THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
August 4, 2019
www.theparacast.com
A Futurist Explains How to Face Our Technological Future on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features, Classic Episodes and there’s more to come! So act now! Check out Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio for more details about The Paracast+.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present futurist speaker and author Christian Kromme. Christian is an expert in disruptive technologies and the author of the Amazon best-selling book “Humanification – Go Digital, Stay Human.” In this book, which you can download free of charge from his site, he focuses on the fascinating parallels between biology and technology. He maintains that the waves of technological innovations that follow each other in rapid rate are, in fact, no coincidence. His book helps the business world anticipate and navigate in an extremely rapidly changing world and benefit from the latest technological changes. He challenges organizations to think like a surfer, so they know how to surf the next great wave of technological change. Are we ready to face the future? Is the rise of machines a curse or a blessing?
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
William Puckett's Blog: UFO Reporting Center, Latest UFO Sightings & News.
Christian Kromme's Site: Christian Kromme - Futurist Keynote Speaker and Best Selling Author
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on August 4: Gene and Randall present Special Correspondent William Puckett and his UFO sighing update. This week he discusses an episode that occurred on July 26, 2019 in Tustin, MI, where a woman discovered strange marks on her body. You’ll also hear about reports of star-like objects zigzagging and circling on July 21, 2019, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a report of a large V-shaped object seen in the daylight in Logansport, IN in 2006, and a slow-moving large orange orb in Montreal on July 28, 2019. Futurist Christian Kromme continues the discussion that began on the August 4, 2019 episode of The Paracast with more of his fascinating views about our possible future. The discussion includes Kromme's observations about the possible impact of "first contact" with extraterrestrials.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Check out our new YouTube channel at: The Official Paracast Channel
A Dystopian Future
By Gene Steinberg
As you have probably observed, many sci-fi films that depict our civilization in the early 21st century haven’t been terribly optimistic as to how humanity will fare.
Some films have been equally overeager in predicting a miserable future. So the 1981 movie, “Escape From New York,” envisioned a major war involving the United States and Soviet Union; this was a decade before the USSR was broken up. But it wasn’t an outrageous concept during the height of the Cold War.
In this film, Manhattan was used as a maximum security prison, and a soldier turned criminal, portrayed by Kurt Russell, plots an escape.
And it’s hard to forget the impact of “Terminator,” from 1984, which was one of the early Arnold Schwarzenegger films that cemented his reputation for delivering fancy quips. He was back many many times.
So in 2029, an AI system known as Skynet, fated to start a nuclear holocaust, sends our favorite Terminator back to 1984. His, or its, goal is to prevent the birth of the individual who will lead the rebellion against Skynet by killing the woman who will become his mother.
These films and others depict a post-apocalyptic future, where our civilization is shattered and we poor humans struggle to cope with the mess we created.
Yet another example is “Star Trek: First Contact,” perhaps the best “Next Generation” film, in which Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise must return to 2063 to prevent the evil cyborg/human Borg from changing the future by altering a crucial event. It’s yet another depiction of a post-apocalyptic civilization. As depicted in the Star Trek canon, eccentric scientist Zefram Cochrane invents warp drive, and his maiden voyage draws the attention of Vulcans, thus initiating the event depicted in the title.
With stories such as these, it’s hard to envision a very pleasant near-future for humanity. Indeed, all the turmoil we are experiencing today around the world would seem to point in that direction. It almost seems as if those films — and others with equally pessimistic visions — were, in some ways, prophetic.
Now I do not expect to be around long enough to see humankind go to hell in a hand basket, unless it happens in the relatively near future.
Regardless, it’s clear that the producers of these films, and others depicting similar outcomes, didn’t have to spend much time examining tea leaves. The signs have been there for decades, assuming we are foolish enough to continue along such a tragic path.
Now Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, predicted that humanity will eventually come together to form a peaceful civilization, becoming a member of an equally peaceful Federation of peace-loving worlds. So First Contact, with a little help from the Enterprise crew of a later generation, initiates the process.
But if our future is destined to lead to disastrous outcomes, how can anyone have hope that we can find the path to peace?
Well, futurist Christian Kromme, in his appearance on the August 4th episode of The Paracast, is more optimistic. Yes, there will be dark days. Rampant technology may overwhelm us, but eventually humanity will come together to overcome its problems.
Now I’m not a fan of his vision of a utopian society and all, but making technology our friend, free of the current concerns of privacy and other issues, is not so bad an idea.
But it’s only one example of humanity overcoming its troubles. At least it happens without outside interference or influence, or maybe that’s what it requires.
In religion, there’s the Second Coming, but even that vision postulates a potential armageddon in which only the chosen people are rescued. Concepts of Space Brothers are similar. Humans can’t do it alone; they require some outside force to intervene in our affairs to set things right.
That there are so many concepts that are essentially similar might, to some of you, indicate that things are fated to change in ways that will be quite unpleasant.
But it’s far from the first time that we’ve confronted a possible end of the world scenario.
During the height of World War II, for example, millions were killed. It was easy to see why many people strongly believed that the end was near, and the threat of nuclear conflict in the years that followed helped to buttress that view.
The early flying saucer contactees presented their tales of contact with ET in that environment. It’s no wonder that some, such as George Adamski, recruited a number of followers. He, after all, was evangelizing the wisdom of the Space Brothers, beings who promised peace and love for all.
In other words, it was a modern day religion with technological trappings. It was about physical beings, traveling in physical spaceships, delivering messages that would exhort humans to overcome their troubles. But ET has, thus far, been totally feckless in solving our problems.
Over the years, there have even been a number “end of the world” predictions, and let’s not forget the misinterpretations of the Mayan Calendar and supposed expectations of some sort of worldwide catastrophe, or mass epiphany, in 2012.
Of course, when 2012 came and went, and nothing untoward happened, there was good reason to be jaded about yet another end of the world prediction. The arrival of the year 2000 was also supposed to herald cataclysmic events, if only because the internal clocks on many computers weren’t designed with the expectation of the arrival of a new century.
Such beliefs, however, largely envision a sudden event or a series of events that precipitate armageddon. An action movie of that title even had its heroes flying to an asteroid and altering its destructive path to save the world.
And don’t forget that ongoing climate change may result in disastrous consequences if we don’t fix the environment.
In all this, humans usually expect saviors to come along and rescue them. It’s not something we can possibly do ourselves if we just make the right kind of changes before it’s too late to act. As optimistic as some these beliefs might seem, that all is not lost, I’d like to think we are shortchanging ourselves.
Why should we require the intervention of outside parties, even if they are the machines we create, to prevent disaster?
I have little doubt that ET is out there, and may already be visiting our planet. But we shouldn’t expect them to just swoop in and rescue us. We have no idea whatever what their motives might be, so why should we expect friendly visitors?
Copyright 1999-2019 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
August 4, 2019
www.theparacast.com
A Futurist Explains How to Face Our Technological Future on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features, Classic Episodes and there’s more to come! So act now! Check out Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio for more details about The Paracast+.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Randall present futurist speaker and author Christian Kromme. Christian is an expert in disruptive technologies and the author of the Amazon best-selling book “Humanification – Go Digital, Stay Human.” In this book, which you can download free of charge from his site, he focuses on the fascinating parallels between biology and technology. He maintains that the waves of technological innovations that follow each other in rapid rate are, in fact, no coincidence. His book helps the business world anticipate and navigate in an extremely rapidly changing world and benefit from the latest technological changes. He challenges organizations to think like a surfer, so they know how to surf the next great wave of technological change. Are we ready to face the future? Is the rise of machines a curse or a blessing?
J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon
William Puckett's Blog: UFO Reporting Center, Latest UFO Sightings & News.
Christian Kromme's Site: Christian Kromme - Futurist Keynote Speaker and Best Selling Author
After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on August 4: Gene and Randall present Special Correspondent William Puckett and his UFO sighing update. This week he discusses an episode that occurred on July 26, 2019 in Tustin, MI, where a woman discovered strange marks on her body. You’ll also hear about reports of star-like objects zigzagging and circling on July 21, 2019, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a report of a large V-shaped object seen in the daylight in Logansport, IN in 2006, and a slow-moving large orange orb in Montreal on July 28, 2019. Futurist Christian Kromme continues the discussion that began on the August 4, 2019 episode of The Paracast with more of his fascinating views about our possible future. The discussion includes Kromme's observations about the possible impact of "first contact" with extraterrestrials.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Check out our new YouTube channel at: The Official Paracast Channel
A Dystopian Future
By Gene Steinberg
As you have probably observed, many sci-fi films that depict our civilization in the early 21st century haven’t been terribly optimistic as to how humanity will fare.
Some films have been equally overeager in predicting a miserable future. So the 1981 movie, “Escape From New York,” envisioned a major war involving the United States and Soviet Union; this was a decade before the USSR was broken up. But it wasn’t an outrageous concept during the height of the Cold War.
In this film, Manhattan was used as a maximum security prison, and a soldier turned criminal, portrayed by Kurt Russell, plots an escape.
And it’s hard to forget the impact of “Terminator,” from 1984, which was one of the early Arnold Schwarzenegger films that cemented his reputation for delivering fancy quips. He was back many many times.
So in 2029, an AI system known as Skynet, fated to start a nuclear holocaust, sends our favorite Terminator back to 1984. His, or its, goal is to prevent the birth of the individual who will lead the rebellion against Skynet by killing the woman who will become his mother.
These films and others depict a post-apocalyptic future, where our civilization is shattered and we poor humans struggle to cope with the mess we created.
Yet another example is “Star Trek: First Contact,” perhaps the best “Next Generation” film, in which Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise must return to 2063 to prevent the evil cyborg/human Borg from changing the future by altering a crucial event. It’s yet another depiction of a post-apocalyptic civilization. As depicted in the Star Trek canon, eccentric scientist Zefram Cochrane invents warp drive, and his maiden voyage draws the attention of Vulcans, thus initiating the event depicted in the title.
With stories such as these, it’s hard to envision a very pleasant near-future for humanity. Indeed, all the turmoil we are experiencing today around the world would seem to point in that direction. It almost seems as if those films — and others with equally pessimistic visions — were, in some ways, prophetic.
Now I do not expect to be around long enough to see humankind go to hell in a hand basket, unless it happens in the relatively near future.
Regardless, it’s clear that the producers of these films, and others depicting similar outcomes, didn’t have to spend much time examining tea leaves. The signs have been there for decades, assuming we are foolish enough to continue along such a tragic path.
Now Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, predicted that humanity will eventually come together to form a peaceful civilization, becoming a member of an equally peaceful Federation of peace-loving worlds. So First Contact, with a little help from the Enterprise crew of a later generation, initiates the process.
But if our future is destined to lead to disastrous outcomes, how can anyone have hope that we can find the path to peace?
Well, futurist Christian Kromme, in his appearance on the August 4th episode of The Paracast, is more optimistic. Yes, there will be dark days. Rampant technology may overwhelm us, but eventually humanity will come together to overcome its problems.
Now I’m not a fan of his vision of a utopian society and all, but making technology our friend, free of the current concerns of privacy and other issues, is not so bad an idea.
But it’s only one example of humanity overcoming its troubles. At least it happens without outside interference or influence, or maybe that’s what it requires.
In religion, there’s the Second Coming, but even that vision postulates a potential armageddon in which only the chosen people are rescued. Concepts of Space Brothers are similar. Humans can’t do it alone; they require some outside force to intervene in our affairs to set things right.
That there are so many concepts that are essentially similar might, to some of you, indicate that things are fated to change in ways that will be quite unpleasant.
But it’s far from the first time that we’ve confronted a possible end of the world scenario.
During the height of World War II, for example, millions were killed. It was easy to see why many people strongly believed that the end was near, and the threat of nuclear conflict in the years that followed helped to buttress that view.
The early flying saucer contactees presented their tales of contact with ET in that environment. It’s no wonder that some, such as George Adamski, recruited a number of followers. He, after all, was evangelizing the wisdom of the Space Brothers, beings who promised peace and love for all.
In other words, it was a modern day religion with technological trappings. It was about physical beings, traveling in physical spaceships, delivering messages that would exhort humans to overcome their troubles. But ET has, thus far, been totally feckless in solving our problems.
Over the years, there have even been a number “end of the world” predictions, and let’s not forget the misinterpretations of the Mayan Calendar and supposed expectations of some sort of worldwide catastrophe, or mass epiphany, in 2012.
Of course, when 2012 came and went, and nothing untoward happened, there was good reason to be jaded about yet another end of the world prediction. The arrival of the year 2000 was also supposed to herald cataclysmic events, if only because the internal clocks on many computers weren’t designed with the expectation of the arrival of a new century.
Such beliefs, however, largely envision a sudden event or a series of events that precipitate armageddon. An action movie of that title even had its heroes flying to an asteroid and altering its destructive path to save the world.
And don’t forget that ongoing climate change may result in disastrous consequences if we don’t fix the environment.
In all this, humans usually expect saviors to come along and rescue them. It’s not something we can possibly do ourselves if we just make the right kind of changes before it’s too late to act. As optimistic as some these beliefs might seem, that all is not lost, I’d like to think we are shortchanging ourselves.
Why should we require the intervention of outside parties, even if they are the machines we create, to prevent disaster?
I have little doubt that ET is out there, and may already be visiting our planet. But we shouldn’t expect them to just swoop in and rescue us. We have no idea whatever what their motives might be, so why should we expect friendly visitors?
Copyright 1999-2019 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!