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That was my first reaction as well: let's start mucking with earth's orbit, what could possibly go wrong? But the problem statement is trying to avoid being in
by lisper 5y ago
That was my first reaction as well: let's start mucking with earth's orbit, what could possibly go wrong? But the problem statement is trying to avoid being incinerated when the sun goes red-giant in a few billion years, so doing nothing is clearly not a viable alternative here.
On the other hand, given our current blase response to climate change, I'll give you long odds against human civilization being around in a billion years, or even a million -- or, for that matter, a thousand. And unless something changes radically in the next few years, I'll give you even odds against it lasting to the end of this century.
- blacksmith_tb 5y agoI can't see how we'd call any descendants of ours 'human' in a billion (or even a million) years, but I would be surprised if modern humans were wiped out in the next thousand years - we've lasted tens of thousands up to now. We certainly need to make some changes, but I'm at least semi-optimistic we can do that.
- lisper 5y agoOh sure, humans will be around. But whether human civilization will be around is far less clear.
- reidjs 5y agoWhat makes you so sure about that? Humans require VERY specific environmental conditions to survive.
- shkkmo 5y agoHumans have thrived in a wider range of ecosystems and environments than any other mammal I know of. Humans have did this without a global industrial base using only local technology and economic output.
- LorenPechtel 5y agoActually, I would be amazed if "humans" exist at that point. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't exist in even a thousand years. Assuming we don't do ourselves in there will be sentients, but species are defined by the ability to interbreed and I expect genetic modification will reach the point that interbreeding with a stock human is no longer possible. At that point we will be a new species, not "human".