# Folks in 2112 will be appalled that we...? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2012, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682 "2012-07-09T08:27:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![greenslime1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@greenslime1951](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenslime1951)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/41 "2012-07-09T18:55:50Z")
This thread was somewhat hijacked by Blake’s assertion that historical trends aren’t always linear or unidirectional, and the debate that followed. I suppose this is true. If you drop an egg onto a concrete sidewalk, it doesn’t _always_ break. Sometimes it bounces and rolls away. Sometimes it turns into a dragon. That said, most social phenomena in human history _have_ shown a linear progression. Human rights. Scientific knowledge. That sort of thing. I did, by the way, choose “appalled” in the thread title carefully. It is without doubt that the inhabitants of the next century will think that many of the things we did were silly, quaint, or stupid–much as we think about Victorians putting little dresses on piano legs. They may even particpate in “twenty-first century revivals,” like the current steampunk fad. What I want to see speculation on is specifically what 22nd-century people will see as disgusting or abhorrent. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/42 "2012-07-09T18:56:31Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > In 2112 people will be appalled at all the shouting over the internet. I’m pretty sure that in 2112 there will still be people who are wrong on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/43 "2012-07-09T18:59:32Z")
They would be appalled that we: Had to see a doctor for medical reasons instead of using our nanobots to maintain our body’s health Had so many separate nations. Spoke so many separate languages. Didn’t have human accessory items like implantable or wearable language translation devices to allow us to communicate with people who used the few remaining languages of the world. Allowed hunger cruelty and crime in our cultures. Listened to some really crap music. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/44 "2012-07-09T19:12:37Z")
I’ve always thought that eventually there will come a time when people are absolutely disgusted at the idea that we were so primitive that people had to go volunteer to have blood taken out of them with a needle so that other people who have had accidents or need surgery can _put those other people’s blood in them_. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/45 "2012-07-09T21:00:36Z")
> [@greenslime1951](#): > > That said, most social phenomena in human history _have_ shown a linear progression. Human rights… As it happens, I read this about five minutes after watching a video on CNN showing a bunch of males in Afghanistan cheering the shooting of a female who had apparently been involved in an extra-marital affair. I’d hate to think what **that** was a linear progression of… ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/46 "2012-07-09T21:01:58Z")
On a lighter note, I think that folks of the future are going to be appalled that we didn’t know how to use the three seashells… ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/47 "2012-07-09T21:03:10Z")
water our lawns. also, i think the original list items of capital punishment, smoking, and discrimination will dominate political debate for a good long while. in fact, i don’t think capital punishment and discrimination will ever be fully wiped away. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/48 "2012-07-09T21:57:22Z")
I’m going to avoid making social predictions, since these lists seem to revolve around “everyone will agree with me and will be disgusted that anyone ever thought otherwise”. Technologically speaking, I predict the future-people will find it hard to believe that we; -Relied on blood and organ donors rather than cloning -Didn’t have digital HUDs superimposed on our field of vision -Drove cars that didn’t have autopilot -Didn’t always have the ability to take pictures or video of everything at any time -Received TV/radio signals over the air -Used big computers that took up an entire desk ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/49 "2012-07-09T22:12:04Z")
Peter Singer, whatever else you think of him, came up with a great metaphor for the progress of human ethics: the expanding circle. Humans are tribal critters, and we draw a circle around ourselves and the beings we care for. In our prehistory, that circle included only our extended family, but as we have progressed as a species and in society, we have **tended** to expand that circle to include an ever-greater swath of beings: our clan, our village, our tribe, our nation, and now human rights. It’s not perfectly linear, but it is a tendency, and it’s somewhat rare (though not unheard-of) for a society to contract that circle. Also: botox. ---
**Author:** ![the\_apples\_fell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@the\_apples\_fell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_apples_fell)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/50 "2012-07-09T22:36:19Z")
Everything we do would probably appall them. Their technology will likely be so far advanced that ours will look to them, comparable to how 1900 technology looks to us. I also believe that, although I cannot be specific, many of our medical processes will seem strange, sloppy, or ineffective. ---
**Author:** ![greenslime1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@greenslime1951](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenslime1951)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/51 "2012-07-09T22:38:08Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > As it happens, I read this about five minutes after watching a video on CNN showing a bunch of males in Afghanistan cheering the shooting of a female who had apparently been involved in an extra-marital affair. > > I’d hate to think what **that** was a linear progression of… Well, duh. They used to _stone_ women to death before they had modern weapons. Now they shoot them. If that ain’t progress, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/52 "2012-07-10T01:14:57Z")
They’ll be appalled that we knew about the cause of global climate change and what was going to happen to the earth as a result, and yet did nothing, at the only time when it could have been damped if not completely stopped. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/53 "2012-07-10T02:09:12Z")
Just as I imagine Singer to believe, our circle will probably include animals, and vegetarianism will be the norm. The act of killing animals is violent and toll of the meat industry on the earth is well known. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/54 "2012-07-10T02:47:57Z")
…that thousands of pets were euthanized each year because people were too stupid to sterilize their pets. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/55 "2012-07-10T03:40:45Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > They’ll be appalled that we knew about the cause of global climate change and what was going to happen to the earth as a result, and yet did nothing, at the only time when it could have been damped if not completely stopped. They’ll laugh at the fact that we once thought human civilization was responsible for the climate on Earth naturally changing. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/56 "2012-07-10T04:06:04Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > They’ll laugh at the fact that we once thought human civilization was responsible for the climate on Earth naturally changing. That’s not in the cards. Corporate and right wing fantasies are not reality. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/57 "2012-07-10T05:22:06Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Though ‘appal’ is a bit hyperbolic in this context, I think they’ll be appalled at our child-like awe of what the Internet and electronics are capable of. They’ll be in awe of the accomplishments. Remember that [**John Titor**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor) had to come back for an IBM 5100 mainframe. > [@ExTank](#): > > I use the term fact here in the same way it was a known and proven fact, according many reputable scientists, that breaking the sound barrier was impossible. Until it was done. Everything is impossible until it isn’t. _—Jean Luc Picard_ > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > In 2112 people will be appalled at all the shouting over the internet. The Straight Dope will have posters exclaiming over their great-grandparents’ rotary-dial phones that still work on whatever passes for a phone network. Except in Saskatchewan. I’m not optimistic, however, that humanity can avoid extinction in the next 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/58 "2012-07-10T06:22:27Z")
As a means of comparison… 1911 \> A measles epidemic in Rotuma in Fiji kills **one seventh** of the population Remember the “Bird Flu” epidmemic? How many people did it kill and what was the impact of the measures to prevent it? Mind you at the same time… 1912 \> Herrick first describes heart disease resulting from hardening of the arteries and if I’m not wrong the 1912 Noble Prize for medicine was given for a method to transplant arteries - so that’s not so far from what we have today. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/59 "2012-07-10T06:28:08Z")
1914 Research.United States. ==Apr.10 \> Alexis Carrel performs the first successful heart surgery, on a dog This is interesting - 100 years ago was the beginning of heart surgery - so in some ways we haven’t really come that far in terms of medicine in the last 100 years - for the next 100? Who knows? For stem cells, when my first daughter was born it was little more than a minor fad, when my second was born it was basically de-rigeur to save the stem cells, and there is real belief that they will be of benefit in her lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682/60 "2012-07-10T06:39:23Z")
In roughly descending order of induced horror Not intervening against regimes like Kim’s North Korea [1] Abortion Opposing nuclear power Banning pot Political correctness Modern “art” Modern music Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Of course this assumes my Probable Optimal Future scenario… [1] Think sort of like how we criticize the Victorians for the Congo Free State… Just being primitive, doesn’t mean being “appalled”, I mean we aren’t appalled that our Stone Age ancestors lived in caves for example. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/folks-in-2112-will-be-appalled-that-we/627682.md?page=4)