this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024

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114

What is something considered impossible when you were a kid but is now known to be completely possible or even inevitable? (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

WW3

I've realised, over time, that we got to be species number 1 through near statistically impossible odds that is only achievable by being the most brutally effective in the game of evolution.

And millions of years of nature doesn't just go away when you're declared the winner. It is in our nature to dominate through all means possible, else we wouldn't be here. It's not so much that we want war, we need it; our nature is founded on it. When there is nothing left on the planet to defeat, we turn on ourselves to scratch the itch.

The catch is the other half of our nature is focused on domination of the species. We protect each other for the greater good as much as we kill for the greater good. That's our human nature; that's how we got here. So after a war we feel awful and promise to never do it again, but then the itch of being number 1 reappears and there's nothing else to scratch it with because we conquered everything else.

Our known history affirms that the end-game of evolution is a never ending cycle of masturbating to awful shit, feeling ashamed, and just doing it again once the shame is overridden by the urge. "Never again" we say, every fucking time.

Edit: That's why I also love the self-proclaimed "lefties" camp always misappropriating the philosophical Paradox of Tolerance on here—like it's not misappropriately used by the other camps. Ironically all just proving the paradox true. Camp vs camp. Tribe vs tribe. The itches and scratches, Oblivious to human nature doing as it does best. To progress is to win by all means possible. This is our way.

Edit Edit: And no I'm not picking on you kids specifically. Look at Tall Poppy Syndrome, Soapboxes, why communism never works, why capitalism never works; all the other ideologies we think up to break the cycle and try fast forward our evolution in vain. They all end with with someone or something taking power for a brief moment, before they're targetted to be cut down by the nature of others trying to instill their idea, how they want it, how they insist all others will want and should have it. Power.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

True. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to break the cycle. Although we are heading towards another great conflict, we are currently in an era with less hunger, more education, and less poverty throughout the world than ever before. We clearly did something right. Let's try to do even better in the future. Lets evolve, step by step, cause that Is was are good at!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Oh, yeah. We definitely keep trying to break the cycle, else we'll all be extinguished at some point. It won't be broken in the near future, but over many generations of each doing their part, it will eventually evolve into something better; the old perks of the species no longer relevant or needed, eventually evolved out.

Whether or not we can survive ourselves in the meantime is a whole new hurdle in our path.

[–] pastermil 7 points 6 days ago

Going to Mars.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

Swallowing gum.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Self driving cars.

We are on the early stages currently; ignore what Tesla/musk says; in 10 - 20 years full level 5 autonomy will be common place.

In the 80's the Cray 1 supercomputer was made, now I have so much more computer power in my pocket its frankly ridiculous. And it's runs on milliwatts rather than kilowatts.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Honestly not convinced, we've been promised self driving cars for almost a decade and we unearthed way more problems than ways of getting closer. And honestly, there are soo many situations where even I'm not sure what the correct course of action would be, so I'm not holding my breath for an AI sourcing from our collective actions.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

That may not be the way.

But don't forget, all advances are cumulative.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I work in the automotive industry. I believe we could be there in 10 to 20 years, but I'm not convinced we will be there.

Specifically, because vehicle autonomy has been a big buzz word in the industry for a decade or so, and it's starting to lose its zing. And when buzzwords lose their zing, the money dries up and the industry moves on.

Things like speed-adjusting cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, for example, are trivial to implement from a technological standpoint and don't cost much to add. But they don't show up in too many vehicles, because consumers stopped caring. I worked on a trailer backup assistance feature in a 2015 pickup that added zero production cost, but very few vehicles implement anything like that. Not because they're not valuable features, but because the industry loses interest and moves on.

The automotive feature that boggles me most is 4-wheel steering (where the rear wheels can move about 10 degrees or so). I've driven a vehicle with this feature, and it's an absolute game-changer. And it doesn't cost that much to implement either. Too bad the big OEMs don't care, because once you've driven one, you want it on every vehicle ever. Sigh.

End rant.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Besides parking, what other benefit is there for 4-wheel steering?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

General maneuverability is the main benefit. The back wheels more closely follow the front wheels, so for situations like a curved drive-through (curbs on both sides) or even just making turns on roads with narrow lanes, it's easier to not clip the curb (or other vehicles) on the inside of your turn. And at high speeds, you can implement "crab walk" to make lane changes easier. It makes a big difference with towing as well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

There is a massive profit motive, especially for trucking companies.

When there is enough money tho be made, it will be implemented.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

I agree the logistics industry wants it. Though I think there may be problems to be solved for autonomous deliveries outside of the driving aspect (that is, the driver does a lot more than just drive). So I wonder if it'll pick up more if some of the other roadblocks for that are resolved...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I'm super curious how they will handle inclement weather where lanes cease to exist. And drive thrus. How will it handle a drive thru fully autonomously?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Real answer...

GPS accurate enough to tell the car where the lanes are.

Drive thru wouldn't be too bad, it's essentially stop and go traffic. Plus, when full autonomy happens, drive thrus will become less common. You can just pre-order your food while the car is driving you to the restaurant. The restaurant will tell the car how long the food will take, and what parking spot to use. Then your car will tell the restaurant your ETA, and notify them exactly when you arrive. Food is waiting, so you just grab the bag and go.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Yeah the issue with predictions around things like autonomous vehicles is it assumes tech advancements will flow in one direction/domain. There are still serious limitations of current AI systems in regards to autonomous vehicles and the next breakthrough may not be one relevant to that domain.

Its certainly possible, but we've basically been on the current autonomous vehicle hype for about 10 years already.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

The same way we do.

Slow down; drive by feel; look to the sides for trees, sign posts, other markers, knowing the roads.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Achieving a world record in this day and age, which I have at least one of.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Wireless power transfer/charging. The only thing even alluding to it being possible when I was growing up, was Nikola Tesla's work; and most people thought most of his ideas were bunk.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Im surprised to see this pop up multiple times. If my device more or less is still plugged in with wireless chargers (as it can't really be "off" the pad) it's really not that impressive to me. Not to mention we've been pumping power through the air since the first radio.

If my device could charge anywhere within a certain radius (feet/meters), that would be impressive.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I sometimes wonder if tesla was successful in his expiements but realized how it could be quickly weaponized or has some other moral implications so that he destroyed all his research.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

He's ideas were interesting.

But practically, he didn't have a method to transport power without wires.

Yes, running wires is difficult. But trying to transmit power is staggeringly inefficient.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Teleportation

It was proven on a micro scale by Jeff Kimble's team at CalTech (?) in the late 90s I think

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

I'm not sure quantum entanglement is indicative of teleportation but don't know much about it. Would be cool to learn more.

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