[rwwff]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jellric', 'O')nly difference is PO has science behind it. The other is Faith.

I'll stake the lives of me and mine on reason. Good luck with what you're doin.

[Anthrobus]

hey concerned,

i am somewhat nihilistic myself, but the whole thing (being down here) is not at all pointless. It seems somewhat pointless if you are the most important thing in your life while looking ahead on a futere of ageing, hardship etc.

The "trick", which is not really one, is to put some depth and emotional value in your existence. Dog, kids, family, really dear friends. Things that are worth to give a good fight for.
People even have drowned in the attempt to save their dogs.
In the meantime, check into a library and make some discoveries.

so cheer up man, not so pointless down here!

Anthrobus

[rsch20]

it's not pointless, but I don't think having a dog is the meaning of life.

this answer appeals to my sense of rationality much more:

The (Interim) Meaning of Life
http://yudkowsky.net/tmol-faq/tmol-faq.html

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

I don't think it's the "end" either, just time for a very big change.

There is no way on Earth to continue what we are doing at this scale.

[magician]

"Starting to think the end is NOT coming?"

absolutely not. everything is too interdependant. already the US is slipping into economic depression, following the UK and Australia and most western societies. the depletion numbers for Mexico's Cantrell are stark. the dollar is already in the pipes below the toilet, and world grain stocks have fallen to a 57 day level. I could go on here for days, but i havent heard good arguements here as to why some serious shit isnt going down soon. mabe not some apocalypse but definatly the end of our (im american) economic and resource distrobution systems.

<not-a-troll)
It seems to me that the only people who are aware of any sizable portion of the big picture think that this is going down. the only ones that don't arn't multidisiplined enough in their thinking to have that big picture, no matter what websites they read or how intelligent they happen to be. Specialized thinkers to not have the multi-paradigm information analysis overlay features in their thought processes nessissary to get it. they havent been taught to think that way by their educations. thats why when many of them, often very intelligent people, read about these things on sites like this one, they make posts showing a clear lack of fundamental understanding regarding multi-paradigmal systems theory.
</not-a-troll>

--frater coyote

[dogf]

Lots of interesting replies.
The point I was trying to make which I think you all got was in my opinion, yes we will see the end of oil, but I believe there will always be a replacment, no matter how temporary or poluting. But has any one noticed in the last couple months that our collective thinking about PO is becoming mainstream quickly. Therefore what we thought would happen or forcast a year ago of the reception of PO to mainstream certainly is changing.
Yes I agree we need to reduce the population, and I am sure that the cycle of disease (sars, bird flu) will take care of these issues without the help of PO, but once we have the population in check, does it not seem that we will by then have ALL figured out that another type of better lifestyle is to accept less of what we have but still have it in quality?
We will still have access to computers and they will run relatively cheaply using the windmill outside. As long as the satelite up there can still be funded then knowledge,entertainment as we have come to know it will continue.
Yes it was only 75 years ago we were all in soup lines and there is a good chance that will return within a couple years of the 1200 point fluctuations after nooses are made with neckties on the floor. But these again are just variations in cycles. And this is needed to clean out and ready the world for the next generation of economic improvment by way of a new capitalism maybe? Point is there will always be something to turn to once we accept where we are. Yes there will be rocks thrown through the Exon window in frustration. But by the time we are paying 7 bucks a gallon, there is a very good chance we will have choice of plugging in for a 10 minute recharge for another 300 miles. And think of all the construction jobs that will make all this happen. Hell, even NAFTA may be fixed as PO causes the economy to become more local.
I am just thinking the end is not PO related, or near and in fact my be the best thing to happen to us.

[robski]

http://beyondpeak.org/files/SEF06_Tainter.MP3

Here is a recent presentation from one of the world's foremost experts on understanding how complex societies choose to survive or fail. Tainter seems to have the opinion that the current political paradigm is more or less leading us on a path to failure.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Luckystars', 'T')he end is near, it is 2022 which is the end of the oil age.