The End of Man

The End of Man
Quantummist
07/05/07

Mankind will sooner or later be wiped from this little ball we live on. This is a fact not an opinion. next week we could be hit by a mile wide hunk of iron and we're toast. A shift in the magnetic field of the planet will someday wipe 90% of all life from the tiny blue ball we call home. Someday the sun will burp and all life will be ash in seconds. Someday a super volcano will erupt and almost all life large enough to see with the naked eye will vanish within months or years.

These are facts that have happened 12 times in the past. We have a record in the rocks that show 12 separate epochs in this balls history where almost all life was wiped at each event.

So I wanted to give a view of the only option that can save our species from being nothing more that radio waves passing through space for some life on some far away planet to receive and watch reruns of "I Love Lucy" sent out into the universe a million years before, the ghost of a long lost people.

The only way our species can survive is to find a way to get off this ball. We have to travel to new worlds. We have to start colonies on several places so that when that next ball is made toast we have other places to hide from all the destruction that occurs in this universe.

This requires we take baby steps today. I hear all the shouts about it being a waste to go to the moon. The folks that say the money is better spent feeding the world and solving the problems of our inner cities. I read of those that think we are wasting the lives of those that have given their lives in the shuttle tragedy's to gain little or no value in their sacrifices.

Each year in America we spend more per year by far on Twinkies than we spend on the entire space program. In one year in America alone we spend more on booze that we have spent on the space program since its inception in the 50's. And for each dollar spent by NASA has produced 3 dollars in gross national product for our nation. The computer you use to read this blog can be directly linked to our space program.

So if we survive for the next couple hundred years we must find the science to leave this solar system at some point in the future or we are doomed as a species. So when you hear someone speak of shutting down the space program because we need to put a new black board in some school or save some frog in a pond in Indiana think of your children's, children's, children's, children and what your leaving them to deal with when they are stuck on this tiny ball as they watch a hunk of rock heading for them at 40,000 miles per hour.

I absolutely agree with you. So many people think the space program is a waste of money, but we inevitably have to figure out how to get off this planet. Even if there's not an imminent catastrophe (and really, who knows?) we'll exhaust the Earths resources at some point. I do wish, though, that NASA would spend its funds more wisely, sometimes I think they fly to to space just because they have to look busy. I really don't think it's necessary that we send probes to murcury, or constantly fly up there to do little insignificant tests of this and that. When it comes to space, I say work on getting us farther out; otherwise spend the money on Earth-bound technologies and theoretical sciences (IE quantum mechanics).

I've said this myself for quite some time. If we can get our crap together the human race can survive. We currently have the technology for instance to land a man on mars. Which would be a huge step for our space program it's just fairly expensive and everyones too greedy to want to spend the money. We as an intelligent race have the ability to change our own fate. If we at least get some of our life off this rock and on other rocks to colonize we in the end can save our own asses from meteors and comets and other such freak disasters that are bound to happen. If we strive to become a space faring people we can leave the solar system when our sun gets close to dying and survive the end of our solar system. If we continue to expand and develop new technologies a long time in the future we may be able to leave or at the very least endure the colliding of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.

If we stay on Earth and never leave we are a dead. Sooner or later be it tomorrow or in 3 billion years...we will be destroyed sooner or later only taking steps to ensure our race lives on past the earth will we ensure our survival.


However I disagree with not doing missions just for the sake of Knowledge. Everytime we send a probe to a certain planet or asteroid there is many questions and theories that Nasa and other scientists/astronomers are testing and learning to discover new things, things that could help us. To the average person it may seem like a waste of time and money but it's really not. Every bit of knowledge helps us in the long run. We just can't be discouraged by small steps.

Quantummist, i agree with you... your ideas are very good, but im sorry to say that its too late.
Mankind will destroy itself not much far in the future. Wars, diseases, hunger, and so will do it. And, if not, there is always some ecological catastrophes just waiting its right time to happen...
I dont want to sound pessimist... but its the true. Sad but true. We are living the calm before the storm, mark my words. Soon this peace will end, and the whole world will suffer... Enjoy the peace while you can, because the future is dark...
I hope im wrong, but i fear im right...

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Doomsday theorists are all the same. They're all about letting us know of our doom, but not doing anything about it. Anyone can make suggestions, but just how worried are you about our future?

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Originally Posted by Coelho

but im sorry to say that its too late.
Mankind will destroy itself not much far in the future. Wars, diseases, hunger, and so will do it. And, if not, there is always some ecological catastrophes just waiting its right time to happen...
I dont want to sound pessimist... [/I]

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I can see your bright and smiley non pessimistic view just oozing out every pore..:). Its been 15,000 to 30,000 years since mankind was smacked down by nature and I see nothing on the horizon that tells me we will be smacked again before we gain the knowledge to pack a suit case and pop off this ball.

Yes we could get poped by a big rock next week but we had the same chanch 10 years ago or 5,000 years ago.. and it didn't happen..

And at the rate knowledge and technology increase I tend to think we will gain the ability before we kill each other off. It took thousands of years before we could go from fire to indoor pluming . A few hundred years ago we were living at the center of the universe on a pancake. A bit over a hundred years ago we figured how to get our feet off the ground and today we are sending our little gadgets out into the vastness, living in orbit, exploring the bottom of the sea and conversating here and now in ways that our forefathers would think to be magic.

The rate of technology advancement increases as we gain knowledge. We may very well pull a new rabbit out of the technology hat at any moment...

Buck Up Sparky .. all is not darkness and despair.. We have shining minds set free thees days to ponder the never before pondered...

Q

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Originally Posted by Quantummist

I can see your bright and smiley non pessimistic view just oozing out every pore..:). Its been 15,000 to 30,000 years since mankind was smacked down by nature and I see nothing on the horizon that tells me we will be smacked again before we gain the knowledge to pack a suit case and pop off this ball.

Yes we could get poped by a big rock next week but we had the same chanch 10 years ago or 5,000 years ago.. and it didn't happen..

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Well... the problems which mankind will have to worry about in the future are the ones caused by mankind, or by mankind's influence over the environment.

Take the so-called global warming, for example. The nature have its own complicated cycle of recycling the CO2, so its level has been almost constant for centuries. But now, its levels are rising, the planet is becoming hotter, and all the delicate equilibrium of the climate is being altered. The seasons are changing. The hurricanes are becoming stronger. You all who live in u.s. knows how destructive a hurricane can be, and how impotent is all our technology face the nature's forces, even today.

And this problem i cited is only one of many others. There is the hunger (millions of people dies of starvation, you know), the diseases, the wars and so.

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Originally Posted by Quantummist

And at the rate knowledge and technology increase I tend to think we will gain the ability before we kill each other off. It took thousands of years before we could go from fire to indoor pluming . A few hundred years ago we were living at the center of the universe on a pancake. A bit over a hundred years ago we figured how to get our feet off the ground and today we are sending our little gadgets out into the vastness, living in orbit, exploring the bottom of the sea and conversating here and now in ways that our forefathers would think to be magic.

The rate of technology advancement increases as we gain knowledge. We may very well pull a new rabbit out of the technology hat at any moment...

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You must remember that the technology is restricted to the richest countries, and mostly used to bring more richness for them (and consequently more poverty to the poorer ones). The ones who have the power to change anything dont want to, if it were to mean less profit for them. Money is the ruler of this world, unfortunately.

I could go on and on on this subject, but i dont want to enter in a political/sociological/historical/etc discussion, so i will stop here. I hope you have got my point, though.
If all people were good, and if all people cared about the common well-being, i would agree with you, and would have some hope in the future.
But, unfortunately, people are becoming more and more selfish... thats why i have lost my hope, and wait for the end.

And, Mr.Bubbles, there is nothing i (or anyone) can do. Can you make the peoples mind for changing their ways? Can you make them less selfish and more altruist? Can you make people love less the money and more their neighbors? I know i cant.
BTW, i dont care about the future. It will come, regardless my caring or not. So, i choose dont care, cause i know my caring will not change it. And yes, i believe in doom. Thats why i think this world is doomed.

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Originally Posted by Coelho

Well... the problems which mankind will have to worry about in the future are the ones caused by mankind, or by mankind's influence over the environment.

Take the so-called global warming, for example. The nature have its own complicated cycle of recycling the CO2, so its level has been almost constant for centuries. But now, its levels are rising, the planet is becoming hotter, and all the delicate equilibrium of the climate is being altered. The seasons are changing. The hurricanes are becoming stronger. You all who live in u.s. knows how destructive a hurricane can be, and how impotent is all our technology face the nature's forces, even today.

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You gota quite listening to Gore.. Why do you think a climatic change is a bad thing. Maybe in a bit Canada will have endless miles of land that could feed the world. You may think its a nice sun shinny day buy I think some of the folks that live in Siberia would love the idea of a few degrees warmer. If you remember at one time we were in a melting of the ice caps and world disaster in the 20's then in the 70's we were in the start of the next ice age. Now were back to the melt down. You do relize that if you stick a bit more CO2 into your plants what happens... Faster growth..faster growth CO2 taken and locked in the bio mass. I have no fear of globull warming,, no more than that of the hole in the Ozone.. Oh yea that was going to kill us last time...

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And this problem i cited is only one of many others. There is the hunger (millions of people dies of starvation, you know), the diseases, the wars and so.

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Yep, My grand Maw died 2 days ago. Does not mean I don't ravel in the lives of those that follow.

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You must remember that the technology is restricted to the richest countries, and mostly used to bring more richness for them (and consequently more poverty to the poorer ones). The ones who have the power to change anything dont want to, if it were to mean less profit for them. Money is the ruler of this world, unfortunately.

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Technology can help most of the poverty stricken countries and is readily available as soon as they as a people take control of the corruption that has come to power if their areas.

America didn't pop into existence last week. We had a period where we had starving masses, Bodies piled high and brothers killing brothers. Untill the People control their own local affairs can't expect others to do it for them.

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I could go on and on on this subject, but i dont want to enter in a political/sociological/historical/etc discussion, so i will stop here. I hope you have got my point, though.
If all people were good, and if all people cared about the common well-being, i would agree with you, and would have some hope in the future.
But, unfortunately, people are becoming more and more selfish... thats why i have lost my hope, and wait for the end.

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Yea but if we have a melt down then all the major coastal cities would be toast and most the A'Holes live in cities.. See theres another upside to even globull warming

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And, Mr.Bubbles, there is nothing i (or anyone) can do. Can you make the peoples mind for changing their ways? Can you make them less selfish and more altruist? Can you make people love less the money and more their neighbors? I know i cant.
BTW, i dont care about the future. It will come, regardless my caring or not. So, i choose dont care, cause i know my caring will not change it. And yes, i believe in doom. Thats why i think this world is doomed.

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I didn't even like the game.. But I see a different world .. when I ride my bike through the mountains as everybody waves from the front porch. When a neighbor you haven't met walks a mile to bring you a bag of fresh tomatoes because they grew a lot and were giving some to all the folks... When I stop by the road and over the next little while 4 cars stop to ask if I need any help just because I stopped for a smoke, then I have to say we travel a different path.. Most of the people I run into are those of Honor, even those that walk a different path tend to have good hearts...

No offense, but you guys DO know that this catastrophic event isn't going to take place until December 2012 right?

So don't worry guys, we've only another 5 years on this planet until this planet, or us, is no more. =)

Maybe some of those people spending all thier money on beer who don't believe in God realize something you don't. That all of man's acheivements are ultimately worthless. It makes sense for them to drink themselves into oblivion, they believe they're without hope and will never live again. What does it matter if mankind lives another million years? Does it really matter? Why waste their time?

Thankfully, thier is hope and God does exist and there's no need to waste our money on booze.