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> Dinosaurs were doing great. They also were not slow or stumbling. They occupied every niche on the planet. The main reason most of them went extinct was a mas

> Dinosaurs were doing great. They also were not slow or stumbling. They occupied every niche on the planet. The main reason most of them went extinct was a massive asteroid triggering the K–Pg extinction event (and even then birds are still around and doing just fine, thank you). The inability to avert or survive through an extinction level event literally proves that they are an evolutionary dead end. Extinction level events are inevitable. Humanity has the potential to deflect or destroy such asteroids (and other such events), thus we have the potential to not be an evolutionary dead end.

Eisenstein 3y ago
Ironically, we only have that ability because the dinosaurs all died millions of years ago and we got to use their energy.
- skeeter2020 3y ago
  Two common mistakes regarding oil and gas: 1. it's not goopy, bubbling tar in giant cavernous pools 2. it's not dinosaurs, at least in the sense being discussed here
- naasking 3y ago
  I wouldn't go that far. Fossil fuels helped for sure, but we still had wood as a renewable resource that would have served until we discovered nuclear power.
  - Eisenstein 3y ago
    I am pretty sure it would not be possible to launch an industrial revolution with just wood. It isn't dense enough energy wise and there isn't nearly enough of it.
- nialv7 3y ago
  Common misconception, fossil fuels didn't come from dinosaurs. Oil is mostly from aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton, and coals are from plants.
lolinder 3y ago
There's very little point in talking about ability to survive "extinction level events" in the abstract—the question is which extinction level events a given species is poised to survive, and was it unlucky enough to encounter one that it wasn't. The dinosaurs as a whole survived hundreds of millions of years, through many extinctions, until they eventually met their match. Humans can deflect asteroids, so we've (probably) dodged that extinction, but that doesn't mean we're immune to others.
- naasking 3y ago
  > Humans can deflect asteroids, so we've (probably) dodged that extinction, but that doesn't mean we're immune to others. At this point, there is no conceivable extinction level event humanity couldn't avoid or avert, in principle, given sufficient time/warning, except the heat death of the universe. So I disagree that there's no point in talking about survivability in the abstract. You can roughly project the growth of a species' capabilities through time, and the trajectory the dinosaurs were on clearly entails they were heading towards extinction due to an inevitable run in with a supervolcano or an asteroid. Humanity's trajectory is conceivably very different due to science and our ability to construct sophisticated tools. > The dinosaurs as a whole survived hundreds of millions of years, through many extinctions I'll also note that this is a slightly unfair comparison because "dinosaurs" is a category consisting of many species, where the comparison here is against the one homo sapiens species. Many dinosaur species went extinct through those events you mention, some survived.
  - skirmish 3y ago
    > At this point, there is no conceivable extinction level event humanity couldn't avoid or avert Um, how would humanity deal with a supernova going off within a few light years? I am still not convinced it will deal with climate change until billions die.
    - naasking 3y ago
      > Um, how would humanity deal with a supernova going off within a few light years? Enclosed surface habitats, subterranean habitats, generation ships to spread humanity across numerous solar systems, and so on. All of this tech seems achievable within the next 2 generations.
NoGravitas 3y ago
Humanity is currently showing very little potential for averting extinction level events. They might end up surviving and rebounding from the Jackpot, but that's not the way to bet.
- naasking 3y ago
  Of course we have the potential. You can place the confidence low, but it's not zero. For the dinosaurs, it was zero.

Eisenstein 3y ago

Ironically, we only have that ability because the dinosaurs all died millions of years ago and we got to use their energy.

skeeter2020 3y ago
Two common mistakes regarding oil and gas: 1. it's not goopy, bubbling tar in giant cavernous pools 2. it's not dinosaurs, at least in the sense being discussed here
naasking 3y ago
I wouldn't go that far. Fossil fuels helped for sure, but we still had wood as a renewable resource that would have served until we discovered nuclear power.
- Eisenstein 3y ago
  I am pretty sure it would not be possible to launch an industrial revolution with just wood. It isn't dense enough energy wise and there isn't nearly enough of it.
nialv7 3y ago
Common misconception, fossil fuels didn't come from dinosaurs. Oil is mostly from aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton, and coals are from plants.

lolinder 3y ago

There's very little point in talking about ability to survive "extinction level events" in the abstract—the question is which extinction level events a given species is poised to survive, and was it unlucky enough to encounter one that it wasn't. The dinosaurs as a whole survived hundreds of millions of years, through many extinctions, until they eventually met their match. Humans can deflect asteroids, so we've (probably) dodged that extinction, but that doesn't mean we're immune to others.

naasking 3y ago
> Humans can deflect asteroids, so we've (probably) dodged that extinction, but that doesn't mean we're immune to others. At this point, there is no conceivable extinction level event humanity couldn't avoid or avert, in principle, given sufficient time/warning, except the heat death of the universe. So I disagree that there's no point in talking about survivability in the abstract. You can roughly project the growth of a species' capabilities through time, and the trajectory the dinosaurs were on clearly entails they were heading towards extinction due to an inevitable run in with a supervolcano or an asteroid. Humanity's trajectory is conceivably very different due to science and our ability to construct sophisticated tools. > The dinosaurs as a whole survived hundreds of millions of years, through many extinctions I'll also note that this is a slightly unfair comparison because "dinosaurs" is a category consisting of many species, where the comparison here is against the one homo sapiens species. Many dinosaur species went extinct through those events you mention, some survived.
- skirmish 3y ago
  > At this point, there is no conceivable extinction level event humanity couldn't avoid or avert Um, how would humanity deal with a supernova going off within a few light years? I am still not convinced it will deal with climate change until billions die.
  - naasking 3y ago
    > Um, how would humanity deal with a supernova going off within a few light years? Enclosed surface habitats, subterranean habitats, generation ships to spread humanity across numerous solar systems, and so on. All of this tech seems achievable within the next 2 generations.

NoGravitas 3y ago

Humanity is currently showing very little potential for averting extinction level events. They might end up surviving and rebounding from the Jackpot, but that's not the way to bet.

naasking 3y ago
Of course we have the potential. You can place the confidence low, but it's not zero. For the dinosaurs, it was zero.