6 ms·

I wonder if our own species would be improved by the return of predators, say one t-rex or sabertooth per every x population. The population control would reduc

I wonder if our own species would be improved by the return of predators, say one t-rex or sabertooth per every x population. The population control would reduce our carbon footprint. Spending on chronic medical conditions that make people slower would be reduced. There would be more incentive to exercise, less lassitude and boredom. Increased violent sudden death could be considered a drawback, but look at the big picture.

mc32 5y ago
That’s ridiculous. In parts of India and Africa, people live among tigers and they fend themselves off just fine. In rural America we have bears and we fend them off. Sure cities lack those predators, but cars make up for that. You just want more Covid, but I bet you don’t actually want more covid.
kadonoishi 5y ago
Oh bullshit. Next you’re going to say we need genetically-engineered dragons that go around frying cities and devouring maidens! Just out of some delusional idea that the fundamental problem with the world now is that one species has escaped normal population biology due to lack of effective predators and is sending the world off-kilter like the Azolla fern! How do you idiots come up with these completely unrealistic, historically ungrounded, unphysical unprincipled delusional fantastical notions!?!
- picture 5y ago
  There is no need to be inflammatory
  - jazzyjackson 5y ago
    right, i bet prey species experience less inflammation overall
throwawaylinux 5y ago
Could we release a couple of tigers in your house for the greater good, or would they mainly inhabit places with higher contentrations of paupers and other such undesirables?
r00f 5y ago
I doubt that at this point of our technological advance any predator could really pose such a threat to humanity in whole. No PETA in the world would save such predator from extinction, and this would come not from everyday Joe who started to excercise more, but from military and police (and maybe some other organizations, depends on real threat level)
adrianN 5y ago
The most effective predators of humans are other humans. And in places where such predation happens regularly, e.g. countries with long lasting wars, there is indeed a lot less trouble with chronic medical issues, but there is no evidence that the species is improved. By all reasonable measures it is in fact a massive detriment to improvement of any kind.
telesilla 5y ago
Our most reliable and proven form of population control is the education of girls. If we truly care about saving the species this is the most effective route available to us in the next generations along with ending the use of non-renewal energy Impactful funds you can support: https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-female-education/ https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-female-education/
- EdwardDiego 5y ago
  Exactly, this is so well documented, if anyone's still scared of a Malthusian disaster, focus on overcoming cultural biases against educating girls.
- fallingknife 5y ago
  I would say that war, famine, and disease are our most proven. Education of women is speculative, as it has not been a factor in the past like the first 3, and used often as a hand wavy way for people who are smart enough to understand the math to say they are against population control.
  - qw 5y ago
    If we want to solve a problem, we should try to choose the solutions that don't involve killing people :-) All trends show that the countries with low levels of poverty, high levels of education and women equality results in fewer births. Women are able to have careers and want to finish their education and get work experience before they think of children. In countries like Scandinavia, the average age of first time mothers are increasing year by year. We also see that cities within the country with a lot of highly educated jobs have a higher age than others
    - fallingknife 5y ago
      I'm will absolutely concede that it may work and we should try anyway. But correlation != causality.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
puppable 5y ago
Thank you, Jonathan Swift
deepsun 5y ago
Too unethical and non-humanitarian. We already have a smaller scale reduction of "spending on chronic medical conditions" -- COVID-19. No one considers it's "a drawback, but look at the big picture".
amelius 5y ago
This would lead to more gun ownership.
TazeTSchnitzel 5y ago
> The population control would reduce our carbon footprint Most of the carbon footprint comes from a small portion of the population. The kind of people who could afford to pay for defence against the predators. I think it would be difficult to implement your suggestion without having an effectively eco-fascist outcome.

mc32 5y ago

That’s ridiculous. In parts of India and Africa, people live among tigers and they fend themselves off just fine. In rural America we have bears and we fend them off. Sure cities lack those predators, but cars make up for that. You just want more Covid, but I bet you don’t actually want more covid.

kadonoishi 5y ago

Oh bullshit. Next you’re going to say we need genetically-engineered dragons that go around frying cities and devouring maidens! Just out of some delusional idea that the fundamental problem with the world now is that one species has escaped normal population biology due to lack of effective predators and is sending the world off-kilter like the Azolla fern! How do you idiots come up with these completely unrealistic, historically ungrounded, unphysical unprincipled delusional fantastical notions!?!

picture 5y ago
There is no need to be inflammatory
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  right, i bet prey species experience less inflammation overall

throwawaylinux 5y ago

Could we release a couple of tigers in your house for the greater good, or would they mainly inhabit places with higher contentrations of paupers and other such undesirables?

r00f 5y ago

I doubt that at this point of our technological advance any predator could really pose such a threat to humanity in whole. No PETA in the world would save such predator from extinction, and this would come not from everyday Joe who started to excercise more, but from military and police (and maybe some other organizations, depends on real threat level)

adrianN 5y ago

The most effective predators of humans are other humans. And in places where such predation happens regularly, e.g. countries with long lasting wars, there is indeed a lot less trouble with chronic medical issues, but there is no evidence that the species is improved. By all reasonable measures it is in fact a massive detriment to improvement of any kind.

telesilla 5y ago

Our most reliable and proven form of population control is the education of girls. If we truly care about saving the species this is the most effective route available to us in the next generations along with ending the use of non-renewal energy Impactful funds you can support: https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-female-education/ https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-female-education/

EdwardDiego 5y ago
Exactly, this is so well documented, if anyone's still scared of a Malthusian disaster, focus on overcoming cultural biases against educating girls.
fallingknife 5y ago
I would say that war, famine, and disease are our most proven. Education of women is speculative, as it has not been a factor in the past like the first 3, and used often as a hand wavy way for people who are smart enough to understand the math to say they are against population control.
- qw 5y ago
  If we want to solve a problem, we should try to choose the solutions that don't involve killing people :-) All trends show that the countries with low levels of poverty, high levels of education and women equality results in fewer births. Women are able to have careers and want to finish their education and get work experience before they think of children. In countries like Scandinavia, the average age of first time mothers are increasing year by year. We also see that cities within the country with a lot of highly educated jobs have a higher age than others
  - fallingknife 5y ago
    I'm will absolutely concede that it may work and we should try anyway. But correlation != causality.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

puppable 5y ago

Thank you, Jonathan Swift

deepsun 5y ago

Too unethical and non-humanitarian. We already have a smaller scale reduction of "spending on chronic medical conditions" -- COVID-19. No one considers it's "a drawback, but look at the big picture".

amelius 5y ago

This would lead to more gun ownership.

TazeTSchnitzel 5y ago

> The population control would reduce our carbon footprint Most of the carbon footprint comes from a small portion of the population. The kind of people who could afford to pay for defence against the predators. I think it would be difficult to implement your suggestion without having an effectively eco-fascist outcome.