• The End Is Nigh! Stephen Hawkings says mankind won't survive another 1000 years on earth
    126 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259304]Just because we've defied statistical probability so far doesn't automatically mean we'll soon not.[/QUOTE] Do you really want the fate of humanity hinging on nothing but a wing and a prayer though? We can carry on defying the odds but eventually somethings going to completely blind side us and it's gonna be devastating.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259285]Probably the fact that we're about to go through one of the most colossal changes our species will ever see, climate change from a cold period to a hot period, as well as the fact that we're over due dor a lot of major disasters, comets, super volcanoes, mega tsunamis, they all happen at some point or another and we're pretty much overdue for all of them.[/QUOTE] i would say that sans a very large asteroid mankind would be able to bounce back from anything
Humanity won't go [I]extinct[/I] because of our bad habits with resources - we're just looking at the complete collapse of civilization. Nah, the [I]extinction[/I] will be caused by an out of control biological weapon or nuclear war.
I wonder why we still use rockets for leaving the atmosphere in a lot of cases. It could be more cost effective long term for a spacecraft equipped entirely with the purpose to traverse space to say, Mars, to be carried by a large aircraft to a significant altitude to easily make its way out.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259321]You really could just rewrite that sentence and replace humans with dinosaurs. Our technology won't save us in our current form if the shit really hits the fan, having some little enclave of a few thousand people really won't do much good for us, science would pretty much completely stagnate, those people would be missing out on some resource that are completely vital to modern living. The best option is just to get a few million people the fuck off Earth as soon as humanly possible.[/QUOTE] What kind of shit has to hit the fan to drive human beings to extinction? I doubt you can compare humankind to dinosaurs because we're far-far-far more advanced then they were, biologically even. There's no other species as durable as we are.
i'm interested to see if the world can get along in the next 50 years :v:
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259331]Do you really want the fate of humanity hinging on nothing but a wing and a prayer though? We can carry on defying the odds but eventually somethings going to completely blind side us and it's gonna be devastating.[/QUOTE] I think you greatly underestimate mankind's collective abilities.
[QUOTE=gudman;40259365]What kind of shit has to hit the fan to drive human beings to extinction?[/QUOTE] GM [I]Bacillus anthracis[/I] filled shit.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259338]Humanity won't go [I]extinct[/I] because of our bad habits with resources - we're just looking at the complete collapse of civilization. Nah, the [I]extinction[/I] will be caused by an out of control biological weapon or nuclear war.[/QUOTE] Good thing there aren't any troublemakers considering doing that hanging around in say, asia.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259370]I think you greatly underestimate mankind's collective abilities.[/QUOTE] Humankind is perfectly capable of completely destroying itself.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259370]I think you greatly underestimate mankind's collective abilities.[/QUOTE] I don't see the point in just saying "nah we'll be fine, we have the technology/power/magic/etc." Why even risk it, why not just get a few million people and fucking ship em to Mars? We're gonna do it at some point so why not sooner rather than later.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259380]GM [I]Bacillus anthracis[/I] filled shit.[/QUOTE] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlovsk_anthrax_leak]Been there, saw that[/url]. That's city I'm living in, so I can assure you it's not ghost town. It's not the end of humankind, that's for sure. [QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259398]I don't see the point in just saying "nah we'll be fine, we have the technology/power/magic/etc." Why even risk it, why not just get a few million people and fucking ship em to Mars? We're gonna do it at some point so why not sooner rather than later.[/QUOTE] Because we don't have the technology just yet? Not even to reliably send 30 people there?
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259398]I don't see the point in just saying "nah we'll be fine, we have the technology/power/magic/etc." Why even risk it, why not just get a few million people and fucking ship em to Mars? We're gonna do it at some point so why not sooner rather than later.[/QUOTE] Having the ability to ship people to Mars counts as "we have the technology".
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259321]You really could just rewrite that sentence and replace humans with dinosaurs. Our technology won't save us in our current form if the shit really hits the fan, having some little enclave of a few thousand people really won't do much good for us, science would pretty much completely stagnate, those people would be missing out on some resource that are completely vital to modern living. The best option is just to get a few million people the fuck off Earth as soon as humanly possible.[/QUOTE] The dinosaurs survived for like a few million years. That's pretty good. Our species have barely existed for 100k years.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259421]Having the ability to ship people to Mars counts as "we have the technology".[/QUOTE] The way you were putting it gave me the impression you meant we could just ride it out here on Earth, my apologies.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259398]I don't see the point in just saying "nah we'll be fine, we have the technology/power/magic/etc." Why even risk it, why not just get a few million people and fucking ship em to Mars? We're gonna do it at some point so why not sooner rather than later.[/QUOTE] Because that would involve finding a "few million" volunteers - training them - actually hauling tens of millions of tons first into orbit and then to Mars and then making sure they don't want to come back. Mars is a shithole have you not noticed?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259268]And you'll have no one read your memoirs on such a historical event, brilliant.[/QUOTE] That's not the point.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259398] Why even risk it, why not just get a few million people and fucking ship em to Mars? We're gonna do it at some point so why not sooner rather than later.[/QUOTE] It's not as easy as it sounds. But expanding human presence beyond Earth is definitely something to strive for.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259450]Because that would involve finding a "few million" volunteers - training them - actually hauling tens of millions of tons first into orbit and then to Mars and then making sure they don't want to come back. Mars is a shithole have you not noticed?[/QUOTE] Would be funny if they did want to come back. What are they gonna do about it. I'm pretty sure you can get away with lying to them about returning and then just leave them there.
[QUOTE=Swebonny;40259443]The dinosaurs survived for like a few million years. That's pretty good. Our species have barely existed for 100k years.[/QUOTE]Yeah but the dinosaurs also didn't have nuclear weapons and dirty industry.
[QUOTE=gudman;40259477]Would be funny if they did want to come back. What are they gonna do about it. I'm pretty sure you can get away with lying to them about returning and then just leave them there.[/QUOTE] Hijack the supply craft because there's no way in hell Mars can be self sufficient for a very long time
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259450]Because that would involve finding a "few million" volunteers - training them - actually hauling tens of millions of tons first into orbit and then to Mars and then making sure they don't want to come back. Mars is a shithole have you not noticed?[/QUOTE] Ask for volunteers to live on Mars and you'll get them, it's not gonna be difficult to find people who want to be in the vanguard for humanities future. Mars is a shit hole but you can change it, build a small area that can act as a city , shut it off from the outside and start changing the local atmosphere and environment. And no it's not like they can't come back, we're developing better and better methods of getting to Mars every month, it's nothing more than a particularly long cruise, it's completely doable.
[QUOTE=Gump;40259459]That's not the point.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure that makes it all the more stupid. [editline]12th April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259506]Ask for volunteers to live on Mars and you'll get them, it's not gonna be difficult to find people who want to be in the vanguard for humanities future. Mars is a shit hole but you can change it, build a small area that can act as a city , shut it off from the outside and start changing the local atmosphere and environment. And no it's not like they can't come back, we're developing better and better methods of getting to Mars every month, it's nothing more than a particularly long cruise, it's completely doable.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure there was a thread about some organization asking for volunteers "to die on Mars" with a one-way colonization trip.
remember the experiment with 24 level headed volunteers on earth? you know, the ones who walked out halfway in the study?
[QUOTE=Killer900;40259487]Yeah but the dinosaurs also didn't have nuclear weapons and dirty industry.[/QUOTE] I'm optimistic, even still. We're working on solutions to both those problems, and the former's issues greatly decreased once the Cold War ended. Though there's a great deal of opposition today, in the long run, I think "going green" will win the day even by its slow progress today. Even slow progress, in the long run, is progress.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;40259506]Ask for volunteers to live on Mars and you'll get them, it's not gonna be difficult to find people who want to be in the vanguard for humanities future. Mars is a shit hole but you can change it, build a small area that can act as a city , shut it off from the outside and start changing the local atmosphere and environment. And no it's not like they can't come back, we're developing better and better methods of getting to Mars every month, it's nothing more than a particularly long cruise, it's completely doable.[/QUOTE] And how exactly are you going to get a million people + housing + supplies into space? It's [I]really difficult[/I] to get shit into orbit.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259503]Hijack the supply craft because there's no way in hell Mars can be self sufficient for a very long time[/QUOTE] Drop vital shit from orbit => problem of possible hijacking solved.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;40259539]And how exactly are you going to get a million people + housing + supplies into space? It's [I]really difficult[/I] to get shit into orbit.[/QUOTE] With enough money, anything is possible. Send it up bits at a time, put it all together when it's all up there.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259237]And the Mongols were about a 1000, so what's your point? Civilizations have high points and low points all over the globe. [B]600 years ago, Aztecs were committing human sacrifice.[/B][/QUOTE] and now we're sacrificing brown people to bank of america, mcdonalds, and dick cheney. and also with more efficiency then those mayans could ever muster up
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40259552]With enough money, anything is possible. Send it up bits at a time, put it all together when it's all up there.[/QUOTE] No, it's impossible for the time being - there literally isn't enough money on the entire planet.
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