Global doom and gloom.

[skjl47]

Hello; I also do especially like the "old tank syndrome" and "Old civilization syndrome" analogy.

 

[jjohnwm]

I vaguely recall reading something alongt those lines myself; a built-in "best-before" date in the genetic make-up of a species, leading to or at least contributing to its eventual decline and/or disappearance. I don't remember how or if they addressed the discrepancy with things like Horseshoe Crabs, sharks, etc. that have been successful in an essentially unchanged form since before the time of the dinosaurs.

In any case, Homo sapiens has been around for such a tiny blip of time on the cosmic or geological scale that it seems unlikely to be suffering from that type of species burnout. We won't be eliminated by nature, unless it's some cosmic fluke like an asteroid. We will do ourselves and each other in by much more straightforward means. Pollution, climate change, overpopulation, deforestation, famine and disease will kill off a sizeable fraction of the total. Our civilized lives will become more difficult to maintain, standards of living will decline, resources will dwindle and human nature will show its true face. The currently vocal do-gooders of the world will become silent when their homes are cold, their faucets run dry and their lights go out. Then the fighting starts...

To continue the Star Trek theme: we are just a bunch of big, noisy, aggressive tribbles...and the grain bin is getting empty...

...and pretty soon (cue Three Stooges theme song)...we'll all be victims of circumstance (or coicumstance)......

 

[skjl47]

I don't remember how or if they addressed the discrepancy with things like Horseshoe Crabs, sharks, etc. that have been successful in an essentially unchanged form since before the time of the dinosaurs.

Hello; Yes you went to the best question. I also do not recall how they dealt with the ongoing survivors.

 

[skjl47]

famine and disease will kill off a sizeable fraction of the total.

Hello; in a different thread there is a discussion about the covid19 virus. One of the dire predictions over the last decades has been the emergence of a global disease due to things such as overpopulation = overcrowded areas leading to easy spread from person to person.

Global and rapid transportation so an infected person(s) can be into new populations in hours. The covid19 virus was well suited for wide transmission due to a long incubation before symptoms and indeed some who were shedding the virus never had much in the way of symptoms. That virus was already well established around the world before much in the way of alarm was raised.
Side note- even with a virus like Ebola which has very rapid onset of bad symptoms a man was able to get into the USA from Africa. We were very lucky in that Ebola was so very much harder to transmit than covid19 is.

One of the terms I bandied about during my teaching of environmental was "tipping point" . I do not think covid19 itself is a bad enough disease (knock on wood since all results are not yet in) to be a tipping point in itself. Not saying it is not a serious thing because it is very bad for some. It is just not proving to be as bad as we were led o fear last winter. I do suspect however the lockdowns and other reactions themselves may become a sort of tipping point for economies and all. I hedge this a bit as I recognize the virus may mutate to a worse form or may turn out to have here to unknown complications.

 

[Ulu]

Just wait until the cats take over. Do you think all these pet owners were harmless? Look what they’ve unleashed on the world!

 

[esoxlucius]

Well this threads taken some unexpected twists. Global doom and gloom to trekkies to comedy greats, and now Ulu turned it into a cat show. Lol. Well ok, i'll play along....

 

[Jexnell]

Did someone say cat's?

 

[esoxlucius]

Well that's a first for me. I have never ever seen a cat taking a sleep....in a bath! Lol.

 

[Jexnell]

 

[Jexnell]

Nearly forgot my rendition of classic art!