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In theory, species should be going extinct all the time as the climate changes, from ecological changes, invasive species, new species forming, etc. The real qu

In theory, species should be going extinct all the time as the climate changes, from ecological changes, invasive species, new species forming, etc. The real question, is the rate of species going extinct increasing? (I believe the answer to that is yes). But the mere headline “species goes extinct” should make us react “yeah, that’s how evolution works”.

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
We are currently experiencing sixth Mass Extinction event. It started at least 20k years ago, and is generally linked to the end of glaciacion of the northern hemisphere and human activity. It is not exactly known if this rate is fast or slow, because from our perspective we can't really estimate the length of previous mass extinction events. After all, the closest one was 66M years ago, and with fossil evidence gradual decrease of biodiversity over the course of 1M years wouldn't look much different if said decrease would take just 1 year.
shusaku 5y ago
“That’s how evolution works” isn’t a good framework once rational creatures (supposedly us) are involved. If we found a species of delicious pigs in a local area and ate them all, we don’t get to rest on the “well the overall rate of extinction isn’t historically high”. When species go extinct due to loss of habitat (because we destroyed it) or invasive species (that we introduced), it’s definitely worth reflecting and trying to make smarter decisions in the future. There probably is an argument though that asks “by preserving the current species, are we missing out on new species that would emerge from the destruction?” So I admit it’s not so simple. But Im just trying so say that because we can make choices, we can’t just say “that’s nature”
nextaccountic 5y ago
Yes, the rate of extinction is increasing, and the consensus is that we're the main cause cause. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction There has been mass extinctions before, every one of them had their specific causes. So it's kind of how evolution and life works. But we don't need to shrug and do nothing.
philipov 5y ago
Communication is not programming; every statement is not intended to be taken completely literally. When someone says "species go extinct" there is the subtext "... due to humans destroying their ecosystem." It is not necessary to say that every time, because that would make the the cost of communication too high. Humans depend on having a common ground of shared assumptions to communicate effectively. This is why people do not respond to this headline the way you think they should, and why people who act as if they are not able to read the subtext of a statement are described as autistic.

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago

We are currently experiencing sixth Mass Extinction event. It started at least 20k years ago, and is generally linked to the end of glaciacion of the northern hemisphere and human activity. It is not exactly known if this rate is fast or slow, because from our perspective we can't really estimate the length of previous mass extinction events. After all, the closest one was 66M years ago, and with fossil evidence gradual decrease of biodiversity over the course of 1M years wouldn't look much different if said decrease would take just 1 year.

shusaku 5y ago

“That’s how evolution works” isn’t a good framework once rational creatures (supposedly us) are involved. If we found a species of delicious pigs in a local area and ate them all, we don’t get to rest on the “well the overall rate of extinction isn’t historically high”. When species go extinct due to loss of habitat (because we destroyed it) or invasive species (that we introduced), it’s definitely worth reflecting and trying to make smarter decisions in the future. There probably is an argument though that asks “by preserving the current species, are we missing out on new species that would emerge from the destruction?” So I admit it’s not so simple. But Im just trying so say that because we can make choices, we can’t just say “that’s nature”

nextaccountic 5y ago

Yes, the rate of extinction is increasing, and the consensus is that we're the main cause cause. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction There has been mass extinctions before, every one of them had their specific causes. So it's kind of how evolution and life works. But we don't need to shrug and do nothing.

philipov 5y ago

Communication is not programming; every statement is not intended to be taken completely literally. When someone says "species go extinct" there is the subtext "... due to humans destroying their ecosystem." It is not necessary to say that every time, because that would make the the cost of communication too high. Humans depend on having a common ground of shared assumptions to communicate effectively. This is why people do not respond to this headline the way you think they should, and why people who act as if they are not able to read the subtext of a statement are described as autistic.