10 ms·

Clearly, the problem with this book is that the long term isn’t long enough. The end game is the sun goes nova, the earth burns, and is followed by the heat dea

Clearly, the problem with this book is that the long term isn’t long enough. The end game is the sun goes nova, the earth burns, and is followed by the heat death of the universe, completely nullifying all of their math.

dinosaurdynasty 4y ago
So we shouldn't try to improve our lives as much as we can, since we will all die anyway?
- polygamous_bat 4y ago
  Congratulations, you've rediscovered nihilism.
- Finnucane 4y ago
  We should, and we should avoid causing suffering where we can. We should even dream about a better future. But we can't get there unless we accept that reality is what is in front of our faces right now.
- inerte 4y ago
  I am sure there's a greek word for this fallacy, but Finnucane is being facetious. They're just arguing that this longtermism is not long term enough, and if we really, really, really cared about the long term, we would argue with the collapse of the universe in mind. It's a critique when someone's reasoning stops at random points that coincidentally align with someone's interests is just a tool to enforce their point of view, not a virtue of the argument itself.
scythe 4y ago
Novas happen in binary systems. The Sun is not large enough to undergo a supernova. It is an isolated star that will simply fade away as a white dwarf, barring any unforeseeable collisions with other stars.
- drewcoo 4y ago
  https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2020/09/what-will-happen-to-the-planets-when-the-sun-becomes-a-red-giant https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2020/09/what-will-h... I think people commonly mistake exploding novas with expanding giants. It's understandable. In a few billion years when the sun goes red giant the habitable zone will move. And the earth will be engulfed. Those things the grandparent said were correct. Yes, it will eventually go white dwarf. Those have habitable zones, too. https://www.the-spaceship.com/white-dwarf-habitable-zone/ https://www.the-spaceship.com/white-dwarf-habitable-zone/ Assuming we don't escape the solar system, it will still take some serious engineering to follow the habitable zone. There's that pesky climate crisis and the current anthropogenic extinction event we need to live through to get to those problems, though.
- d0mine 4y ago
  There is a red giant phase that may evaporate Earth https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sun-will-eventually-engulf-earth-maybe/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sun-will-even...

dinosaurdynasty 4y ago

So we shouldn't try to improve our lives as much as we can, since we will all die anyway?

polygamous_bat 4y ago
Congratulations, you've rediscovered nihilism.
Finnucane 4y ago
We should, and we should avoid causing suffering where we can. We should even dream about a better future. But we can't get there unless we accept that reality is what is in front of our faces right now.
inerte 4y ago
I am sure there's a greek word for this fallacy, but Finnucane is being facetious. They're just arguing that this longtermism is not long term enough, and if we really, really, really cared about the long term, we would argue with the collapse of the universe in mind. It's a critique when someone's reasoning stops at random points that coincidentally align with someone's interests is just a tool to enforce their point of view, not a virtue of the argument itself.

scythe 4y ago

Novas happen in binary systems. The Sun is not large enough to undergo a supernova. It is an isolated star that will simply fade away as a white dwarf, barring any unforeseeable collisions with other stars.

drewcoo 4y ago
https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2020/09/what-will-happen-to-the-planets-when-the-sun-becomes-a-red-giant https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2020/09/what-will-h... I think people commonly mistake exploding novas with expanding giants. It's understandable. In a few billion years when the sun goes red giant the habitable zone will move. And the earth will be engulfed. Those things the grandparent said were correct. Yes, it will eventually go white dwarf. Those have habitable zones, too. https://www.the-spaceship.com/white-dwarf-habitable-zone/ https://www.the-spaceship.com/white-dwarf-habitable-zone/ Assuming we don't escape the solar system, it will still take some serious engineering to follow the habitable zone. There's that pesky climate crisis and the current anthropogenic extinction event we need to live through to get to those problems, though.
d0mine 4y ago
There is a red giant phase that may evaporate Earth https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sun-will-eventually-engulf-earth-maybe/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sun-will-even...