4 ms·

So what ~50 years? I often wonder what it will be like for the next intelligent species/civilization that develops on earth. With all the easily accessible res

So what ~50 years? I often wonder what it will be like for the next intelligent species/civilization that develops on earth. With all the easily accessible resources already mined will get get stuck in the steampunk age? Sure there might still some left where we could find it with advanced equipment, but not if you're just starting out. Do planets essentially get one shot at advanced civilization?

minitoar 7y ago
The 2nd shot is detailed in Dune.
- wishinghand 7y ago
  What do you mean by that? I don't remember the specifics of their "second shot" other than they had some sort of AI revolution that was crushed.
  - krageon 7y ago
    I think that they are implying the civilisation of Dune is the second shot, and therefore the thought that there is only one shot is not correct.
    - minitoar 7y ago
      Yes, this was essentially my thinking, although I meant it at least partially in jest since Dune is of course fictional.
      - wishinghand 7y ago
        I suppose I meant: what was the first shot that failed in Dune?
gambiting 7y ago
I think it's the exact opposite though - if we suddenly died out then whatever comes after us will have much easier, not harder time. We've already extracted so many natural resources that there is an abundance of them on the surface. You could build an entire civilization just using our leftovers, no need to dig iron out, just melt the hundreds of millions of automobile husks that will be everywhere. And there's still trillions of barrels of oil left in the ground, as well as loads of coal left.
- mschuster91 7y ago
  > You could build an entire civilization just using our leftovers, no need to dig iron out, just melt the hundreds of millions of automobile husks that will be everywhere. Not sure if this is practical. In contrast to ore which is basically rock and more-or-less pure iron (or other desired metal), automobiles are a wild mix of different alloys which would have to be extensively processed (if this is possible in the first place). With plastics, the situation is similar if not worse, given that not all plastics melt, and burned fuel is burned and cannot be recovered at all. The only thing where our civilizational waste can be used is if someone invents a Star Trek replicator clone.
Beltiras 7y ago
Well, we will leave a lot of concentrated radioactive material in dump pits. A bit like the dinos leaving oil in the ground just a lot harder to engineer easy ways of harvesting the energy....

minitoar 7y ago

The 2nd shot is detailed in Dune.

wishinghand 7y ago
What do you mean by that? I don't remember the specifics of their "second shot" other than they had some sort of AI revolution that was crushed.
- krageon 7y ago
  I think that they are implying the civilisation of Dune is the second shot, and therefore the thought that there is only one shot is not correct.
  - minitoar 7y ago
    Yes, this was essentially my thinking, although I meant it at least partially in jest since Dune is of course fictional.
    - wishinghand 7y ago
      I suppose I meant: what was the first shot that failed in Dune?

gambiting 7y ago

I think it's the exact opposite though - if we suddenly died out then whatever comes after us will have much easier, not harder time. We've already extracted so many natural resources that there is an abundance of them on the surface. You could build an entire civilization just using our leftovers, no need to dig iron out, just melt the hundreds of millions of automobile husks that will be everywhere. And there's still trillions of barrels of oil left in the ground, as well as loads of coal left.

mschuster91 7y ago
> You could build an entire civilization just using our leftovers, no need to dig iron out, just melt the hundreds of millions of automobile husks that will be everywhere. Not sure if this is practical. In contrast to ore which is basically rock and more-or-less pure iron (or other desired metal), automobiles are a wild mix of different alloys which would have to be extensively processed (if this is possible in the first place). With plastics, the situation is similar if not worse, given that not all plastics melt, and burned fuel is burned and cannot be recovered at all. The only thing where our civilizational waste can be used is if someone invents a Star Trek replicator clone.

Beltiras 7y ago

Well, we will leave a lot of concentrated radioactive material in dump pits. A bit like the dinos leaving oil in the ground just a lot harder to engineer easy ways of harvesting the energy....