@Kooker,
Fido,
If we are talking about mankind, and we were, then yes some man may become a serial killer, and therefore being a part of this group called mankind, we might consider a cure to this condition. You might also consider what a serial killer is and how to prevent it, if you had a lovely young daughter just right for victimization. That is just a few reasons to make this problem your own.
Not just Dick Cheney, I have to wonder about a soldier going into foreign lands and shooting up whole villages simply if they are ordered to by some general, without blinking an eye. Or any person who can flying over God knows who, men, women and children, not to mention innocent animals, and just dropping bombs.
We are far too sophisticated, in general, to actually believe that these generals and politicians all are telling us the truth about why and have good reasons for what they are asking us to do. This is also disconnecting our self from reality and/or everything that we have held, up until that moment, as being morally right. What we are doing, in order to carry out such horrendous acts as these, is to dehumanize the enemy. They aren’t living/breathing/bleeding people like we are. These are rag heads.
Literature does take more of an investment of time than TV. But you also receive back more for your expenditure. To me, literature is like a little vacation, it relaxes me and stimulates my mind at the same time. In this way you might consider it an investment in good health. I guess I could do a similar thing with a pill, but it certainly wouldn’t be as much fun. How many people say that their medicine from the doctor, an antidepressant perhaps, is fun?
For most people Sci Fi is a guilty pleasure. They don’t expect it to change the world, or mankind, as we know him.
As far as the future goes, most of us have bought our ticket and are on our way there, whether for better or worse. There is only one way off this train.
People are very affected by their environment. This is why some people are considering environment engineering (manipulation) as a way to manipulate man. For instance, they have found that moving water is very relaxing to man. So to relieve anxiety, we might introduce more moving water (fountains) into our environment. Healthy people in general would cost the taxpayer less money in many ways.
Or I suppose most people are familiar with that experiment where they had some student be guards and some be prisoners and how it got completely out of hand.
Also genetic technology may be the answer to some of our problems, technological evolution may be our next big step. Why leave everything to chance?
S9