SF author finds reasons to be cheerful

Part of the job of the good Science Fiction author is looking forward to the
near future and dispensing warnings if we don't change our course. But a
lesser known but still important part is looking back at the near past and
pulling out what we did well. This also has some value.

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/11/stross-on-reasons-to.html

Stross on reasons to be cheerful about the past ten
years<http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/11/stross-on-reasons-to.html>

Cory Doctorow <http://www.boingboing.net/author/cory-doctorow-1/> at 11:46
AM Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011

 Charlie Stross looks back over the last ten years and finds *lots* to be
cheerful about, from working treatments for AIDS to economic growth in the
world's poorest countries, and, of course, growth in computing power with
concomitant progress in genomics. He's even optimistic that we're seeing the
tail end of the war on terror:

Finally? The war on terror seems to be dampening down. While 9/11 was
traumatic, for all their chest-beating Al Qaida failed to score a repeat.
Even the horrors of the Madrid and London bombings didn't come close. It
turns out that organizing major terrorist atrocities on the scale of 9/11 is
hard, and folks with the brains and persistence to do so are more likely to
pursue their political ends through conventional channels; what we're left
with are the idiot clown-car brigade trying to set fire to their underpants
or blow up their shoes.

I'm sorry to note that most of the good stuff didn't happen to those of us
in the developed world -- but the human world is indisputably in better
shape overall in 2010 than it was in 2000. And what makes my neighbour
happier without damaging me makes my world a better place.

Reasons to be Cheerful<http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/12/reasons-to-be-cheerful.html>

Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |

-- 
dadl-ot mailing list
http://mail.thehood.us/mailman/listinfo/dadl-ot_thehood.us
http://news.gmane.org/gmane.music.dadl.ot