3 ms·

How do you imagine gifted people have or will save humanity from extinction-level events?

• sgu999 3y ago
  I believe we are facing a strong case of naive techno-optimism. I'll give it a go: a 19 yo genius may find a way to capture kilograms of carbons in each leaf of peppermint through a new kind of photosynthesis, and by showing it to the world, we'll all be able to reproduce it and meet our carbon neutrality by 2050. And my uncle Joe, enlightened, will start spending his days drinking peppermint tea instead of making millions trading disposable plastic products from East Asia.
  • lelanthran 3y ago
    > I believe we are facing a strong case of naive techno-optimism. I'm surprised to actually find that there are people who think that the life they currently enjoy was the result of train drivers and janitors.
    • paulryanrogers 3y ago
      Modern life, seems to me, a product of many ungifted people and a few gifted folks toiling for centuries. That includes relatively unskilled workers and those with decades of education. Gifted people only ever educated and working in ivory towers would starve long before enhancing life for anyone, except for the efforts of their 'lessers'.
• lelanthran 3y ago
  > How do you imagine gifted people have or will save humanity from extinction-level events? Well, I don't see how the nongifted people will come up with any the technology required to leave this rock. So the only other option is that we never leave, or we leave purely on the efforts of the gifted alone.
  • paulryanrogers 3y ago
    Considering humans evolved here I doubt it's possible to reach a compatible, alternative planet. And even if we could how likely are humans to survive there if they cannot live sustainably on their home planet?