What is wrong with this world?

[Lights]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

[Karamazov]

Quite a broad question there. Too many reasons and not enough time in which to list all them, since even more reasons pile on to the cumulative whole.

Out of all the ills that are wrought on this planet, It is in my humble opinion that the root cause can be attributed to just one thing: People don't like to think.

That's just me though

[Moriarty]

"Pale Blue Dot" echoes my frustrations pretty well.

[Avid]

Balance.

[redbaren]

I think this is what Moriarty means To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Lights]

I think this is what Moriarty means To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Wow, that is really beautiful.

[TheLastMohican]

Balance.

Is that what is wrong with the world, what is broken, what enrages you, or what you wish to see?

[mxdntz]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

Mindless following, group behavior and automatic influence. The amount of influence our emotions have on our perceptions and our inability to properly filter emotional stimuli is our biggest problem, but that is just my 2 sense.

[muguly]

Everybody is having no or bad sex, it makes people grumpy.

[Mogura]

People have been letting their emotions, namely selfishness and greed, get the better of common sense and logic.

I think I may have just given you the root cause.

What I would like to see in the world is more compassion, decency, and respect...

[Mozzes]

People just need to realize that no matter how bad their day was or how pathetic and insignificant their lives seem that, at the end of the day, we haven't been sucked into a black hole. That's something to be grateful for where I come from.

[Monte314]

The world is broken because our social structures are broken. Our social structures are broken because the people comprising them, universally, as individuals, are broken. The macro-problems are the natural outworking of THE micro-problem.

[Moriarty]

Why are people broken?

[DrEast]

Total depravity in every aspect of human nature.

[SevenOfSpades]

They do not have what they feel, or are told that they should?

[stasis]

Idealist analysis. Arrested specialization. Poor systems-thinking. Anti-intellectualism. Fear. People who try to farm innovation by conserving / restricting it.

[CaptainA]

Most of it is greed. Almost everyone wants more, when in fact we need less. Whether it is oil, money or just control. Another factor is religion which, whilst not a problem in itself it becomes a problem when those believers try to dictate to other religions and non-believers how they should run their lives and countries.

[Sean O]

What's wrong with this world, in my opinion, is that so few people seem capable of thinking for themselves, and that most people prefer to have a sugar-coated distortion of reality rather than see things for the way they really are.

[Avid]

Is that what is wrong with the world, what is broken, what enrages you, or what you wish to see?

All of those things really. I mean there are the other reasons people have listed (that I agree with) but I think the way stuff isn't carried out fairly or the systems not being balanced is the biggest problem for me. Hard for me to explain in a short way and if I typed up all the things I thought I doubt anyone would read it all.

[Mogura]

What's wrong with this world, in my opinion, is that so few people seem capable of thinking for themselves, and that most people prefer to have a sugar-coated distortion of reality rather than see things for the way they really are.

That could definitely explain the rampant drug use that is observed in most industrialized societies...

[jimmywho]

The fact that INTJs are not in charge

[Ligda]

Honestly, if we reformed the education system properly, in a couple generation's time there would be mass improvement. Not perfect, but a hellava lot better than our societies are today.

Problems begin at home. Dysfunctional families, poverty, emotional and physical neglect, abuse... the list goes on. Unfortunately, we can do little about it on a societal level due to the freedom we give people to let them do as they please in the privacy of their own home (except, of course, laws preventing abuse and other negative activities, but they still go on). I'm not implying that we create any laws that would infringe upon individual's freedom, we have enough of Big Brother doing that already. And in other cultures as well, despite what laws exist for each respective society, its nearly impossible for us to go in and have Dr. Phil reform every family that needs it. But, the cycle continues as it has been for centuries. However, the primary place where children attend outside the home is school. That's what we can control, at least to a much greater extent. If we can focus our attention on that, I believe it would do wonders.

I vote that we clone Monte a few hundred thousand times and have our children all taught by him. That would be definite mass reform in the positive direction. Monte, start learning the world's languages, your clones are going to be shipped off!

[Avid]

Honestly, if we reformed the education system properly, in a couple generation's time there would be mass improvement. Not perfect, but a hellava lot better than our societies are today.

Problems begin at home. Dysfunctional families, poverty, emotional and physical neglect, abuse... the list goes on. Unfortunately, we can do little about it on a societal level due to the freedom we give people to let them do as they please in the privacy of their own home (except, of course, laws preventing abuse and other negative activities, but they still go on). I'm not implying that we create any laws that would infringe upon individual's freedom, we have enough of Big Brother doing that already. And in other cultures as well, despite what laws exist for each respective society, its nearly impossible for us to go in and have Dr. Phil reform every family that needs it. But, the cycle continues as it has been for centuries. However, the primary place where children attend outside the home is school. That's what we can control, at least to a much greater extent. If we can focus our attention on that, I believe it would do wonders.

I vote that we clone Monte a few hundred thousand times and have our children all taught by him. That would be definite mass reform in the positive direction. Monte, start learning the world's languages, your clones are going to be shipped off!
ROFL, an army of Monte teachers. I approve this.

[ame]

we might be whats wrong with it from that perspective.
nature has its own perfect equilibrium of chaos and order combined. we're all about order. thats why its hard for us.

"Everybody is having no or bad sex, it makes people grumpy"
or it could just be that

[void]

Out of all the ills that are wrought on this planet, It is in my humble opinion that the root cause can be attributed to just one thing: People don't like to think.

That's just me though

Not just you. I vehemently second this.

Related to this is the fact that meritocracies are exceedingly rare.

[Lights]

I would say that what is fundamentally wrong with this world is that people don't live their own lives as they wish everyone else would live theirs.

Related to this is the fact that meritocracies are exceedingly rare.

A fine ideal, but one which eventually gives way to Social Darwnism and genocide of those "undesirables" who are without "merit". The question is who gets to decide what traits have "merit" and which ones do not? And what do we do with all those people who lack the defined qualities of "merit"? Should they be the enslaved labor force of those who have "merit", or perhaps we should simply take another page from history and execute them. How will you define merit? Personalities? Abilities? Does a person lose their merit if they get hurt or sick? What if an individual lacks the ability to labor for his own immediate needs, does that mean that person is without human worth?

[SimplyOtter]

I don't have an answer for the moment.
I really liked Stasis' one, so I will just agree with that.

You just made me think, Lights, that we need to stop more often with the same honesty, the same brave approach that you have used posting your simple question. And never forget about the pale blue dot, to always keep a sense of perspective.

Thank you.

[Sliderule]

what is wrong with this world?

It's full of people.

[ArchonAlarion]

The problem with the world is a lack of integrity in the vast majority of people.

From this arises emptiness, conformity, and docility.

The root of the problem is how we raise children.

[lisakki]

Philosophers and thinkers have debated this question for centuries, with no general consensus.

I think it's fine the way it is. Humans will always be humans, until we all die.

[Onotheo]

The real problem with this world is rampant mysticism that is a relic from the past of human infancy. It is a disease that should be vaccinated with the use of rationalism.

Mysticism - lack of confidence in making decisions from within and thus authority is required to provide answers. e.g. Use of the so called definitive guides for morality (holy books), Parasitic politicians, parasitic religious leaders, dumb role models (celebrities) etc. etc.

[Lights]

The real problem with this world is rampant mysticism that is a relic from the past of human infancy. It is a disease that should be vaccinated with the use of rationalism.

Mysticism - lack of confidence in making decisions from within and thus authority is required to provide answers. e.g. Use of the so called definitive guides for morality (holy books), Parasitic politicians, parasitic religious leaders, dumb role models (celebrities) etc. etc.

You mean critical thinking, not rationalism. You are sick of people using knowledge derived from authority, tradition, and popular media as opposed to empirical, evidence based sources. Reason alone is not the best way to collect and discern knowledge; scientific methodology combined with reasoning based in critical thinking is. Reason alone is too easily susceptible to individual and cultural biases and prejudices.

[Ool]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

Well, the main problem is, of course, that we’re all terminally ill and doomed to die. It is no one’s fault, of course, since the development of our minds as something that is more complex than the genetic material our bodies house is something that simply happened, but that doesn’t make it any less of the main problem of human existence.

That’s why religions’ main selling point is the scam of promising eternal life in an imaginary afterlife.

[Agile]

There is nothing wrong with the world, and nothing wrong with human nature, either. Humans are doing as they have been programmed to do. There are simply groups in humanity today that seek to dominate the masses, and the fact is, they have succeeded in doing that. First with religion, and now with governmental and financial manipulation. Those three things are what is 'wrong' with this world. Those three things, religious, governmental, and financial manipulation, cause 90% of the problems in the world.

However, the most important element in solving the "world's" problems, is responsibility. People today, doing, again, as they have been taught, are mostly blaming others and complaining about how the world is today--exercising their learned helplessness and continuing the cycle. Until this stops, the masses will be at the mercy of those who dominate them.

[releviau04]

I think there are too many ignorant people in the world that base their facts on listening to other ignorant people and not seeing the "big picture" fluently.....there are alot of "sheep" and wanna be "sheperds" that don't get their facts straight.....people are so gullible that they will listen and believe issues that are false (i.e. "because Jonny told me that the sky is pink, well it must be, I am just seeing things, its not really blue...., blah blah blah")

[BlackMita]

On a good day, I'll agree that there is nothing wrong with the world, and that all our troubles are a consequence of being human. But I allow myself to complain about the specific behaviors I have actually observed in people that have upset me personally. I consider the dark things I learn on the internet as well, since the anonymity it provides brings out remarkably honest material, things people won't express in RL.

Anyhow, what irks me most about the world I will state like this: Practiced thinkers are grossly outnumbered by those who either don't think, or think about the wrong things.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite saying that, because I haven't even bothered to really develop my own thinking and apply it to anything worthwhile. I don't see the point in it really. I'm afraid thinking is actually pretty fucking pointless. It's closely linked to language, which itself serves to communicate complexities to help resolve complexities. But why make all these complex problems for ourselves? Life is really simple -- it's a big mess that CAN'T be fixed.

I am really digressing here... is this even related to the topic? Feh. *posts anyway*

[DrEast]

The fact that INTJs are not in charge

Problem is, quite often we ARE. Not the puppets, but the puppeteers.

[void]

I'm afraid thinking is actually pretty fucking pointless. It's closely linked to language, which itself serves to communicate complexities to help resolve complexities. But why make all these complex problems for ourselves?

The ironing is delicious.

[MonkeyMind]

Greed is one of our main problems, I guess.

[Elsien]

Heavy topic, I could discuss many ideas regarding everyone's posts but i'm not sure I have enough room for a post that large.

Literally I could sit here and think about 1000's of things to say and ways to argue why they are bad for the Earth, and how they all tie in together.

Instead I will sum it up very shortly:
The need to communicate.
The beginning of human history has the basic concepts of the biggest problems today: Misunderstanding. Assumption of the negative. Acceptance of the bad. People that assume power (leading to corruption and abuse of many different things)
When we started to communicate on a verbal level instead of on a mental level it spawned Materialism.
Materialism is a good place to end my view on what is wrong with the world. Many many things come from the human desire to have something, weather it be a rock, a car, a multibillion dollar company, or speaking on terms of psychology: a certain chemical release in our brains. It all stems back to materialism. And I think (at least now) that Materialism originated when mankind started to communicate verbally.

[SongofSeptember]

That the human brain is far too developed for our own good. We think too much. This thread is evidence of that. Thought is deadly.

Human nature is selfish. That can't be helped. That combined with our intellect usually does not bring much good to the world.

Excuse me for being cynical, but that's just what I think.

[Colette]

There is nothing wrong with 'this world'. Rather, there is something wrong with 'us' in that 'we' are destroying it, and we won't stop in time to avoid that..

[SongofSeptember]

There is nothing wrong with 'this world'. Rather, there is something wrong with 'us' in that 'we' are destroying it, and we won't stop in time to avoid that..

I think you're thinking along the same lines as I am. You're thinking of the world as in the physical planet of Earth, while the original poster (if I'm not mistaken) and I are referring to the human world.

[Colette]

I think you're thinking along the same lines as I am. You're thinking of the world as in the physical planet of Earth, while the original poster (if I'm not mistaken) and I are referring to the human world.

Ah well who can blame him; he's a muddle-headed INFJ :p

I suspect I have little to contribute to that wider question. I'm only interested in things I can fix...or at least have a role in fixing, and I'm sure this broken old world isn't in the least susceptible to anything I can do to make it better..

[SongofSeptember]

Ah well who can blame him; he's a muddle-headed INFJ :p

I suspect I have little to contribute to that wider question. I'm only interested in things I can fix...or at least have a role in fixing, and I'm sure this broken old world isn't in the least susceptible to anything I can do to make it better..

That's how everything is. Pitiful, innit? :P

[LaoTzu]

...-lack of confidence in making decisions from within and thus authority is required to provide answers.

I have thought on this before and you reminded me of it. I have personally noticed that many people in my life seem to have a 'disapproving' view on my style of conduct in the world... My own mother even gets a look in her eye a smile a chuckle looks down her nose and says 'oh laotzu....' (I dont trust yall with my name :P )

Now I have always lived as I saw fit, and I push the limits of the 'ruleset' that people live thier lives by... Im no criminal or anarchist, and I live by the principle that I will not live in such a way as to disadvantage anyone along my travels. I just make my own decisions based on everything I have learned up to this point, and If I see bullshit, I call it by it's name.

Your comment made me put it together that most people seem to require that voice telling them where to go and what to do... and when they see deviation, it puts them at a sort of unease....


I agree with the entire premise that people are not living for the sake of living... they are in need, but dont know what it is they need.

I disagree that Religion is a bad thing, it's a great start to self realization.... just not the end of the process as too many fall victim to.

[Sliderule]

Thought is deadly.

Yes you're right Ignorance Is Strength.

[enWTFp]

It kills itself like a spoilt kid.

Dictionary:
Adj. 1. spoilt - having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention; "a spoiled child"

Internet = too much attention. We've always been the "helpful" mirrors for each other in Sartre style, but this hell was never so amplified that everything else disappears. Now we are locked in a room with mirror walls, completely blinding each other from what is real.

Those who aren't paralyzed are the fakers and the careless/mindless.

This "world", meaning the human kind, needs an objective challenge to shake everything up, and wake us up from the obsessive dream that the world = us. Creativity should not be oriented towards tricking each other, but towards tricking non-human opposition. Otherwise we'll turn the earth to be one big casino, full of mediocre minds, who govern it by force of multitude.

[SongofSeptember]

Yes you're right Ignorance Is Strength.

I don't know, that's pretty different. Thought is strong, isn't it? The more thought--or should I say, ability to achieve thought--you have, the stronger you are, the higher you climb. That's what makes it so deadly.

I wouldn't say ignorance is strength. But ignorance is bliss, that it is. In a world where you are more ignorant than everyone else, you will suffer. But the more ignorant you are, the number you will be to that suffering. The whole thing is a vicious cycle--in opposite directions. As much of an oxymoron that sounds like, isn't it true to some degree?

I suppose I've gone quite a bit out of the territory I usually dare to tread upon.

[Daniel]

Nothing. It is good as it is. Everything that exists, exists because there is a reason. Evolution my friends.

[Alexander]

There are many things wrong with the world but I assume you mean the big issues, such as poverty, war and environmental issues. I think humanity is fundamentally good and don’t think its greed, selfishness, stupidity or any other big ideas are the main causes of them.

One major problem as I see it is contemporary economic thought. Nearly everyone knows that as someone involved in economics focuses on maximizing monetary profit. Money is the only thing that matters and every other human emotion and desire are on the fringe (including self preservation via environmental preservation). A big one is the whole idea behind investment. In the investment world profit isn’t what matters; it’s an increase in profit. However there is only so far profit can be increased by what I would call moral means and after that you have to rely on less humanistic means. 1) Cheep labor done through using labor in less developed countries or lowering the standards of domestic workers. 2) Public relations (formerly known as propaganda until it was given a bad name by the Nazis in WW2). A good documentary on the early years of propaganda being used to sell products is “the Centruy of the Self” which you can watch on Google video. The basic idea is simple, get people to see buying things as a goal in life. Many people mentioned stupidity in one way or another I think this is a major cause of it. Billions of dollars are spent just in the US alone on the public relations industry, or to use different words, getting you, the consumer, to do what they want you to do. Namely, buy stuff and not care about other deplorable means used to increase profit.

As for war, it’s a spinoff of the above; US foreign policy. To just give one example, the conflict between Israel and Palestine. A vast majority of the US population (about 80%) supports and has supported UN resolutions to end the conflict by following the accepted international peace plan given by the UN. However the United States has continued to veto any resolution that recognizes Palestinian sovereignty. The Palestinian nation is almost completely destroyed at this point.

I don’t wish to come across a certain way so I’ll give a little disclaimer. It’s not that bad people decided to create bad economic and foreign policy. I think it’s just the progression of human civilization. Yes, bad decisions have been made but I see the world heading in an overall positive direction. The past was much worse than the present.

[reb]

what is wrong with this world? us. look in the mirror...this is what needs to be solved....for each of us.

[Avienne]

Overpopulation.

Humans are an animal species, and when there are too many competing for too few resources, things get ugly. Among other animals, usually the weak die off. Among humans, we have things like war, crime, and road rage.

I do not understand the whole way of thinking that "humans are special" and life must be preserved at all costs. I don't believe in any deities, and I don't believe we are made in anyone's "image." Furthermore, to me, death is only a tragedy when it cuts a normal lifespan short--when it's premature and the person didn't get the chance to experience all the various stages of life, such as youth, maturity, wisdom, aging.

And I just know this will bother some folks, but I don't think anyone has a "right" to procreate exponentially. I think it's selfish to have a whole gaggle of children, whether you can afford it or not, because you and yours are taxing the planet disproportionately.

I'm not saying to just let the sick just die, nor am I saying we should throw away our elderly.

I am saying that birth control and zero population growth would go a long way toward solving a lot of humanity's problems.

[enWTFp]

To make my prev. post shorter:

Our creative minds are forced to spend too much time on preventing and inventing criminal thinking, instead of objectively useful creations.

Creativity:
human <-A-> human . . human <-B-> nature

We measure IQ and education mostly by (B), and we should. But we allow too much influence in our life from the (A) intelligence, that wastes our time.

In my dream society, all the people would just study and create things, not oriented towards tricking other people, but towards understanding nature and the objective existence. I call our current state spoilt, because it seems it doesn't have enough motivation anymore to explore nature, and so much creativity is wasted. I agree in general there's nothing wrong with evolution, but with decrease of average intelligence, we might be unprepared to deal with unexpected natural problems, at some point.

[changos]

The problem with the world is a lack of integrity in the vast majority of people.

From this arises emptiness, conformity, and docility.

The root of the problem is how we raise children.
That pretty much says it all. People have a shitty life because of their bad decisions, sum all that and that's the world.

[bethanygm]

lack of understanding about the interconnectedness of everything on this planet. The fact that if you do one thing that is detrimental to the whole, it will come back to haunt you as well.
ex: Idiots dumping chemicals legally and illegally in the Northeast to make a quick buck and the cancer and other disease rates that increased due to this selfishness.
The truth is that the guy that does this may have some kids and maybe his grandkids will live in that area and end up with diseases because of his irresponsibility.

[Max T]

The problem with this world is that we are constantly reminded of both human's capabilities and human's default setting- to avoid thinking.

So our fast progression is held back by our slow evolution.
And this divergence is ever widening.

[Tachyons]

Whats wrong with this world? Humm, physical reality is imperfect to begin with. How can something built to be perfectly imperfect be wrong? Buddhist have a concept relating to enlightenment. The jest is the physical world is a wheel, which goes round and round, enlightenment is ,first the realization of this, then second "jumping" off...uh, whatever that means. In any-case, nothing is wrong with world. It's extremely beautiful in color, diversity, position, and it's ability to give life. Maybe the "wrong" part is strictly human perception (or lack thereof) in noticing this simple truth.

[Elsien]

I agree with Tach, Humans have been lead so far away from our true relationship with nature through religion, government, large corporations, and a credit system/currency.

[Tachyons]

Overpopulation.
I do not understand the whole way of thinking that "humans are special" and life must be preserved at all costs. I don't believe in any deities, and I don't believe we are made in anyone's "image." Furthermore, to me, death is only a tragedy when it cuts a normal lifespan short--when it's premature and the person didn't get the chance to experience all the various stages of life, such as youth, maturity, wisdom, aging.

Avienne, you appernetly don't believe in an afterlife or such. Just out of curiosity, what difference would it make if one dies young or old? One can not be "dissapointed" about a "tragedy" if one dies and nothing "lives on" so to speak.

[Marcus]

The biggest problem is the moral corruption of individuals originating from greed and selfishness.

[Tachyons]

The biggest problem is the moral corruption of individuals originating from greed and selfishness.

Which comes first, the moral corruption or greed and selfishness? Some, like myself, would argue we have not evolved past the need to horde. I say we humans are designed to be greedy and selfish. I suggest only in affluent countries can we begin to question that aspect of our ancient selves. Unfortunately, our global economic system does not allow for much in the way of sharing and caring or to eliminate "moral corruption." A shift in global thinking can only come with a fundamentally different economic system, one thats does not reward greed and hording, but rewards service to humanity. Surly an individual can decided not to be greedy or selfish, but I believe your referring to the global community as a whole.

[Librorum]

I'd say it's greed and selfishness, which I think originate from pride and fear of death. We can't tolerate the idea that we are subject to mortality, so we try to impose ourselves on the world to convince ourselves that we're not. Once that starts, other people react, and the competition is on, and there is no end to it.

[Nikita]

Everybody expects somebody else to wipe their a**es for them. People take the ridiculous things way too seriously, and the serious things way too lightly. Religion and politics divide while ignorance conquers.

[Agile]

Information and therefore culture flows in primarily one direction. Info flows down (from the top of the hierarchies) and money flows up.

That's the way it works. Why blame the sheep? People do what they see and hear from media. Period. People generally do not think for themselves and as Ontheo said, rely on authority to do their thinking for them.

Most children start school a few years after they have learned to communicate. Then they learn how to sit, walk in lines, roll over, raise their hands, turn in their work, worship the flag (do they still say the pledge of allegiance in US schools?), worship authority and follow the crowd.

And then when those children become adults who are part of the fucking society, people stand aside and judge them for their decadence. You simply cannot blame the mass of people (the middle of the bell curve) for following the crowd. It is what they have been taught.

Start putting intelligent messages in public schools, and start putting them in movies, books, television and watch...

And greed...oh greed. Fuck. Sheeple aren't greedy. They pay their fucking taxes, and give to charity on top of the taxes and do community service for bullshit causes. Come on! Greed...ha.

Ignorance, and learned helplessness, and fucking elitism. People like us who sit up on boards and talk about what is wrong with the world as if we would actually do something.

How many on this board would actually start a solution, or would just wait for someone else to start it and either 'make a campaign contribution' or 'buy a t-shirt' or 'come out and support the band, lol.' Add more if I left any out.

[Tachyons]

Everybody expects somebody else to wipe their a**es for them. People take the ridiculous things way too seriously, and the serious things way too lightly. Religion and politics divide while ignorance conquers.

First, not EVERYBODY expects "them" to wipe "our" a**es. Secondly, talk in specifics, say something meaningful, otherwise don't waste our time. We ARE INTJ's you know! :)

[Vagrant]

What's wrong with the world is failure to realize that everybody else is a human being, not some kind of statistic or faceless group. Everybody has their own lives with their own close friends that you may never realize. Even terrorists have wives and kids.

Corporations which take advantage of people never stop to consider WHO they're ripping off. Just the money they're getting. People who abuse their children or other people never stop to realize what it would be like to be in the abused's shoes.

[Nikita]

First, not EVERYBODY expects "them" to wipe "our" a**es. Secondly, talk in specifics, say something meaningful, otherwise don't waste our time. We ARE INTJ's you know! :)

It's a metaphor. It's not a waste of time if you know how to interpret it. I thought that BECAUSE you are INTJs, you would understand that. But don't worry, I won't impute your misunderstanding to the rest of the INTJs.

[alphawolf]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

Patents. They throttle the progress of civilization. I am so happy whenever I read about countries like India and Brazil passing laws that they will ignore patents from Big Pharma for important drugs that otherwise are out of their financial reach.

Patents.

[zibber]

Nonethical industrialisation. Nonethical capitalism/commercialism. Naturalised conventions.

Chauvinism.

[Snowdragon]

Mindless following, group behavior and automatic influence. The amount of influence our emotions have on our perceptions and our inability to properly filter emotional stimuli is our biggest problem, but that is just my 2 sense.

I agree.
I can't stand conformity and conformists.



There are three things that are wrong with the world: stupidity, mindless following, and greed.

[Ool]

I agree. I can't stand conformity and conformists.

I think we all agree on that—every last one of us…

[Max T]

I can't stand conformity and conformists.
I think we all agree on that—every last one of us…



Me too.

[Synamon]

I agree.
I can't stand conformity and conformists.


I think we all agree on that—every last one of us…

Me too.

Irony is a wonderful thing, we need more of it in this world. :laugh:

[Firebrand9]

Greed is one of our main problems, I guess.

I don't agree that greed is the fundamental problem. I think lack of education and critical thinking skills is the crux. To want more for yourself is not necessarily bad so long as you don't need to resort to zero-sum thinking to do it; IE - needing to take it away from someone else to acquire it. If someone has worked hard to achieve what they have, should this be penalized? Also many wealthy people donate large sums of money to charities (case in point - John Carmack).


Firebrand9 added to this post, 6 minutes and 26 seconds later...

The real problem with this world is rampant mysticism that is a relic from the past of human infancy. It is a disease that should be vaccinated with the use of rationalism.

Mysticism - lack of confidence in making decisions from within and thus authority is required to provide answers. e.g. Use of the so called definitive guides for morality (holy books), Parasitic politicians, parasitic religious leaders, dumb role models (celebrities) etc. etc.

Correct idea, wrong word. Mysticism is a concept of spiritual beliefs. What you mean is a displacement of authority/responsibility and I agree.

[theshiz777]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

A. to Q. 1. Lack of self responsibility, liberal ideology.

A. to Q. 2. People

A. to Q. 3. Lazy people, how mindless, and mindlessly open minded people are becoming.

A. to Q. 4. Self responsibility

[vanidence]

What is wrong and broken in this World?
Kay in my Opinion it's the People:
~ They have (almost) all gotten ridiculously egoistic and selfish. Ecoistic as in "they won't care for Others anymore".
~ People have become Way too surficial and materialistic
~ People have become incredibly lazy
Just to mention some of the most heavy Problems. At least from what I keep seeing. I partially blame the Inernet too. Because it is interesting how the World started to "go down" pretty badly after it was released. Maybe that's just me though =/

[Tocsin]

What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge?
Lazy people, how mindless, and mindlessly open minded people are becoming.


Yeah. The world would be a much better place if people were more close-minded, narrow-minded, intolerant and bigoted.

Feh! Who needs those useless old liberal ideals anyway?

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."
--George Washington

[Seraph]

Moral degeneration and materialism. Both are very rampant in America, at any rate, and I'd venture to say that they are spreading to other regions with increased globalization.

[Tocsin]

Moral degeneration and materialism. Both are very rampant in America, at any rate, and I'd venture to say that they are spreading to other regions with increased globalization.

Just for clarity, define or illustrate waht you think "moral degeneration" is, and explain how you think it contributes to "what is wrong with the world."

[errrzarrr]

It's full of people.

LoL! Sounds funny, but talking seriously it is another real problem. We have overpopulated this planet, we are 6,080 million people and increasing, and that's not good.

[zibber]

1 200,000
1750 791,000
2005 6,453,628

Hmmm... Thank you, Europe?

[AgentofGaming]

Out of all the ills that are wrought on this planet, It is in my humble opinion that the root cause can be attributed to just one thing: People don't like to think.

Agreed
I find it quite unsettling the amount of "I don't want to, because I'll have to think" as responses I get these days... sometimes I ask sarcastically "do you want me to run your life for you?" and I'll get a smug "yes".
If that's the case... people like being controlled and kept in the dark, so long as they enjoy themselves and don't have to worry about issues.

Also there are those who don't care about anything, but not as terrible as the former case.

[Seraph]

Just for clarity, define or illustrate waht you think "moral degeneration" is, and explain how you think it contributes to "what is wrong with the world."

I would consider 'moral degeneration' to consist of many things, but I'll specify a few here, and bear in mind that any generalizations I make are largely based on an American's perspective of America, and not inclusive of other countries. Largely my sense of 'morality' derives itself from many of the religious/spiritual belief systems in place- on the whole, they have roots in Biblical teachings and the Eightfold Path, but I'd wager that many other religions also possess similar systems.
Moral Degeneration in:

Speech/Communication- From what I see and encounter, many people today have eschewed a traditional sense of courtesy and kindness in speech. I rarely pass by a conversation without overhearing excessive profanity, deceit, gossip, and slander. While such things have undoubtedly occurred for as long as humans have employed language, I have noticed an unusual increase of late. Such communication styles largely determine my friends and dictate my social interactions- notice also that of the aforementioned problems with speech, they are absent from this forum.

Materialism- By the mere nature of living in a capitalist society it is difficult to escape the rampant consumerism and materialism, but the question arises of whether or not materialism is inherently wrong. The pursuit of goods and possessions is not wrong, in fact, it can help shape a healthy life and a hard-working and dedicated individual. However, as in many things, when moderation is not observed this can quickly turn into an obsession. People can easily lose sight of true morals and form undesirable character traits when they place their material possessions on a pedestal, figuratively turning them into Gods, and allowing it to consume their lives.

Selfishness- Shares similar roots with the previous discussion of Materialism in that it typically involves considering oneself over other things, in doing so one almost considers himself a 'God'. Like the previous two, this can never be completely eradicated from society and only presents a problem when moderation is not observed and it overtakes one's life. By doing so, a person can become exceedingly narcissistic, which can lead to very undesirable character traits and can harm his growth in society.

Just a few, and just how I see it.

[errrzarrr]

Information and therefore culture flows in primarily one direction. Info flows down (from the top of the hierarchies) and money flows up.

That's the way it works. Why blame the sheep? People do what they see and hear from media. Period. People generally do not think for themselves and as Ontheo said, rely on authority to do their thinking for them.

Most children start school a few years after they have learned to communicate. Then they learn how to sit, walk in lines, roll over, raise their hands, turn in their work, worship the flag (do they still say the pledge of allegiance in US schools?), worship authority and follow the crowd.

And then when those children become adults who are part of the fucking society, people stand aside and judge them for their decadence. You simply cannot blame the mass of people (the middle of the bell curve) for following the crowd. It is what they have been taught.

Start putting intelligent messages in public schools, and start putting them in movies, books, television and watch...

And greed...oh greed. Fuck. Sheeple aren't greedy. They pay their fucking taxes, and give to charity on top of the taxes and do community service for bullshit causes. Come on! Greed...ha.

Ignorance, and learned helplessness, and fucking elitism. People like us who sit up on boards and talk about what is wrong with the world as if we would actually do something.

How many on this board would actually start a solution, or would just wait for someone else to start it and either 'make a campaign contribution' or 'buy a t-shirt' or 'come out and support the band, lol.' Add more if I left any out.
Uhm, I like your post, mostly the part in bold. From now on I will use it to explain things when i will be talking about this same topic in future, if you allow me.

[Wapiti]

I'm not sure what all is wrong with this world but with threads about Fat Chix, I'm sure were on the way to some deeper understanding.

[Ool]

LoL! Sounds funny, but talking seriously it is another real problem. We have overpopulated this planet, we are 6,080 million people and increasing, and that's not good.

Why? Who are you to deny other people the right to be conceived, born, and alive...?





Ool added to this post, 6 minutes and 0 seconds later...

A. to Q. 1. Lack of self responsibility, liberal ideology.

A. to Q. 2. People

A. to Q. 3. Lazy people, how mindless, and mindlessly open minded people are becoming.

A. to Q. 4. Self responsibility

Ooh, someone drank the libertarian Kool-Aid...

[Tocsin]

From what I see and encounter, many people today have eschewed a traditional sense of courtesy and kindness in speech. I rarely pass by a conversation without overhearing excessive profanity, deceit, gossip, and slander. While such things have undoubtedly occurred for as long as humans have employed language, I have noticed an unusual increase of late.

As part of a college photography course, I planned to do an example of time-lapse photography of a grasshopper type oil pump inside a local public park. As I made my way to the pump, a group of sweet-as pie little schoolgirls were walking through the park. As they got closer I heard one taunting the other, "I bet you suck your daddy's dick." The other replied, "At least my daddy has a dick." So much for sweet and innocent. That was more than twenty years ago. While I don't remember any of my peers talking like that when I was their age, it isn't proof that they didn't. And while profanity in general may make the world aesthetically less satisfying, it doesn't have any bearings on the material problems with the modern world.

Deception in speech and action is another matter, and does have a drastic effect on the conditions of life, witnessed by the deceptions that were used to justify the invasion of Iraq, as well as the deceptions about the use of torture against captives, deceptive legislative agendas (USA Patriot Act, Clear Skies, Medicare reform, etc), and so on.

Materialism- By the mere nature of living in a capitalist society it is difficult to escape the rampant consumerism and materialism, but the question arises of whether or not materialism is inherently wrong. The pursuit of goods and possessions is not wrong, in fact, it can help shape a healthy life and a hard-working and dedicated individual. However, as in many things, when moderation is not observed this can quickly turn into an obsession. People can easily lose sight of true morals and form undesirable character traits when they place their material possessions on a pedestal, figuratively turning them into Gods, and allowing it to consume their lives.

As you pointed out, the problem is not necessarily materialism. It would be neither surprising or reprehensible in any way for poor people to have an overwhelming concern for where their next meal would come from, or whether or not the will be able to keep a roof over their heads. The "materialistic" problems of the world would be better described as avarice; an excessive desire for more and more riches, comforts, luxuries, and other badges of wealth.

Selfishness- Shares similar roots with the previous discussion of Materialism in that it typically involves considering oneself over other things, in doing so one almost considers himself a 'God'. Like the previous two, this can never be completely eradicated from society and only presents a problem when moderation is not observed and it overtakes one's life. By doing so, a person can become exceedingly narcissistic, which can lead to very undesirable character traits and can harm his growth in society.

I would agree that selfishness in human behavior in one of the fundamental causes of the "wrongs" of the world, and mainly though its two most destructive applications in terms of human behavior: greed and hyper-competitiveness.

We have all witnessed at some time the ethos of "winning isn't the main thing, it is the only thing" put in practice by individuals and organizations for their own benefit. In its ultimate forms it becomes "the ends justify the means" idealism that is used as an excuse for the most inhumane and unjust of actions taken by the most extremist of groups and individuals.

The ethos of greed that finds its expressions in ideals like "looking out for number one," or "I got mine" is similarly used as an excuse by both individuals and associations of people to pursue their own personal advantage regardless of the harm or injury that it inflicts upon others.

All of these forms of human selfishness; avarice, greed, and comptition, are certainly among the main reasons for many of the problems of the world (to which ignorance in its multitude of forms and appliactions should certainly be added).





Tocsin added to this post, 20 minutes and 28 seconds later...

Why? Who are you to deny other people the right to be conceived, born, and alive...?

I think you're mistaking a concern for human population growth for a desire to forcibly restrain it, which was not expressed in the post you cited.

Even beyond that, expressing a concern for the effects of human population growth should not be considered as "anti-human" anymore more than concern about the effects of the conservative policies on the United States should be considered "anti-American."

Anyone with any knowledge of ecology is capable of appreciating the effects of the rapid growth of specific organisms in an environment, and it doesn't matter if you're talking about people or pine beetles - or viruses. Any sudden explosion of one species, or of a virus within an organism, can create drastic changes which alter or possible even destroy the "host" organism, which in the case of people is the planet itself.

You only need to look at a graph of human population growth from 10,000 BC to the present day (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) to understand where that concern comes from.

The difference between people and pine beetles or viruses is that the latter two lack the cognitive ability for self-awareness, and the predictive capability to recognize the effects of their behavior in the world, and to alter them in such a way as to avoid undesirable consequences.

It remains to be seen if the human species itself has such cognitive abilities, and the results at present do not inspire a great deal of confidence.

[jadefalcon]

People have been letting their emotions, namely selfishness and greed, get the better of common sense and logic.

I think I may have just given you the root cause.

What I would like to see in the world is more compassion, decency, and respect...



This is why Fs cannot be allowed to make the tough calls. Leave it to the logical thinkers that will progress things. A logical and detatched standpoint has the best chance to not mess things up.

[Delarge]

The nature of the Homo sapien.

[Lights]

From reading this thread, it would appear that differing human values seem to be at the core of what most consider wrong in this world. I think you could probably sum up the values into 4 categories.

Liberty = autonomy, self determination, and self responsibility.

Empathy = equality, respect, and sympathy.

Tradition = order, balance, and conventional wisdom.

Innovation = novelty, change, and intuition.

People argue that "passion" and "emotion" interfere with reason and logic, but human values are not based on these concepts. In fact, much of these values are determined by circumstantial factors, such as where a person was born, how a person was raised, what people they have associated with, their personality, etc.

Religious and political ideologies are obviously geared toward arguing which values are the "absolute" and most "rational" but it ultimately comes down to a subjective belief system. These subjective belief systems lead to inevitable conflict, which perpetrates the vast majority of pain in this world. Add to the fact that human beings are using these subjective beliefs systems to determine how to divide up the limited resources on this planet, and their is tremendous potential for suffering.

In essence, human's symbolic nature is what is wrong with the world. Until humans can evolve beyond postconventional morality, it is unlikely we will see any alleviation of these difficulties.

[Alexander]

How many on this board would actually start a solution,

I would gladly. I'd consider it one of the highest moral causes in the world today. I'd probably say that I'm obsessed with the idea, something to give humanity a kick start in a positive direction. I'm working on a couple projects with this as their goal.





Alexander added to this post, 4 minutes and 3 seconds later...

The nature of the Homo sapien.

How can it be nature when so much of our behavior is dictated and so many people are forced into situations they have no desire to be in?

[Delarge]

I would gladly. I'd consider it one of the highest moral causes in the world today. I'd probably say that I'm obsessed with the idea, something to give humanity a kick start in a positive direction. I'm working on a couple projects with this as their goal.





Alexander added to this post, 4 minutes and 3 seconds later...



How can it be nature when so much of our behavior is dictated and so many people are forced into situations they have no desire to be in?

Why is it that so many of these people find themselves in unpleasant situations?

Human behaviour is influenced to a large degree by innate drives such as aggression, sex, and dominance. While suppressible, many choose to embrace them.

If one stands back it becomes quite apparent that these fundamental drives have had a profound effect upon human civilization. Conflict and subjugation are natural tendencies which have resulted in a great deal of suffering. The majority of the fundamental problems facing humanity are both direct and indirect manifestations of human nature itself, and as such, these problems will likely remain unresolved.

[Agile]

Yeah. The world would be a much better place if people were more close-minded, narrow-minded, intolerant and bigoted.

Feh! Who needs those useless old liberal ideals anyway?

Washington was a classical liberal. Mindless crap false solutions like the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the Davos summit (lol) and the Red campaign...buy a red phone to cure aids, and all these retarded armbands...could be the neoliberalism that was mentioned here.

The irony of these armbands is that in Rome slaves wore armbands also...perfect! 'livestrong' and 'support cancer research' ...for the mentally and morally enslaved!

I would gladly. I'd consider it one of the highest moral causes in the world today. I'd probably say that I'm obsessed with the idea, something to give humanity a kick start in a positive direction. I'm working on a couple projects with this as their goal.

I'd love to hear (er...read) more about that. Definitely agree and would support a step in the right direction.

Uhm, I like your post, mostly the part in bold. From now on I will use it to explain things when i will be talking about this same topic in future, if you allow me.

By all means...please do, you have my full permission! It's great to read someone who wants to make a non hipocritical argument!

Human behaviour is influenced to a large degree by innate drives such as aggression, sex, and dominance. While suppressible, many choose to embrace them.

If one stands back it becomes quite apparent that these fundamental drives have had a profound effect upon human civilization. Conflict and subjugation are natural tendencies which have resulted in a great deal of suffering. The majority of the fundamental problems facing humanity are both direct and indirect manifestations of human nature itself, and as such, these problems will likely remain unresolved.

Humans are not so base. Just as a dog will obediently sit when you feed it, human beings largely do what is approved of by the first humans they know in life, their families. Replace agression with power, and dominance with approval. Conflict and subjugation are largely the result of first instilling ideals of glory and sacrifice in the mind of a child (let's not forget religion), traumatizing that child to bow for status and obey for approval, and then turning that person loose on the world. Thus you get people who take money for votes, and people who willingly murder others for hire and call it 'the ultimate sacrifice' because they did it wearing a uniform with a flag on it. People do not question for fear of ostricization and do not deviate for fear of being violently checked. That is the bulk of human nature. Again, with respect, this nonsense about aggression, sex, and dominance comes from your education or your country's media.

People (including yourself I'm sure) value qualities such as sense of humor, responsibility, easygoing, respectful...that's the bulk of human beings...when people deviate from that they are ostracized. Don't pretend we are all aggressive, dominant sex fiends...and that you and a select few (lol) are nuanced, intelligent, refined...really...come off it. That is exactly the liberal thinking people are talking about when Lights asks 'what is wrong with this world'? That televison taught (with respect) bullshit that has you afraid of your neighbors and suspicious of men.

[Alexander]

I'd love to hear (er...read) more about that. Definitely agree and would support a step in the right direction.

I re-read what I wrote and it sounded a bit fanatical. I'm not planning anything epic by any stretch, just a very small step in a direction I think is positive.

It's in the form of a business idea so naturally I'm going to be keeping it mostly to myself until I'm ready to start implementing it.

[Agile]

It's just because you're mad as hell, and you're not going to take this anymore! And we (I) understand! Haha yeah so you are not obsessed, I understand. Unfortunately being born into this society means we cannot all necessarily stop and immediately begin working to change it. Especially when it is set up so there are worker bees who keep working until they die or are burnt out or retire or become housebound. So I hear you and I am the same way, I have a few business and economic ideas that are in the idea stage only.

[Alexander]

Human behaviour is influenced to a large degree by innate drives such as aggression, sex, and dominance. While suppressible, many choose to embrace them.

If one stands back it becomes quite apparent that these fundamental drives have had a profound effect upon human civilization. Conflict and subjugation are natural tendencies which have resulted in a great deal of suffering. The majority of the fundamental problems facing humanity are both direct and indirect manifestations of human nature itself, and as such, these problems will likely remain unresolved.

You're absolutely right in the fact that there are many things below the surface in humanity that cause many problems but are nevertheless part of who we are.

You cannot change the animal but you can change the memes in which it possesses. Humanity being the only species we know of capable of possessing and passing on these memes. And these have changed drastically over the course of humanity with some fairly consistent trends. Violence is very measurable and has been on a constant decline. Subjugation and conflict have also been on the decline. These problems will perhaps always be there, but they will probably continue to have less and less signifigant.

This is pretty much the context in which the word "meme" came about I think. That we don't just evolve like a squirrel or monkey. We have another layer evolving with us as its host.

[Agile]

I don't know why people think it's built into humanity to have war and hunger. Look into the causes of the Iraq war. Study them, do not stop at mainstream sources, get a 360° point of view and make sure you get all the facts. Look into WWII. Look into Vietnam, and WWI. Whenever there is a war, look at it from a Businessman's point of view and ask...who benefits?

When you hear of Climate Change and a carbon tax...who benefits?
Terrorism? (how come we lost all those civil liberties and started getting surveiled at the same time?)
Think rationally...especially if you are one of these egomaniac INTJs who truely believes you are intellectually superior (fucking prove it).

But as to humans being aggressive and all...
How is it that those people with the 'need money please help' signs survive?
How is it that you can go to a 100+ person lecture and not worry about a fight breaking out in the classroom?

How is it that you can go to school with hundreds of other kids...have you ever thought about that, like when the bell rings at a school, suddenly there are like 6, 7 hundred teenagers in the hallway...why are there not armed guards in every hall? (please do not respond back with 'this one time in high school there were 9 fights' no one gives a crap, we all know how rare this is)

[Ool]

How is it that you can go to school with hundreds of other kids...have you ever thought about that, like when the bell rings at a school, suddenly there are like 6, 7 hundred teenagers in the hallway...why are there not armed guards in every hall? (please do not respond back with 'this one time in high school there were 9 fights' no one gives a crap, we all know how rare this is)

School was actually the place where I personally learned first hand just how cruel people could be. True, no one killed me, but when I later learned about Nazi atrocities I wasn’t surprised at all that the people I had encountered in class and during recess would be capable of such crimes.

School is the reason why I could never get and hold a job that required human proximity and interaction, because ultimately there is something extremely scary about watching people move in heards. Yes, they’re harmless most of the time, but you can see the readiness for violence and lynch mobbing in them even then. I guess it’s called “the banality of evil.”

“The Office” is actually a very depressing show to me. Depressing and scary. I could never watch it for more than five minutes without eventually turning it off in disgust, wondering how it could be amusing to anyone…

[Agile]

School was actually the place where I personally learned first hand just how cruel people could be. True, no one killed me, but when I later learned about Nazi atrocities I wasn’t surprised at all that the people I had encountered in class and during recess would be capable of such crimes.

What people are 'capable of' stems from their early experiences, both what they experienced in their families as much as in school. Some people do what gets approval, what gets sympathy and affection, what gets attention in any form, what they find works for others, the opposite of others to earn self approval, what is completely different from others, exact copies of what others do, and on and on.


School is the reason why I could never get and hold a job that required human proximity and interaction, because ultimately there is something extremely scary about watching people move in heards. Yes, they’re harmless most of the time, but you can see the readiness for violence and lynch mobbing in them even then. I guess it’s called “the banality of evil.”


I doubt it was school. School is what you have selected to pin things on, though. I believe you are likely a person that fears the world and fears other people because of the kind of view you yourself have towards others (if you are projecting) or because you have received a fearful or even paranoid view of the world that you have adopted as your own (whether from media or parenting or early experiences).

Question...do you 'believe' in science? That is, are you convinced that the scientific method is valid? (the method of proposing a hypothesis and then desigining and running an emperical test to prove or disprove the hypothesis?)

Could you describe an experiment to test your perpsective on schools? To observe the 'correlation' between a gulag and a high school in the 'early formation' stages?


“The Office” is actually a very depressing show to me. Depressing and scary. I could never watch it for more than five minutes without eventually turning it off in disgust, wondering how it could be amusing to anyone…

Why did you mention this show...? It's funny because it mocks corporate culture. What do you find disgusting about it? Can you give an example from the show, of something scary?

[Librorum]

School was actually the place where I personally learned first hand just how cruel people could be. True, no one killed me, but when I later learned about Nazi atrocities I wasn’t surprised at all that the people I had encountered in class and during recess would be capable of such crimes.

School is the reason why I could never get and hold a job that required human proximity and interaction, because ultimately there is something extremely scary about watching people move in heards. Yes, they’re harmless most of the time, but you can see the readiness for violence and lynch mobbing in them even then. I guess it’s called “the banality of evil.”

So true. People always think that we are somehow better and more evolved than the people who committed and supported the atrocities of the past, but in fact we are all capable of that at any moment, in ways large and small. The mechanisms that keep us from taking out our frustrations on each other are fragile. Put a perfectly decent Westerner in the right situation and they can be as cruel as the Taliban. Many of them already are cruel and sadistic towards women and children.

You might be interested in reading some René Girard. There is lots on the web about his theories.

[melon]

Dogmatism, arrogance, overgeneralization, oversimplification, black-and-white worldviews, conformity, tradition, anti-intellectualism, aggression, premature judgment (that is, most judgment), opinionatedness, misoneism, self-righteousness, bigotry, overconfidence, greed, deceit, underconfidence, routine, intolerance, over-assertiveness, close-mindedness, selfishness, deliberate ignorance, anger, lack of intellectual or aesthetic wonder, lack of individuality, lack of critical thinking, lack of creativity, lack of empathy, lack of a coherent moral framework, general lack of motivation and drive, fear of failure, abuse of power, pessimism, limitations in communication (and the failure to consider said limitations), the treating of people as unequal, the demanding of oneself to be held in higher regard than others for arbitrary reasons (e.g. age, credentials, familial ties, position of power), the stifling of innovation, the basing of one's own self worth on others' perception of them, the "eye for an eye" mentality, the inability to admit one's own problems, and the incapacity of saying "I don't know."

But most of all, lolcats.

[Julien]

So true. People always think that we are somehow better and more evolved than the people who committed and supported the atrocities of the past, but in fact we are all capable of that at any moment, in ways large and small. The mechanisms that keep us from taking out our frustrations on each other are fragile. Put a perfectly decent Westerner in the right situation and they can be as cruel as the Taliban. Many of them already are cruel and sadistic towards women and children.

Philip Zimbardo on the psychology of "evil":
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Moondyn]

The question is too unspecific, so literally I could write over 10 volumes on the subject and still be far from done ... but to generalize even more, there are many things that need to change in this world, and what can change all those things are the people, if they realize whats wrong and make it public knowledge that is.

[Librorum]

Philip Zimbardo on the psychology of "evil":
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

That was great. Thanks so much for the link! I love research like that--it really shows us how deluded we are about ourselves.

[AresX9]

I think this is what Moriarty means To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

And that just summed up my thoughts of the human race.

We are nothing but a speck of dust. Sad to see that only less than a percent of the human race can see this.

[reb]

what is wrong with this world? the almost universal human refusal to accept it as it is.

[Ool]

what is wrong with this world? the almost universal human refusal to accept it as it is.

That goes without saying, because ultimately it is we who decide what is right or wrong anyway. So only if we refuse something it becomes “wrong…”

[Tachyons]

Has anyone mentioned the Central Banking and Fractional Reserve system yet? It kind a turns us into lifelong paid slave labors. Maybe thats a good thing, keeps us busy.





Tachyons added to this post, 4 minutes and 45 seconds later...

Dogmatism, arrogance, overgeneralization, oversimplification, black-and-white worldviews, conformity, tradition, anti-intellectualism, aggression, premature judgment (that is, most judgment), opinionatedness, misoneism, self-righteousness, bigotry, overconfidence, greed, deceit, underconfidence, routine, intolerance, over-assertiveness, close-mindedness, selfishness, deliberate ignorance, anger, lack of intellectual or aesthetic wonder, lack of individuality, lack of critical thinking, lack of creativity, lack of empathy, lack of a coherent moral framework, general lack of motivation and drive, fear of failure, abuse of power, pessimism, limitations in communication (and the failure to consider said limitations), the treating of people as unequal, the demanding of oneself to be held in higher regard than others for arbitrary reasons (e.g. age, credentials, familial ties, position of power), the stifling of innovation, the basing of one's own self worth on others' perception of them, the "eye for an eye" mentality, the inability to admit one's own problems, and the incapacity of saying "I don't know."

But most of all, lolcats.

You MUST mean "neo-cons"? Ya, if you don't own stock or work for an oil company, overseas construction company, or a defence contractor...your right not much help are they? Did a great job funneling our tax dollars (and our childrens) to the top 1% tho...have to admitt they are smarter than I.

[Ool]

Has anyone mentioned the Central Banking and Fractional Reserve system yet? It kind a turns us into lifelong paid slave labors. Maybe thats a good thing, keeps us busy.

Keeps our money supply in line with our busy-ness. (Though not necessarily our actual productivity…)

You MUST mean "neo-cons"? Ya, if you don't own stock or work for an oil company, overseas construction company, or a defence contractor...your right not much help are they? Did a great job funneling our tax dollars (and our childrens) to the top 1% tho...have to admitt they are smarter than I.

The smart thing was convincing Joe the Plumb-nut that they were really looking out for him when they set this wealth-redistribution in motion. Now that was headology par excellence…!

[Agile]

Keeps our money supply in line with our busy-ness.
Wrong...but I'm sure you'll hear about it later.

[Freedom Geek]

People do not respect the freedoms of others. They believe that their way of thinking or beliefs should be forced upon everyone.
The little logic some people seem to have is too easily overridden by fear. Be it about genetically modified crops or the large hadron collider people spend their time worrying about things that are really quite safe. This leads them to put anti-progress or anti-freedom measures in place.
People often do not rationally analyze things. This leads them to do stupid things like believing in new age or ghosts.
People fail to understand that not everyone thinks in the same way they do. For instance I met someone who simply refused to believe I did not like tennis.He claimed that I simply didn't know how to play properly and once this was discarded he claimed that I really was enjoying tennis but I simply didn't want to show it in order to retain my social position.
We do not have enough technology. This is the one that gives me hope for the future. Technology is consistently moving forward and as such so is the state of humanity. As it marches forward it may very well minimize some of the other problems. We will never have enough technology but the more we have the better off we will be.

[Delarge]

People do not respect the freedoms of others. They believe that their way of thinking or beliefs should be forced upon everyone.
The little logic some people seem to have is too easily overridden by fear. Be it about genetically modified crops or the large hadron collider people spend their time worrying about things that are really quite safe. This leads them to put anti-progress or anti-freedom measures in place.
People often do not rationally analyze things. This leads them to do stupid things like believing in new age or ghosts.
People fail to understand that not everyone thinks in the same way they do. For instance I met someone who simply refused to believe I did not like tennis.He claimed that I simply didn't know how to play properly and once this was discarded he claimed that I really was enjoying tennis but I simply didn't want to show it in order to retain my social position.
We do not have enough technology. This is the one that gives me hope for the future. Technology is consistently moving forward and as such so is the state of humanity. As it marches forward it may very well minimize some of the other problems. We will never have enough technology but the more we have the better off we will be.


While I agree with you generally, I must object to your characterization of genetically modified foods as safe in their current form. The art of genetic engineering is still in its infancy, and its application to food crops at this stage is misguided. I don't suppose you're aware of the fact that inserted transgenes have been demonstrated to be capable of "infecting" the genetic material of bowel flora, resulting in pesticide-producing bacteria within the intestinal tract.

[rztrnc]

Too many people with not enough ambition - and a few people with too much greed.

[A2D]

a big deal of ignorance ...

[disquared]

Dogmatism, arrogance, overgeneralization, oversimplification, black-and-white worldviews, conformity, tradition, anti-intellectualism, aggression, premature judgment (that is, most judgment), opinionatedness, misoneism, self-righteousness, bigotry, overconfidence, greed, deceit, underconfidence, routine, intolerance, over-assertiveness, close-mindedness, selfishness, deliberate ignorance, anger, lack of intellectual or aesthetic wonder, lack of individuality, lack of critical thinking, lack of creativity, lack of empathy, lack of a coherent moral framework, general lack of motivation and drive, fear of failure, abuse of power, pessimism, limitations in communication (and the failure to consider said limitations), the treating of people as unequal, the demanding of oneself to be held in higher regard than others for arbitrary reasons (e.g. age, credentials, familial ties, position of power), the stifling of innovation, the basing of one's own self worth on others' perception of them, the "eye for an eye" mentality, the inability to admit one's own problems, and the incapacity of saying "I don't know."

But most of all, lolcats.

yea, i've noticed that people who like lolcats (i.e. the 4chan crowd) tend to be not-so-likable people

[Ool]

While I agree with you generally, I must object to your characterization of genetically modified foods as safe in their current form.

So are non-genetically modified foods? What is the number one cause of death in the developed world? Heart disease. What is the number one bringer-on of heart disease? Desirable yet unhealthy food. And it needn’t be genetically modified in order to prematurely kill us.

And then there are the billions of people in the developing world who have their lives cut short due to a scarcity of essential foodstuffs and malnutrition.

It is highly unlikely that genetically modified food ever becomes the killer that the wrong kinds of food already are—in all parts of the world.

[clench]

Lack of subjective truth of all news and history. Money based economies.

[Nikita]

narrow mindedness, snap judgments, lack of accountability, arrogance, selfishness, prejudice, ignorance, etc.

[dandylion]

There are many things wrong with the world but I assume you mean the big issues, such as poverty, war and environmental issues. I think humanity is fundamentally good and don’t think its greed, selfishness, stupidity or any other big ideas are the main causes of them.

One major problem as I see it is contemporary economic thought. Nearly everyone knows that as someone involved in economics focuses on maximizing monetary profit. Money is the only thing that matters and every other human emotion and desire are on the fringe (including self preservation via environmental preservation). A big one is the whole idea behind investment. In the investment world profit isn’t what matters; it’s an increase in profit. However there is only so far profit can be increased by what I would call moral means and after that you have to rely on less humanistic means. 1) Cheep labor done through using labor in less developed countries or lowering the standards of domestic workers... Namely, buy stuff and not care about other deplorable means used to increase profit.

Most definitely. Human trafficking (or modern-day slavery, as it has come to be known) is deeply entrenched with the issues of money and poverty and maximizing profits. I blame many environmental problems today on people who make decisions based on what they'd gain.

It seems everyone dreams about becoming having lots of money and material things. How about dreaming about having enough rather than excess?

[BlackOp]

Nobody understands why we are here.....if everyone knew definitely, we would be better acclimated to our collective purpose.....or universally accepting of the lack of one.

[Thumper]

Out of all the ills that are wrought on this planet, It is in my humble opinion that the root cause can be attributed to just one thing: People don't like to think.

That's pretty much it. I'd like to add one little clarification. "Having an opinion" about something doesn't necessarily mean you're thinking (or at least not real hard). People don't take the time or energy to form their own opinions about things. Or for that matter, to re-analyze what opinions they do hold in the presence of new information. All to often we just soak up what others tell us is truth without really looking for or considering what is often easily accessible information to the contrary.

Don't believe everything you think.

[Gekko]

Tell me INTJs, what is wrong with this world? What do you see that is broken? What is it that enrages you that people will not acknowledge? What do you wish to see in this world more than anything?

Its all very simple. Left wing crazy people. They are the reason the world is what it is... they people that think criminals should have the same rights as the rest of us, the people that take a day off work with their union mates and go protest in the middle of the city making me have to walk the long way to work and the biggest thing thats wrong is people that get all of their news and views from places like The daily show, leno and god forbid NBC, MSNBC!

[Ool]

Nobody understands why we are here.

Dude, you’re projecting. Speak for yourself, because I’ve figured it out!

[quin]

censorship

[ElstonGunn]

It's a wicked life, but what the hell. Everybody's got to eat. And I'm just the same as anyone else when it comes to scratching for my meals.

[blueback]

And I'm just the same as anyone else when it comes to scratching for my meals.
Except when there's only enough for one of you to eat. Then you become different whether you want to or not.

[void]

Its all very simple. Left wing crazy people. They are the reason the world is what it is... they people that think criminals should have the same rights as the rest of us, the people that take a day off work with their union mates and go protest in the middle of the city making me have to walk the long way to work and the biggest thing thats wrong is people that get all of their news and views from places like The daily show, leno and god forbid NBC, MSNBC!

No offense mate, but this is astonishingly bad satire. Unless you're serious - in which case, please do a Google image search for "facepalm.jpg" and set any one of the results as your desktop wallpaper.