Thread of positive things in the world.

[Darkflame]

There's so much negativity about and stress. The US election, Brexit, various horrible things around the world seem to constantly dominate news cycles and social media feeds.
However, its not all gloom, I am going to thus post a series of things this year I personally found positive developments. Feel free to share your own.

(Slightly overlapping with the Hope thread, but this is for more global/big things in the world. So, yes "new hopeful cure for cancer" and whatnot)

[Darkflame]

- Good Thing #1:

Marriage Equality in the states. Not much to say here, but its a significant expansion of civil rights for some, and still a cause for celebration. People shouldn't have to move where they live to get full rights of being with the one they love.

- Good Thing #2:

Polio is very close now to being wiped out. What once killed hundreds of thousands will be no more. Gone.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/13/polio-will-be-wiped-out-for-good-once-we-tackle-the-last-remaini/
Good job humans.

- Good Thing #3:

Decades after it was discovered that CO2 reflects heat, governments around the world have finally agreed that its probably not a good idea to keep pumping it into the sky without limits.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37872111
While still just a start, its significant this agreement includes the US, China and Russia, which are currently the biggest groups releasing CO2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement

[Darkflame]

- Good Thing #4:

Three separate groups are now committed to putting humans on mars. This isn't just a pipedream anymore, its happening.

Elon Musk says its about making a "offsite backup". To secure the human race and its knowledge against extinction.
I think while that's technically true the reason to go to mars is much more positive.
Its human. We explore - both physically and mentally we always try to push beyond what was previously a limit. If we see a horizon, we want to know whats on the other side. Going to mars is humanity's next big horizon - and every other time we as a species have explored past a horizon, its paid of in ways we couldn't imagine before hand.
So mars isn't about anything we know today - its about the value of the unknown.

[Elomin Sha]

Being the best person who ever lived.

Drink it in, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

[Robo4900]

Good thread; definitely something we all need.

(Also, pro-tip: For writing subscript, use this forum's size tags -- "size=60" in box brackets: [] right before the number, then "/size" also in box brackets, but right after the number. The result: CO2)

[Master Gunner]

(Additional pro-tip: You can use the [cоde] tag to demonstrate the use of BBCode tags in their raw form).

Code: Select all

CO[size=60]2[/size]

CO2

[Darkflame]

Hay anything to make things more pretty, tah
---

- Good Thing #5:

And now my personal pet-love; AR.

Its now inevitable we will live in a half virtual world.
In a decade or so monitors and screens will seem redundant - we will just have virtual objects in space around us, as real looking as anything else. The idea of being tied to desks, to have to sit at a particular place to see media will start to seem weird.
Dozens of groups are making augmented reality glasses of various sorts. Sure, they are big and clunky now - but since when has technology not got smaller,better and cheaper?

And the rise of AR has significance far beyond most realize at the moment. Its not just about gaming, or some professions. Just as the PC "emulates" dozens of other devices, and the smartphone then made it portable, AR will do the same - giving us almost everything everywhere.
To be exact, anything we dont need to physically touch could be emulated virtually, reducing environmental impact of the developed world hugely by replacing products that previously needed to be physically made and shipped.
Our health might improve too, as addiction to information and gossip can be fed without tieing us to a desk.
Moreso, it might have profound effect on our sense of value - when anything can look like anything else, how will we perceive the value of fashions, brands and style? Will we value function over form in the physical, because everything can be "reskinable" in the virtual?

Sure, there will be changes and transitional problems. Not all will be good. But it will make humanity more efficient while giving individuals a very powerful tool

[Darkflame]

-Good Thing #6:

Hope for people with spinal cord injurys, as brain implants have enabled monkeys to walk again;
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles ... plants.htm
Technical details here;
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v5 ... 20118.html

This is exciting not just for the benefits of people paralyzed in this way, but also the wider coolness of how we are slowly understanding how the bodys signals and communications work.
The downside, is of course, the necessity of animal research here, in particular primates. But I still chalk this up as another win.

[Darkflame]

Good Thing #7;

http://hackaday.com/2017/01/19/marlas-n ... ore-240486

Seriously, watch that video, if you need hope or sheer happiness, that's it.

[MotorWaffle]

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/ ... ed-it.html

A smaller thing, but still a good one. An 8 year-old students starts a fundraising campaign to get shoes for her less fortunate classmates.