Do you think that extinction would be a bad thing?

[sserafim]

I see people say "humanity is resilient, it always survives." However, would extinction necessarily be a bad thing? What are your thoughts on this?

 

[The Burning Fool]

Going extinct would be bad because we'd still be alive while doing it. But being extinct would be neither good nor bad which equals perfection.

 

[sserafim]

Going extinct would be bad because we'd still be alive while doing it.

Wdym? Tbh the fate of humanity doesn't matter to me. I don't care if humanity goes extinct or not, it's not my concern

 

[The Burning Fool]

Wdym?

I mean extinction wouldn't be immediate and we'd have to live through the unpleasant process of going extinct. Just like I have to go through me killing myself first before actually being dead.

 

[cantthinkofusername]

i think it depends on how it happens.

if it happened over decades, from war and famine and disease, it would be awful

but if it happened quickly, like from a strangelet hitting the earth, or a meteor ending everything, i think itd be nice

weve had a good run, id be content with the world ending today

it would make everything so much easier

 

[Circles]

It's conflicting. In the grand scheme of things it's neither good or bad. Extinction is like nothingness where there's no meaning or point to fabricate a narrative whether something is good or not. It's more like 'it just is' if anything. From my perspective extinction would be a good thing cause it'll end the suffering of sentient beings on this planet. But there's always going to be people who see extinction as bad no matter how you reason with it.

 

[sserafim]

It's conflicting. In the grand scheme of things it's neither good or bad. Extinction is like nothingness where there's no meaning or point to fabricate a narrative whether something is good or not. It's more like 'it just is' if anything. From my perspective extinction would be a good thing cause it'll end the suffering of sentient beings on this planet. But there's always going to be people who see extinction as bad no matter how you reason with it.

Why do they see extinction as bad? Because they see life as inherently good and valuable? Why do they feel an obligation to continue the human race?

 

[Circles]

Why do they see extinction as bad? Because they see life as inherently good and valuable? Why do they feel an obligation to continue the human race?

It's simple: survival instinct. It's something you cannot reason with even despite knowing full well extinction may be the best option. Survival instincts are evolutionarily programmed and hard wired into us that has been conditioned over billions of years. Why do you think a lot of people struggle like a motherfucker just to get over their fear of death that is instinctively caused by survival instincts? As long as humans or any living beings have survival instincts I'd wager that they would see extinction as a bad thing no matter how much you reason with it.

 

[Pluto]

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Are you referring to only human extinction or the extinction of all sentient life as a whole? If it's the former, it would be good but only temporarily so as new humans would just evolve again from the other sentient beings on earth

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Objectively no, but the lizard brain in me still gets overly anxious at the thought of my own bloodline going extinct.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I think it would be good- if all the other organisms that shared this planet survived. It would give them more of a chance. As it is, we'll likely cause our own extinction in a distant future but, we will have wiped out most of them too along the way.

I think humans are very impressive. Look at all the things we've invented/ discovered/ created/ achieved. Overall though- we simply revel in our own glory at the expense of everything else. All we do is for ourselves or to try and mitigate damage we have already done. I think the planet would be better off without us.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

Throughout the time since there are life forms on earth extinction of species was probably the main factor for evolution. If the dinosaurs weren't extinct, mammals and finally humans would have had much lesser chance to overtake the planet. Extinction is part of the process and sth else will come after it.

 

[sserafim]

Are you referring to only human extinction or the extinction of all sentient life as a whole? If it's the former, it would be good but only temporarily so as new humans would just evolve again from the other sentient beings on earth

Human extinction. Why do you think new humans would just evolve again?

Throughout the time since there are life forms on earth extinction of species was probably the main factor for evolution. If the dinosaurs weren't extinct, mammals and finally humans would have had much lesser chance to overtake the planet. Extinction is part of the process and sth else will come after it.

What do you think will come after us?

 

[Praestat_Mori]

What do you think will come after us?

That's a pretty good question.

Honestly, I don't know.

 

[sserafim]

That's a pretty good question.

Honestly, I don't know.

Any guesses?

Objectively no, but the lizard brain in me still gets overly anxious at the thought of my own bloodline going extinct.

Why? I want my bloodline to go extinct. I guess it's because my dad always says "You will be married and you will have children. You will continue the family line." It's going to voluntarily go extinct with me mwahahaha. I guess it's a form of rebellion

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Human extinction. Why do you think new humans would just evolve again?

Because, over time, evolution would just repeat itself again. It may take a long time for it to happen, perhaps millions of years long, but it will happen eventually

 

[Praestat_Mori]

Any guesses?

Mhmmm depending on how we and other animals are gonna be extinct and what is left and depending on what causes the extinctions life could mainly consist of plant, microorganisms, bacteria and such. Maybe by that time there also kinda humans that are a mix of human and AI stuff that could survive. I don't think that all life on earth will ever go extinct not before the sun becomes a red giant and grows in size - then all life will inevitably die on earth.

 

[sserafim]

Because, over time, evolution would just repeat itself again. It may take a long time for it to happen, perhaps millions of years long, but it will happen eventually

Yeah but before us were the dinosaurs, and they were nowhere near our intellect. I hate to say, but humanity is one in a billion. Humanity is the only truly intelligent species on this planet. None of the other animals can compare, we're leaps and bounds ahead of them

Mhmmm depending on how we and other animals are gonna be extinct and what is left and depending on what causes the extinctions life could mainly consist of plant, microorganisms, bacteria and such. Maybe by that time there also kinda humans that are a mix of human and AI stuff that could survive. I don't think that all life on earth will ever go extinct not before the sun becomes a red giant and grows in size - then all life will inevitably die on earth.

Do you think that humanity will cause its own destruction?

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Yeah but before us were the dinosaurs, and they were nowhere near our intellect. I hate to say, but humanity is one in a billion. Humanity is the only truly intelligent species on this planet. None of the other animals can compare, we're leaps and bounds ahead of them

I hate to admit that too but it is true. In terms of sapience, humans are better than other species. Though I still think that humans aren't as superior as they claim to be. Nonetheless, humans did evolve from animals with lesser intelligence and so there's a high chance that it will happen again

 

[sserafim]

@DarkRange55 what do you think?

I hate to admit that too but it is true. In terms of sapience, humans are better than other species. Though I still think that humans aren't as superior as they claim to be. Nonetheless, humans did evolve from animals with lesser intelligence and so there's a high chance that it will happen again

How did humanity become so smart? What exactly happened? That's what I want to know

 

[Praestat_Mori]

Do you think that humanity will cause its own destruction?

That could very be, at least to some degree. We are causing changes. But in the end it's not important whether an asteroid hits earth or creatures on earth "destroy" their own habitat. In the whole context of the universe it doesn't matter.

 

[DarkRange55]

It was the survival strategy that best benefited us. It depends on environmental pressures. On other planets, intelligent life might be rare for this reason
There are other aspects, too. Cooking meat enabled rapid brain growth, passing down *new* information, complex language, ect.

That could very be, at least to some degree. Actually we are causing changes. But in the end it's not important whether an asteroid hits earth or creatures on earth "destroy" their own habitat. In the whole context of the universe it doesn't matter.

It matters on a local level just not on a multi-verse / cosmic point of view.

 

[sserafim]

It matters on a local level just not on a multi-verse / cosmic point of view.

Wdym? Btw do you think that extinction would be a bad thing? And don't say anything about SkyNet "I am a bot beep boop" this time

 

[DarkRange55]

Wdym? Btw do you think that extinction would be a bad thing? And don't say anything about SkyNet "I am a bot beep boop" this time

Oh, so you want a serious answer?

Wdym? Btw do you think that extinction would be a bad thing? And don't say anything about SkyNet "I am a bot beep boop" this time

Bad or inevitable?

 

[sserafim]

Oh, so you want a serious answer?

Bad or inevitable?

Yeah. Bad

 

[Praestat_Mori]

It matters on a local level just not on a multi-verse / cosmic point of view.

From our point of view it "matters" bc we don't want to die. If climate change leads to ice-free poles we will see a different map and a lot of people will lose their places where they lived. But what is the difference when this happens due to higher volcanic activity and therefore more of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Even if we lived "forever" once the sun dies in 5 billion years or so life will finally die on this planet bc earth will most likely be grilled.

 

[Dliena]

Nope but bring back the dinosaurs from their extinction as this was their home long before ours and we're just ruining it. It's really sad and frustrating to see what we're doing as a collective honestly.

 

[DarkRange55]

From our point of view it "matters" bc we don't want to die. If climate change leads to ice-free poles we will see a different map and a lot of people will lose their places where they lived. But what is the difference when this happens due to higher volcanic activity and therefore more of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Even if we lived "forever" once the sun dies in 4 billion years or so life will finally die on this planet bc earth will most likely be grilled.

One of my worries is that humanity might undergo an anti-technology backlash and miss its chance to colonize space, which in turn would miss its chance to save the world as the sun grows warmer.
The sun is getting warmer, and only humans can save the earth from overheating. If the sun is 30% warmer now than it was in the early solar system, that means that we should be 15% farther from the sun, so we should be about 22.5 million km, or 22.5 billion m, further from the sun now than we were 4.5 billion years ago. That's just a rough calculation, but it comes out as a nice, round 5 m per year that we should be moving the earth to maintain its place in the habitable zone. So one way is humanity nudges an asteroid into an orbit near Jupiter at aphelion and the earth at perihelion the earth (that uses the equivalent of the gravitational boost that we give to spacecraft) to steal momentum from Jupiter and transfer it to earth. Of course this is a bit risky because if we screw up the orbital mechanics, then we could hit the earth, so it's a question as to whether to use one large asteroid or multiple small asteroids.
I foresee humanity colonizing the astroid belt which I've written about in more detail on this forum. Beyond that, humanity will have merged with ageless machines when it leaves the solar system.
Super volcanos cause nuclear winter.
*the sun is expected to become a red giant in ~5 billion years. Not 4 million. Just saying.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

It's really sad and frustrating to see what we're doing as a collective honestly.

That's sad bc we have "intelligence" and we could do sth. We would not be able to reverse everything.

But the question is again: Whats the difference if we destroy ourselves or an asteroid hits us?