking (or rather, how they aren’t thinking as well as they used to). A side effect of epic proportions has accompanied our ventures into superior technology. We have become inseparable from our computers and, as time goes on, we are relying on them for more and more of our daily cognitive functions. The brain needs exercise. When you don't use it often enough, your abilities deteriorate. The resources at our disposal are enabling us to perform more advanced tasks faster than ever before, but when it comes to plain old thinking, is technology making us dumb? The answer is two sided. On one hand, our ability to locate information is exponentially higher. On the other, we are retaining far less than we ever have.
By Chelsea Pullano9 years ago in Futurism
