Problems that do not concern any particular continent or state, but the entire planet, are called global. As civilization develops, it accumulates more and more of them. Today there are eight main problems. Consider the global problems of mankind and ways to solve them.

Ecological problem

Today it is considered the main one. For a long time, people used the resources given to them by nature irrationally, polluted the environment around them, poisoned the Earth with a variety of waste - from solid to radioactive. The result was not long in coming - according to most competent researchers, environmental problems in the next hundred years will lead to irreversible consequences for the planet, and therefore for humanity.

Already now there are countries where this issue has reached a very high level, giving rise to the concept of a crisis ecological region. But the threat looms over the whole world: the ozone layer that protects the planet from radiation is being destroyed, the earth's climate is changing - and man is unable to control these changes.

Even the most developed country cannot solve the problem alone, so the states unite to solve important environmental problems together. The main solution is considered to be the rational use of natural resources and the reorganization of everyday life and industrial production so that the ecosystem develops naturally.

Rice. 1. Threatening scale of the environmental problem.

demographic problem

In the 20th century, when the world's population passed the six billion mark, everyone heard about it. However, in the 21st century, the vector has shifted. In short, now the essence of the problem is this: there are fewer and fewer people. A competent family planning policy and improvement of the living conditions of each individual will help to solve this issue.

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

food problem

This problem is closely related to demographic and consists in the fact that more than half of humanity is experiencing acute food shortages. To solve it, it is necessary to use the available resources for food production more rationally. Experts see two ways of development - intensive, when the biological productivity of existing fields and other lands increases, and extensive - when their number increases.

All global problems of mankind must be solved together, and this one is no exception. The issue of food arose due to the fact that most of the people live in areas unsuitable for this. Combining the efforts of scientists from different countries will significantly speed up the solution process.

Energy and raw materials problem

The uncontrolled use of raw materials has led to the depletion of mineral reserves that have accumulated for hundreds of millions of years. Very soon, fuel and other resources may disappear altogether, so scientific and technical progress is being introduced at all stages of production.

The issue of peace and disarmament

Some scientists believe that in the very near future it may happen that it will not be necessary to look for possible ways to solve the global problems of mankind: people produce such an amount of offensive weapons (including nuclear) that at some point they can destroy themselves. To prevent this from happening, world treaties on the reduction of armaments and the demilitarization of economies are being developed.

The problem of people's health

Humanity continues to suffer from deadly diseases. The advances of science are great, but untreatable diseases still exist. The only solution is to continue scientific research in search of drugs.

The problem of using the oceans

The depletion of land resources has led to an increase in interest in the World Ocean - all countries that have access to it use it not only as a biological resource. Both the mining and chemical sectors are actively developing. This gives rise to two problems at once: pollution and uneven development. But how are these issues resolved? At the moment, scientists from all over the world are engaged in them, who are developing the principles of rational oceanic nature management.

Rice. 2. Industrial station in the ocean.

The problem of space exploration

To master outer space, it is important to unite efforts on a global scale. Recent studies are the result of the consolidation of the work of many countries. This is the basis for solving the problem.

Scientists have already developed a mock-up of the first station for settlers on the moon, and Elon Musk says that the day is not far off when people will go to explore Mars.

Rice. 3. Model of the lunar base.

What have we learned?

Humanity has many global problems that can ultimately lead to its death. These problems can be solved only if efforts are consolidated, otherwise the efforts of one or several countries will be reduced to zero. Thus, civilizational development and the solution of problems of a universal scale are possible only if the survival of man as a species becomes higher than economic and state interests.

Topic quiz

Report Evaluation

Average rating: 4.7. Total ratings received: 1523.

The word "creative" used to be synonymous with "disorganized." Today we want to see a person creative and free-thinking, we admire when a non-standard approach is found to a task.

There are two methods for solving problems:

• Analytical- you select solutions, and then determine which one is correct.
• Intuitive (Insight method)- the solution comes to your mind ready-made.

It's hard to go beyond when trying to solve a problem analytically, but insight is the best way to do it.

Scientists have checked Insight solutions are correct more often than analytic solutions both methods and found that the insight method gave more correct answers than analysis. Brain scan showed The Origins of Insight in Resting-State Brain Activity: in people who solve problems in this way, the anterior cingulate gyrus is activated. This area monitors conflicts between brain regions and allows you to identify opposing strategies. With its help, a person can see non-obvious ways to solve a problem and direct attention to them.

In addition, during epiphanies, people noted more scattered attention. It allows you to see the whole without focusing on the specific.

Scattered attention is typical for a person in a relaxed state and high spirits. You are not fully focused on the task, but you are not in the clouds either. Perhaps that is why most insights come to people in, for example, in the bathroom. If you have such an insight, with it will come the confidence that the decision is correct. And, judging by the scientific data, he should be trusted.

No matter what method of problem solving you use, you do it better than your not-so-distant ancestors.

We are smarter than people who lived 100 years ago

Since 1930, IQ test scores have been on the rise. The Flynn Effect: A Meta-analysis by three points every decade. This trend is called the Flynn effect, after the professor who discovered it, James Flynn.

This pattern has several reasons:

• The quality of life has increased. The nutrition of pregnant women and babies has improved, the number of children in the family has decreased. Now people are investing in the development and education of their children until they graduate from the university.
• Education has improved.
• The nature of work has changed. Mental labor, as a rule, is valued and paid more than physical labor.
• The cultural environment has changed. In today's world, people get much more incentives for brain development: books, the Internet, a variety of communication, not limited to where they live.
• People are used to questions from IQ tests. Since childhood, we have been able to solve such problems and use abstract thinking, so we do it better.

We are much more fortunate than our grandparents, but our children will not necessarily be smarter. Already now, in developed European countries, an anti-effect has been discovered The negative Flynn Effect: A systematic literature review Flynn: after the 2000s, the growth of intelligence stopped and even began to decline.

Scientists suggest that the impact of the environment has reached its peak: there is simply nowhere better. People already eat well, have one or two children, and go to school until the age of 16-23. They cannot have fewer children or study longer, so it is not surprising that intelligence has stopped growing.

We have become better at solving problems on paper, but does this affect real life? After all, a person is not a machine, and mistakes often come from an incorrect assessment of information and the characteristics of our perception.

We lack critical thinking

People tend to make mistakes and see only one side of the problem. One example of this kind of thinking is the availability heuristic, where a person evaluates the frequency and possibility of an event by the ease with which examples come to mind.

Using this method, we rely on our memory and do not take into account real statistics. For example, a person is afraid to die from a terrorist attack or a tornado, but does not even think about a heart attack or. Just because TV shows more high-profile cases.

Anchor effect can be attributed to such errors. Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases when people's decisions are influenced by arbitrary data obtained from the environment. This effect is well demonstrated by the experiment of psychologist Daniel Kahneman. The subjects were asked to spin a wheel of fortune, which randomly dropped the number 10 or 65. After that, the participants had to estimate the percentage of African countries in the UN. People who saw 10 on the wheel always said a lower number than those who got 65, even though they knew it was completely unrelated.

The likes follow us everywhere. Learning to notice them is very important, especially in today's world, where fake news and myths are pouring in from all sides.

To avoid falling victim to illusions, learn to question all information, choose reliable sources, and evaluate your beliefs from time to time, even if they seem to be the only true ones.

Also, for the development of critical thinking it is useful to communicate with a wide range of people. Usually we are drawn to those who share our views. But to develop the habit of critical thinking, we need people we know who disagree with us. They will throw up a lot of topics for reflection and, perhaps, make us reconsider our beliefs.

affiliate material

Without borders: why modern culture strives for borderlessness

Frameless windows, TVs, smartphones and even paintings. Why the modern world no longer wants to keep itself within the boundaries of reason - in a review prepared jointly with the Honor brand.

Gone are the days when we limited ourselves to one function. We are constantly learning, expanding our boundaries, striving for multitasking, trying on different roles. And the culture has become the same. The genres of cinema, theater, music are boldly mixed with each other, so it becomes almost impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins. The frames are also disappearing at the everyday level: we like to watch movies on a borderless screen with the effect of complete immersion, equip apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and watch videos on modern frameless smartphones.

Architecture: frameless windows and glass houses

A window that is not cut by transverse beams creates a feeling of free movement of light and air, and if such a window is opened completely, the boundaries between the outside world and the house are completely erased. By the way, frameless glass is made of much more durable glass: it is no coincidence that not only windows, but also walls are often made of them. The quintessence of the trend is the world's most transparent building of the Institute of Technology in Tokyo. The rectangular box house is located in the middle of the park, and due to the transparent walls, a complete illusion of being in the forest is created. A more avant-garde version is the iceberg-like headquarters of the Baccaland Health Department in Bilbao. On the contrary, it is sandwiched between classical buildings, which further emphasizes its unusual appearance.

Painting: baguette, goodbye

The trend to hang frameless paintings on the walls appeared about three years ago, but in fact, we all encountered it much earlier. Remember, as a child, my mother fastened our first works with a button on the wall? A picture without a frame a priori looks a little homemade, a little more comfortable and as if unfinished, and designers actively use this. In the new season, they not only do not “dress” works of art, but do not even always hang them on the wall. Large meter paintings can be seen standing on the floor behind a sofa or bed, against the backdrop of plain walls. As if this is not a house at all, but a workshop of a modern artist. By the way, mirrors in a modern interior are also increasingly “undressing”. This is especially true for apartments made in a minimalist style.

Hi-tech: TVs without frames

Frameless 360° design is extremely popular with TV manufacturers: devices fit into the interior, becoming part, or rather, a continuation of the space. In the coming season, they are hung on the walls, installed on special easels instead of paintings, and even placed on the ceiling. The 3D screen (up to 200 inches or more), the absence of frames and the exotic location create a feeling of complete immersion and detachment from reality.

Interiors: no skirting boards and furniture without handles

Falling below the plinth will no longer work. Until recently, an interior detail that seemed indispensable is becoming a thing of the past. The junction of the wall and the floor now looks minimalistic, strict and graphic. No extra lines. One continuous geometry. Modern furniture is also becoming more and more concise. Handles are simplified and often go away altogether. The decor is reduced to a minimum, and the silhouettes of interior items themselves are becoming stricter: the less details will distract our attention, the better.

To collate the findings for Homo sapiens communities, Dunbar returned to anthropology. The researcher found out that the number of people in rural traditional settlements fluctuates within the limits he suggested - up to two hundred people. In his work, the scientist suggested that the number of neurocortical neurons - electrically excitable brain cells that process, store and transmit information using electrical and chemical signals- limits the body's ability to process information, which in turn limits the number of relationships a person can maintain at the same time. When the group size exceeds this number, it becomes difficult for an individual to maintain the number of contacts.

Modern communication looks like this

And indeed - if you ask the representatives of the older generation how they met and learned any news, they will answer that they met at the holidays with friends, went for walks together, said goodbye to each other, meaning the next meeting, and when the hostess I wanted to cook an unusual dish, then I asked my friends for the recipe. And the number of these acquaintances on average did not exceed 150 people. All of the above examples suggest that in the past people interacted with each other much more often. They had to personally communicate both with a familiar circle of people and get to know new people, which undoubtedly developed their social skills perfectly. It is possible that it was this experience of our parents and grandmothers that affected the mutual understanding of generations - today young people communicate more and more online, and this applies to both friendships and love relationships.

Today, the ability to get all the necessary information at any time, just by google it, has significantly reduced the need for live communication between people. Why call people you know or meet a friend who has the information you need when you have the internet? Gradually, this led to the fact that people began to communicate less live and more and more online. So, modern teenagers find it more difficult to meet strangers and generally socialize than representatives of previous generations.

Dopamine networks and true friends

A huge role in the modern world is played by social networks and the profiles that we create in them. Some psychologists call social networking pages creating an improved version of themselves, since each person strives to make a good impression on others and often provides false information about himself. It turns out that communication itself has changed today, it has become more superficial. A certain disunity of interests also appeared - if in the past the whole country watched “The meeting place cannot be changed” and common topics for conversation could be found with almost everyone, today the picture is completely different. The emergence of the Internet and such streaming services as, on the one hand, gave us an imaginary freedom of choice, and on the other hand, made it more difficult to meet a person with similar interests in real life.

Instagram has begun testing “unlikes” in some regions of the United States. According to the company's new policy, likes will be available only to the author of publications, and not to his subscribers.

Moreover, based on the work of Dunbar, one can make a false conclusion that the number of social networks should not exceed 150 people. But in fact, we add a large number of people as friends, half of whom have never met or will not see each other at all. The numbers in the friends tab today are a source of dopamine, but not real happiness.

According to a recent study, a person is able to maintain only five truly close contacts throughout his life. That is why the first five people are separately highlighted in your social media feed. But with the rest of the 145 conditional friends, communication is a bit strange - about once a year or six months we congratulate each other with messages, for example, “happy birthday”, as if letting the other person know that we remember about his existence. But such “zombing” in social networks cannot be called full-fledged communication. It turns out that our ancestors communicated with each other much more, more often and more productively than we do, and this communication was often a key factor in their well-being.

Zombing is a like or holiday greeting from a person with whom you do not communicate both online and in real life.

I note that the Internet and the information age not only enriched the Russian language with the latest borrowings, but also changed etiquette. So, in the modern world, the ability to put down the smartphone in time and not take too many photos in the presence of others is very much appreciated.

Black Mirror is no longer a TV series

Fans of social science fiction have probably watched at least one episode of Charlie Brooker's series Black Mirror. The first episode of the third season talked about how likes on social networks affect social status and determine the position in. And if the relationship between people in the world shown in this episode looks like an exaggeration, then the reality has actually gone not so far - a taxi driver today can really lose his job if a client gives him only one star out of five a couple of times. And the way almost all interactions between people in modern China take place seems to make you think: “Isn’t this the world of a“ black mirror ””?

Shot from the series “Black Mirror” (season 3, episode 1)

Of course, the advent of the Internet and modern technology has changed more than just friendships and relationships. Today, the Internet influences almost every aspect of our lifestyle - from basic needs to the most luxurious things. And as we step into the future, it is logical to assume that dependence on the Internet and its role in our lives will only increase. The modern world blurs the boundaries, resembling a global city that exists thanks to the Internet. After all, despite the fact that communication today is more and more superficial, we can now communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. has become a kind of guide to all information and queries about beauty, health, fashion, lifestyle, personal hygiene and more. Moreover, we can not only work from home, but also get an education while sitting in our comfortable chair. The Internet has become a huge platform for the free exchange of knowledge. Yes, we rarely see each other's faces, but we have Wikipedia.

To keep up to date with the latest scientific discoveries, subscribe to

At the end of this article, I can’t help but note that along with the endless opportunities that have appeared thanks to the Internet, there are no less reasons for concern. Our society is rapidly transforming, and the “ok boomer” meme, which has recently swept the world’s social networks, is a clear example of this. The Baby Boomer generation - people who were born between 1943 and 1963 - don't really understand millennials, and even less Generation Z. The fact is that the social environment in which the boomers grew up was completely different from the environment that surrounds modern children and teenagers - and they, among other things, are surrounded by the screens of smartphones, tablets, TVs and limitless flows of information.

The cast of the series “Friends” is almost at full strength. The inscription at the top - "boomers"

The changes relate to worldviews and even jokes. What was considered funny 20 years ago and what was joked about in the TV series “Friends” today causes indignation among young people. The values ​​that the boomer generation broadcast are becoming obsolete at an incredible rate, which only fuels misunderstanding between people. But no less dangerous, I see the inability, and sometimes the unwillingness of network users. It's no secret that pseudoscientific and dangerous ideas, for example, about the dangers of vaccination, are spreading with incredible speed and success in.

No matter how our society changes with the development of technology and the advent of the Internet, we still remain people with our inherent errors of thinking, the need for communication and closeness with others. Perhaps the best thing each of us can do today is to stop for a moment and think about where and where we are going.

"Global problems"(from Latin globus terrae - the globe, the term itself appeared in the late 1960s) - a set of problems of mankind that confronted him in the second half of the 20th century and on the solution of which the further existence of civilization depends.

Common features:

scale: affect all of humanity;

suggest the international cooperation different countries (impossible to decide in one single country);

sharpness: the further fate of civilization depends on their decision;

appear as an objective factor in the development of society;

urgently demand solutions.

Main (priority) global problems:

The problem of war and peace, the prevention of a new world war.

Demographic.

Raw.

Ecological.

The "North-South" problem (overcoming the backwardness of developing countries and reducing the gap in the level of development between them and advanced post-industrial countries).

6. Food.

7. Energy.

8. Use of the oceans.

9. World space exploration.

And so on.

All global problems are interconnected. It is impossible to solve each of them separately: humanity must solve them together in order to save life on the planet.

The main directions of solving global problems:

Formation of a new planetary consciousness. Raising a person on principles humanism. Widespread awareness of people about global problems.

A comprehensive study of the causes and contradictions, the conditions leading to the emergence and exacerbation of problems.

Observation and control of global processes on the planet. Obtaining objective information from each country and international studies is essential for forecasting and decision making.

Clear international forecasting system.

Development of new technologies (resource-saving, recyclable, natural energy sources).

Bringing international cooperation to a new qualitative level. Concentration of efforts of all countries to solve global problems. There is a need for cooperation in creating the latest environmental technologies, a common world center for the study of global problems, a single fund of funds and resources, and the exchange of information.

QUESTIONS:

1. What meaning do social scientists invest in the concept of "global problems of mankind"? Drawing on the knowledge of the social science course, make two sentences containing information about global problems.

Definition: 1) Global problems are a set of problems of mankind that confronted him in the second half of the 20th century and on the solution of which the existence of civilization depends.

Two proposals: 2) The solution of the global problems of mankind is possible only with the participation of the entire world community. 3) One of the global problems is the problem of peace and disarmament, the prevention of a new world war.

2. Name any three global problems of our time and give a specific example for each.

Ecological problem. Example: deforestation - the "lungs of the planet", for example, tropical forests in the Amazon River Valley.

Demographic. Example: the rapid growth of the birth rate in the modern world from 1.5 billion people at the beginning of the 20th century to 6.5 billion at the beginning of the 21st century. In the fall of 2011, the seven billionth inhabitant of the planet was recorded. The world's population is growing exponentially and, according to the most conservative estimates, will reach 10 billion inhabitants by 2050.

The threat of a third world war. Example: if in the early 1950s of the 20th century only two countries in the world possessed nuclear weapons, by the beginning of the 21st century there were already about a dozen of them. Moreover, some of them are in a state of "cold war" with each other, for example, India and Pakistan.

3. Illustrate with three examples the relationship between problems related to the widening gap between developed and Third World countries and the problem of preventing another world war.

As examples illustrating the relationship of problems related to the widening gap between developed countries and countries of the “third world” with the problem of preventing a new world war, the following can be given:

A significant number of local armed conflicts occur in third world countries, some of which have nuclear weapons (for example, the Indo-Pakistani conflict.

Due to the aggravation of the problem of providing raw materials and energy resources, the most developed countries of the world provoke, and sometimes themselves participate in, wars for control over sources of raw materials (for example, the war in the Persian Gulf or the US-Iraq war).

The poverty of certain regions of the planet contributes to the spread of the most radical, militant ideologies in them, the adherents of which are fighting against developed countries (for example, Islamic terrorist organizations), etc.

4 . Read the text and do the tasks for it.

“Most of the remaining higher species of plants and animals are now under threat. Those that man has chosen to satisfy his needs have long been adapted to his requirements with the sole purpose of producing for him as much food and raw materials as possible. They are no longer subject to the Darwinian law of natural selection, which ensures the genetic evolution and adaptability of wild species. However, those species for which a person could not find direct use are also doomed. Their natural home and their resources have been taken away and ruthlessly destroyed in the purposeful progress of mankind. An equally sad fate awaits the untouched wilderness, which is still needed as a natural habitat for man himself for his physical and spiritual life. Indeed, by violating the ecological balance and irreparably reducing the life-supporting capacity of the planet, a person in this way can eventually deal with his own species no worse than an atomic bomb.

And this is not the only way in which the newly acquired power of man is reflected in his own position. Modern man began to live longer, which led to a population explosion. He learned to produce more than ever before, all kinds of things, and also in a much shorter time. Like Gargantua, he has developed an insatiable appetite for consumption and possession, producing more and more, engaging himself in a vicious circle of growth with no end in sight.

A phenomenon was born that began to be called the industrial, scientific, and more often the scientific and technological revolution. The latter began when a person realized that he could effectively and on an industrial scale put into practice his scientific knowledge about the world around him. This process is now in full swing and everything is picking up and picking up speed.”

(According to A. Peccei)

1) Plan the text. To do this, highlight the main semantic fragments of the text and title each of them.

3) Suggest why the constant growth of production and consumption threatens the future of mankind. Make two guesses.

5) In 1900, the population of the Earth reached 1650 million people; in 1926 it amounted to 2 billion people; the third billion took 34 years; the next billion was added in 14 years; then - for 13; the increase in the population from 5 to 6 billion people took 12 years and ended in 1999. What idea of ​​the author does the above facts illustrate? What is the danger of the continued growth of the world's population?

1. Text plan:

The influence of modern man on nature.

The growth of human needs.

Scientific and technological revolution.

Those species (species of plants and animals) that man has chosen to satisfy his needs have long been adapted to his requirements with the sole purpose of producing for him as much food and raw materials as possible.

Those species for which man could not find direct use are doomed, because the natural habitat and their resources have been taken away and ruthlessly destroyed in the purposeful progress of mankind forward.

A sad fate awaits the untouched wilderness, which is still needed as a natural habitat for man himself for his physical and spiritual life.

3. Two guesses:

The growth of production and consumption leads to the search for additional resources, which leads a person to the most remote and untouched corners of the wild. In turn, this violates the already precarious balance of man and wildlife.

The constant growth of production and consumption will be accompanied by an increase in waste, which can lead to a global environmental catastrophe. For example, an increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere threatens with a "greenhouse effect".

The struggle for the redistribution of resources is the "third world war."

Two major achievements of the NTR:

the Internet;

mobile connection.

Such facts illustrate the following idea of ​​the author: "Modern man began to live longer, which led to a population explosion."

The danger is in the coming overpopulation of the planet, which will not have enough resources to feed so many people. This threatens humanity with new wars, social cataclysms and other troubles.

Wild nature allows a person to enjoy the feeling of beauty, to feel harmony with nature, to experience a sense of peace, etc.

The information revolution taking place in modern conditions creates real technical and technological foundations for solving global problems. An economy based on a combination of market mechanisms and state regulation of spontaneous economic processes is becoming more widespread, allowing for effective social protection of the population, overcoming the conflict between production efficiency and the social interests of people.

Arguments:

Gradually, the idea of ​​non-violence, the solution of emerging problems not by force, but by negotiations, the search for compromises, is gradually being affirmed in the minds of politicians and the idea of ​​non-violence is becoming a reality. The irreconcilable ideological confrontation, which turned into a psychological war, is becoming a thing of the past. The foundations for tolerance and mutual cooperation within the world community are gradually being strengthened, which creates the conditions for joint action to solve global problems.