The end of human existence was ordained long before humans realized they existed.

[cherokeeprogressive]

Get over it.

I, for one, welcome the knowledge that we as a species will cease to exist before we can figure out a way to live together.

No use fighting it.

[Forkboy]

1. 'k

[lumberjack_jeff]

33. My reaction; "Fine. What's for lunch?" n/t

[Forkboy]

38. I was joking about the world ending to my friend one day...

...and after talking for a few minutes he said, "Well, in that case, I'll have the chicken." Cracked me the fuck up. :)

[TheKentuckian]

2. Damn it! I was trying to unrec this utterly defeatist crap

and accidentally rec'd. GRRRRRRR!!!!

[jinto86]

4. There I evened it out for ya

[Confusious]

5. I extra'd for ya n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

7. Well, I distinctly pressed "Unrecommend"

and the durn thing said I had recommended it! :banghead:

[Maru Kitteh]

3. We're the only species that's managed to make progress

toward both cognizance of our dilemma and the ability to evade it - to evade even ourselves.

But yeah.

Sometimes I DEFINITELY hate us.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. Been there, seen that, what's next?

That's how I see the human race... more reactive than proactive.

Sol will be our downfall...

I don't hate US, I hate who we are. Who we THINK we are. Arrogant to the end, that's the Human Race.

[anigbrowl]

25. We've got several billion years to make it out of the solar system

I think we'll manage that within a few thousand years at most. Yay us.

[Greyhound]

31. The only thing we know for sure is that another ELE is inevitable.

They've occurred too many times to think it won;t happen again.


OTOH, there's no point in worrying about that which you have no control of.

[Xithras]

34. Actually, we may only have about 500 million years.

The Sun, over millions of years, is gradually getting brighter and is throwing off more heat. Many astronomers and meteorologists now believe that we'll hit a critical point in about 500 million years, where the heat will be great enough to start the process of desiccating the land and evaporating the oceans. It will take hundreds of millions of years for the process to complete, but it would be an unstoppable and accelerating spiral (as the land dried out and temps climbed, plant life would die off, which would increase the speed of runoff, which would dry the land out further, etc, etc). By one billion years from now, the Earth would look like Mars, dry and lifeless.

I found this reference with about three seconds of Googling, but there are plenty of other scientists out there who believe the same thing (scroll to the bottom): http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/death_of_earth_000224.html. While the planet may have a few billion years left, the life on it may already be approaching its end.

Then again, 500 million years is still a REALLY long time.

[armyowalgreens]

9. Very well said. I actually agree with you on something.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't happen that often.

[armyowalgreens]

8. There is probably no God. Therefore, nothing was ever ordained.

The likelihood of humans surviving for millions or even billions of years is extremely low. But that does not mean that it cannot happen.

It's kind of weird that you are celebrating the thought of mans extinction. But, to each his own.

[Chemisse]

11. If I did not care about any other person on earth

Then I would celebrate humanity's extinction. We pretty much suck as a species.

But I do care, particularly about seeing my kids have their chance at life. So the idea of us wiping ourselves out in one of the many ways that are quite feasible, is simply horrific.

[TexasObserver]

10. Felony attempted profundity.

[elocs]

12. Like it said in The Matrix, humans are a virus.

We even have those who think it is ok to rape and pillage this planet and then move on to another one.

[chrisa]

16. Well, to be fair, all animals do that.

Just that most of them aren't smart enough to become king of the world, and hit their carrying capacity quickly without being eaten by other animals.

Not saying we need a natural predator or anything, though. lol (You're just walking to work one day, and one of those axe-head monsters from "Pitch Black" swoops down and takes you away).

[elocs]

17. "Pitch Black", cool movie. The axe-head montsters would make things more interesting.

Mother Nature's monster is more likely to be some tiny virus though.

[TxRider]

29. Yeah we would just kill off those monsters, sell em for food at McDonalds

[Libertas1776]

13. Gee, great post

Debbie Downer.

[Odin2005]

14. Your ridiculous cynicism is noted.

[CrispyQ]

15. The problem is our behavior as a collective.

There are many fine & wonderful individuals, but as a collective, our behavior reflects the worst in us, not the best in us. Why is that?

[AllentownJake]

18. compromise

the more people you have the more you have to compromise to make them happy.

[CrispyQ]

30. I don't think it's as simple as that.

Those in power rarely care if they are making others happy - most are more concerned with furthering their own agenda. Perhaps that's it - positions of power & authority attract the very types of personalities who abuse that power. Those of us who simply want to live & let live, are generally not attracted to 'leadership' positions.

Whatever it is, it is quite distressing to see the positive potential of humanity squandered, time & time again.

[Hekate]

19. I don't believe in the theology of predestination. I'm more of a free-will kind of gal...

That said, of course all things come into being and go out of being, only to return again in some other form. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth far longer than we have been here, and they are gone now. This is our time -- eventually it will be over and we will be gone. If our recklessness hastens that day it will be very sad, actually, but we've had plenty of warning. We're special, but we're not *that* special.

Unlike you I don't welcome the demise of the human race -- I and indeed my whole family are humans and I'd hate to have us go extinct. Unlike a friend I used to have, I don't believe humanity is a cancer on the face of the Earth. We still have the potential to get this business of coexistence right, and I hope we do.

Buck up -- there's work to do.

Hekate

[Posteritatis]

20. Calvinism and pseudoevolution, two great tastes that taste great together! (nt)

[DavidDvorkin]

21. Ordained by what?

[azmouse]

22. Get busy living or get busy dying.

[DefenseLawyer]

23. Why don't you knock it off with those negative waves?

[Thothmes]

24. Ordained by Who"?

[YoungAndOutraged]

26. Nothing negative about any of this.

Negative would be more like "let's just all kill ourselves now and be done with it," not what the OP said. We're not perfect, and despite how Star Trek makes us feel, it is extremely unlikely that we as a species will ever set foot on anything beyond Mars. It just takes too much time and too many resources. So we're pretty much stuck here, on a planet that we seem determined to make uninhabitable for ourselves. That's how things are now, and if we couldn't change in our first 10,000 years of civilization, I doubt we ever will.

[Xithras]

35. Oh, I don't know about that.

We tend to think of ourselves as the pinnacle of civilization, but so did the Romans, Greeks, and Sumerians. A million years from now, humans will probably look at our technology and civilization the same way we look at the Indus Valley ruins. Interesting, but primitive.

There's no way to guess where our species will be in a million years time.

[saltpoint]

27. In fact, some people are already dead. Take Jim Bunning, for example.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

28. But, we're the only species to have developed the hubris to believe we're special.

And, invent gods to reassure ourselves that we are.

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. ..or the intelligence to prove it.

Humans are special. It takes some selective focus to avoid that obvious observation.

And as far as can be determined, we're all the only intelligence that this galaxy has produced.

... either that or we're a computer simulation.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

36. The mistake being that we think the Galaxy cares that we are.

Or, maybe some deity.

As much as we may tell ourselves we're special, nature doesn't give a rip about a species that evolution gave a big brain to. The lowly, ignorant, cockroach has been around for millions of years, and will probably see our departure as a minor, flash-in-the-pan, species that succeeded in killing itself off.

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. Fine. Maybe it's our purpose to carry cockroaches to other planets.

Regardless, I have to believe that we're have thumbs and big brains for a purpose. Even so, failing that, instinct compels me to work to spread my descendants throughout the galaxy.

What do I care what the galaxy thinks? It doesn't. It's a big stupid empty place with a big neon "vacant" sign. Ready for immediate occupancy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. When does the train leave?

Evolution is directionless. It doesn't move in any direction. Up, or down, or sideways. It's "purpose" is to provide survival skills. What we call "smart" may end up being a detriment to our survival as a species.

[Taverner]

40. To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it

Just sayin'

[and-justice-for-all]

41. Nothing is ordained and nothing is certain...

we are very young species, who in the eyes of the universe, have only been around for a brief period.

No one can see the future, no one.