Adjusted for inflation, its still far less. The US and most of NATO spend 3% of GDP on their militaries today, in the 80s they were spending over 10%, and that was in the twilight of the Cold War as the USSR declined during Perestroika. Back in the 50s through the 70s is was upwards of 20% of GDP. If the US spent that much today the military budget would be nearly $6 trillion.
I feel like a huge problem with modern western society is the focus on "freedoms" while turning a blind eye to our responsibilities. I think america was a grand experiment and really knocked it out of the park as a first attempt but i think we're ready for version 2.0 and i think we need a bill of responsibilities in addition to a bill of rights.
My first exposure to Carl Sagan (he was long dead by then.) was his book Cosmos in an english class in high school. It changed my view of what it means to be human dramatically and how far we still have to go. Its what put me on the path to become an aerospace engineer. Sadly life had other plans for me. But maybe someday I will get to finish that journey.
This isn't even close to the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history and humanity is just a blip on the timeline. We'll either eventually learn from our mistakes or life will go on without us.
To quote George Carlin:
“The planet is fine. The people are fucked...The planet isn’t going anywhere. We are!”
It's kind of a moot point worrying about aliens. We won't meet any for likely millions of years if at all. But the principal of spending so much now on war and virtually nothing to prevent it is rather absurd even without aliens to meet.
Diverting so much energy and resources and human potential into destruction is insane. The USA military creates more pollution than most countries on earth, and to do what? Destroy other parts of the biosphere while killing people and blowing up housing and other valuable infrastructure. It's just a massive waste of literally everything that's good. And I hate how quick and easy it is to start wars, while diplomacy is derided and undermined and delayed and not taken seriously.
If we're ever visited by extraterrestrials it will likely be self-replicating/self-repairing autonomous AI probes. Even then, they might have something akin to prime directive when dealing with life. Space is just so vast and inhospitable to life, and I'm not convinced that even with highly advanced technology that it will be feasible for life to traverse the necessary distances, and if they do, relativity will be a problem.
It wasn't then, at least not to the same extend. We've been looking a little while (a very little while mind you, but not nothing now) and not found any. Meaning we Now know that we aren't likely to encounter any. Back during Sagans time, between the moon landing ans the wow signal, it was easy to feel differenty.
If humanity died off tomorrow, nothing of value would be lost. Really hope we aren't the only sentient life in the universe, because holy shot - what a worthless species we are.
Only sentient life in our Galaxy? Maybe. In the observable universe? Highly unlikely. In the entire universe? Almost certainly not. All measurements are consistent with a flat universe, in which case the universe is either infinite of wraps around itself. Various tests indicate that if it does wraparound, then it must do so on a scale larger than what's observable because they failed to find evidence. While not provable, all observations so far point to infinite size being the most likely.
We're on an unremarkeable little planet, orbiting an unremarkable star, with the building blocks of life found all over space, and life formed on our planet almost as soon as it was geologically feasible for it to exist. It took several mass extinctions and a bunch of chance for a species as intelligent as us to come about, but given the incomprehensive vastness of space, there are incalculable dice rolls for it to happen again and again and again. Even on earth, humans are just a tiny blip.
Most people call humanity worthless because of our capacity for cruelty but it is abundant in nature. Creatures fight over resources, parasites and viruses ravage and disfigure... Human beings will sacrifice something for the benefit of another who may never even comprehend the gesture. Before humanity, that didn't exist on this planet.
Some people can't see the beauty because they are so focused on the negative. They focus on the yin and miss the yang, despite it all being part of the same amazing package. Humanity has done a lot of great and terrible things. It's through us that life has the potential to expand off this rock, but our disruption also causes mass extinctions. Species are disappearing, but others are becoming more resilient. This is just one mass extinction of many and humanity is just a blip in Earth's history.
sme2812
If any aliens read this: every government you met was wrong about their political system being the best.
Badgerbadgerson3
Harambe did. That's why things went to shit
Bizarkly
Nowadays, "a trillion dollars a year for preparations for war" is **just** the United States...
ipushbuttons
Adjusted for inflation, its still far less. The US and most of NATO spend 3% of GDP on their militaries today, in the 80s they were spending over 10%, and that was in the twilight of the Cold War as the USSR declined during Perestroika. Back in the 50s through the 70s is was upwards of 20% of GDP. If the US spent that much today the military budget would be nearly $6 trillion.
Guisso14
Now that trillion is just the US
ahorseelbowdeepinme
I feel like a huge problem with modern western society is the focus on "freedoms" while turning a blind eye to our responsibilities. I think america was a grand experiment and really knocked it out of the park as a first attempt but i think we're ready for version 2.0 and i think we need a bill of responsibilities in addition to a bill of rights.
JarJarDrinks
The companion book to this series is excellent
Elonth
My first exposure to Carl Sagan (he was long dead by then.) was his book Cosmos in an english class in high school. It changed my view of what it means to be human dramatically and how far we still have to go. Its what put me on the path to become an aerospace engineer. Sadly life had other plans for me. But maybe someday I will get to finish that journey.
BorkSamson
I only have one celeb regret, and its that I didnt get born quick enough to talk to Carl Sagan just, once.
BeachsideBarghest
We deserve extinction, shame we're taking the rest of the planet with us.
JustAName00
This isn't even close to the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history and humanity is just a blip on the timeline. We'll either eventually learn from our mistakes or life will go on without us.
To quote George Carlin:
“The planet is fine. The people are fucked...The planet isn’t going anywhere. We are!”
BeachsideBarghest
Very true and a good point
Gindipple
It's kind of a moot point worrying about aliens. We won't meet any for likely millions of years if at all. But the principal of spending so much now on war and virtually nothing to prevent it is rather absurd even without aliens to meet.
Rhythmaster
Diverting so much energy and resources and human potential into destruction is insane. The USA military creates more pollution than most countries on earth, and to do what? Destroy other parts of the biosphere while killing people and blowing up housing and other valuable infrastructure. It's just a massive waste of literally everything that's good. And I hate how quick and easy it is to start wars, while diplomacy is derided and undermined and delayed and not taken seriously.
JustAName00
If we're ever visited by extraterrestrials it will likely be self-replicating/self-repairing autonomous AI probes. Even then, they might have something akin to prime directive when dealing with life. Space is just so vast and inhospitable to life, and I'm not convinced that even with highly advanced technology that it will be feasible for life to traverse the necessary distances, and if they do, relativity will be a problem.
korndogg83
+1 and principle*
Goldensands
It wasn't then, at least not to the same extend. We've been looking a little while (a very little while mind you, but not nothing now) and not found any. Meaning we Now know that we aren't likely to encounter any. Back during Sagans time, between the moon landing ans the wow signal, it was easy to feel differenty.
PlankTableGo
If humanity died off tomorrow, nothing of value would be lost. Really hope we aren't the only sentient life in the universe, because holy shot - what a worthless species we are.
HitandRyan
It's not the species that's the problem. It's the coordinated attack on civil rights and public goods by oligarchs that's the problem.
JustAName00
Only sentient life in our Galaxy? Maybe. In the observable universe? Highly unlikely. In the entire universe? Almost certainly not. All measurements are consistent with a flat universe, in which case the universe is either infinite of wraps around itself. Various tests indicate that if it does wraparound, then it must do so on a scale larger than what's observable because they failed to find evidence. While not provable, all observations so far point to infinite size being the most likely.
JustAName00
We're on an unremarkeable little planet, orbiting an unremarkable star, with the building blocks of life found all over space, and life formed on our planet almost as soon as it was geologically feasible for it to exist. It took several mass extinctions and a bunch of chance for a species as intelligent as us to come about, but given the incomprehensive vastness of space, there are incalculable dice rolls for it to happen again and again and again. Even on earth, humans are just a tiny blip.
Rayplays
Most people call humanity worthless because of our capacity for cruelty but it is abundant in nature. Creatures fight over resources, parasites and viruses ravage and disfigure... Human beings will sacrifice something for the benefit of another who may never even comprehend the gesture. Before humanity, that didn't exist on this planet.
JustAName00
Some people can't see the beauty because they are so focused on the negative. They focus on the yin and miss the yang, despite it all being part of the same amazing package. Humanity has done a lot of great and terrible things. It's through us that life has the potential to expand off this rock, but our disruption also causes mass extinctions. Species are disappearing, but others are becoming more resilient. This is just one mass extinction of many and humanity is just a blip in Earth's history.