EPTThe future
Since always, man has overestimated his work. Human history is, quoting Bill Maher, just a litany of getting shit dead wrong. Philosophers since Plato have thought that their words are the sum of all the answers that will correct and give purpose to life. Engineers since the Babylonians have thought that their technology is the shortcut that will let us have everything that is out of our reach. Politicians since Hammurabi have thought that their word is the law that gives justice to the world.
Last century a belief was created: that technology sooner or later would solve each and one of our problems, that technology was capable of anything. It was a time where man seemed to evolve from being governed by dogmas (particularly religion) and to start using his reason; however, man simply changed his deity. A deity that now calls itself logic and truth and progress. Now man basks in his own intellect and his need to learn more. Yet the base keeps being as rotten as ever. The scientist follows a series of axioms – just like in religion – and whoever doubts the meaning or validity or usefulness of the results or the axioms themselves is ostracised, not for being a heretic, but for being dumb: because the opposite of being knowledgeable is being an idiot.
And who cares if in the search of that knowledge, in the infinite experimentation, we are draining our planet and ourselves? Since someone supposes that digging, exploiting and modelling enough we will someday create some household device that solves all of our problems. Some food that doesn't cost anything to process or distribute, to eradicate those – still sane – areas where people kill for hunger. Which one of these scientists can say with a straight face that this is all for the future? Because to obtain their resources we are massacring the rest of the species, we are eroding the earth, melting the everlasting poles, warming the planet, flooding the beaches and plucking holes into our atmosphere. We are destroying life and what allows life to happen with the purpose of “living”.
Who cares about the essence of man? Genetic engineering allows us to mould people to our ideal, or at least someone's ideal, like an orange that has been modified to be bigger, juicer and with a peel easier to handle. That's exactly how genetic engineering is threatening to attack, hidden behind the pile of artificial and beneficial foodstuffs of a supermarket.
Virtual reality doesn't fall behind: it looks better every time; there are fewer and fewer reasons to stay in reality, soon it won't have anything else to offer than its authenticity. Why would we ever fix this world when we have created one that is better?
These spawns of human intellect, this technology threatens to take the future away. They hide behind the most noble ideals, behind better and cheaper ways to produce food, virtual reality behind being a cultural medium, technology in general behind this faith that someday it can be useful. It has never been useful: the most basic invention of man, agriculture, was a setback. Food was getting scarce and suddenly someone realized that we could eat our garbage, this poor diet even made us smaller. Technology brought medieval diseases and replaced them with firearms and bombs.
(In words that are not mine) There has been no single idea, no matter how noble, that hasn't been used to organize killings. Because the means – and everyone embraces technology because “it's just a means” – are not conducted by angels. It's people, and this insignificant point is what makes it so dangerous.
Why were our genes so damn stupid to mix reasoning (the human part) with feelings (the animal part), because most of what people do is just to fire chemicals in their brains. That pathetic ultimate purpose (to be happy) has fueled most of the misery and rot of this world. Because of what use is something if it doesn't give you pleasure? If it doesn't tickle you or sends a chill up your spine? People spend all their time feeling. And people have made up their own perfect formula to pleasure: death. Because death gives you power over money, reason and convictions. There is no better way to convince someone than the sudden threat of death. And the most powerful man is the one that kills the most. Can you honestly keep saying that technology is simply a means? That a gun is simply a gun and that our brains can be put to good purpose? (Again in someone else's words) The future belongs to no one.
