The Exponential Era (thought experiment)

[Visionary (David)]

How will history describe the era in which we live? After considerable reflection, I believe we live in an era that history will describe as the "Exponential Era". Every graph, be it population, energy consumption, real estate prices (lol) displays an upwards exponential curve. The exponential curve highlights the Damoclesian danger that confronts us, no system is sustainable if its growth is exponential.
We have passed (I believe) any single description of our times, we can no longer be limited to a single descriptor ie: The Steel Age, the Bronze Age etc: We need a term, a description that embraces the many facets of the times in which we live.
What is the considered view of Icer's? Is the description "Exponential Epoc" a solid description of our times? Can you think of a better description? Please give reasons for your "Age" description and why it categorizes these times in which we live.

[speach (Simon)]

Every "era" has had an upward growth curve. We have always had to grow if the curve straightened out that would lead to stagnation and then a downward curve, leading to the the end of us. If you can find away for the population to stay viable and not have growth you would start a new economic philosophy and that would be excellent.

[el_draco (Rom)]

A couple of possibilities:
The Era of insanity
The Era of ego
The Era of obesity
The Era of the inane
The last Era of man

Gawd... what a bleedin mess.

[xelasnave]

The era of peace and prosperity.
alex

[Visionary (David)]

The Era of Obesity has brought forward the time of Peace & Prosperity, we are too fat to fight!

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by Visionary

The Era of Obesity has brought forward the time of Peace & Prosperity, we are too fat to fight!

Ahh, too old as well. The next 40 years could be referred to as:
"When everything changed."

The population peak of the boomers will be dying off, as well as populations in Africa and less developed nations exploding, with people there not dying at the young end of life because of better access to the food and medication that we take for granted.

I saw one estimation that predicted that Africa's current population of one Billion will surge to 4 Billion in the next 50 years, whilst the population of Europe will remain at 1 Billion.

There are lots of other things that will change as well, but I will stop for now!

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by speach

If you can find away for the population to stay viable and not have growth you would start a new economic philosophy and that would be excellent.

Most animal species do exactly this, as long as we don't show up to wipe them out.

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

the technological age ; or
the computer age; or
(keeping in the theme of elements) the silicon age

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

the technological age ; or
the computer age; or
(keeping in the theme of elements) the silicon age

Umm... implants?

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

The era of peace and prosperity.
alex

I like your positive outlook Alex. The glass is always half full for you hey?

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by multiweb

I like your positive outlook Alex. The glass is always half full for you hey?

Not half full... full to overflowing

And as I said to a mate only two days ago...I wont be worrying about anything until the tanks start rolling down my street.

I often wonder how "we" will be viewed in the future and can appreciate the depth of the OP.

Will "we" be like the Romans and leave structures that future folk will speculate upon, and wonder about our society and our culture, then be given a reference of "era" where they seek to define and sum up all we represented in our short time in history.

Will they curse us for leaving half the planet glowing from nuclear waste and using all its resources.

Which of our beliefs or customs will be viewed as amusing or strange or even barbaric.

Will they laugh at our cosmology in a similar way to how we treat civilizations of the past.

Will we be the golden era where future folk wonder how we were able to perform, as then seen by them, wonderous feats, feed and supply billions with a huge range of goods.

Moreover will we survive any length of time or will some future species just refer to us as the era of humans much like we refer to the age of the dinosaurs.

alex

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

I often wonder how "we" will be viewed in the future and can appreciate the depth of the OP.

As a nation of fat spoilt kids chucking a tantrum because their biggest problems is that they got sick eating too many lollies. You're right. Life is good right now. Let's make the most of it. Back to our expensive hobby now...

[el_draco (Rom)]

Originally Posted by Visionary

The Era of Obesity has brought forward the time of Peace & Prosperity, we are too fat to fight!

Drones by any name... are still drones....

[Wavytone]

And a mass shooting in which 59 died and over 500 wounded is considered a ‘miracle’. According to none other than the POTUS.

[JA]

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

the technological age ; or
the computer age; or
(keeping in the theme of elements) the silicon age

If there had to be a name that would be it!

Best
JA

[Visionary (David)]

The Kardashian Epoc?

[raymo]

How about The Age of Extinctions? [especially in Australia].
raymo

[Visionary (David)]

Originally Posted by raymo

How about The Age of Extinctions? [especially in Australia].
raymo

That's entirely consistent with the notion of Exponential Era, exponential growth leads inexorably to extinction.

[raymo]

Simon was right about an upward curve being necessary, but before
technology arrived that curve was very slight, as for many centuries
people lived pretty much as their forbears had, and things like life
expectancy and population sizes changed little. That has changed radically since the industrial revolution, and now we are on a wheel that is
spinning too fast for us to jump off, so I imagine that eventually we
will be thrown off by one catastrophe or another.
raymo

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

All it would take was a serious coronal mass ejection to hit us. It would take a decade to restore the power grid. Currently it takes 2 years from order to delivery of a big transformer.
Picture how long it would take when every country in the world needs to replace them all at once, and the factories that make them don't have power either.