Insomnia

[RESiNATE]

I've got insomnia

I wonder how many people have actually walked this Earth, since time began...

If there are 6.5Billion people on this planet now, and a person is born every 2 seconds, and someone dies at the same time, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out...should it?

How long has this planet been habitable?
Multiply that by 6.5Billion, and the answer should be something around that figure, yeah?

But, of course there hasn't always been 6.5Billion people alive at any one time, has there.

Hmmmm....I wonder

RESiNATE Reviewed by RESiNATE on 01-04-2005. Insomnia I've got insomnia :( I wonder how many people have actually walked this Earth, since time began... If there are 6.5Billion people on this planet now, and a person is born every 2 seconds, and someone dies at the same time, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out...should it? How long has this planet been habitable? Multiply that by 6.5Billion, and the answer should be something around that figure, yeah? But, of course there hasn't always been 6.5Billion people alive at any one time, Rating: 5

[RESiNATE]

Ok, so the Earth has been habitable for approximately 4.5Billion years.

[Buck268]

Well, if in 1300 there was approx. 2,000,000 people on earth and there are 6.5billion now, thats a growth rate of? You could them model this into a graph taking the derivative to find to total number of people...

Unless I'm wrong?

[RESiNATE]

http://www.prb.org/Content/ContentGr..._on_Earth_.htm

Apparently, the figure is guesstimated at around 106,456,367,669 - since 50,000BC!

Cool, I answered my own question...

What else shall I think about?

[Buck268]

How about Determinism?

Perhaps you will come up with your own theory of compatibilism.


...which is a word, despite what my philosophy instructor said... I read an entire book on it

[RESiNATE]

Determinism?
Do you mean whether or not we have free-will?

I have my own theories on this, but they don't adhere to most people's thinking lol

[Buck268]

I do. Care to elaborate? I love a good philosophy discussion...

[RESiNATE]

Do we have free-will?

Maybe...

But, is the ability to view or consider all the alternatives to any given action, really a case for free-will?
We must look at our individual moral code and conscience, not to mention our life experiences and lessons learned by others, before we can make the presented choices.
I used to believe in Fate.
I believed in it so much, that in many ways it has prevented me from doing lots of things with my life.
But, here's where it gets confusing...because, although I believed in Fate, I wasn't too sure about the concept of Destiny.
Do Fate and Destiny go hand-in-hand, or are they two entirely different animals?

Is Fate a consequence of an action?
Is Destiny pre-ordained, or a result of Fate?
Or, is Fate and Destiny a precursor to Causality?

[Buck268]

Fate typically refers to the necessary outcome as dictated by universal causal (yes, causal) laws while destiney typically holds a much more superstisious presence....

It sounds like you are a bit of a Compatibilist. YOu acknowledge that the universe may very well be dictated by causal laws, that you amy or may not have a choice in action. But you also seem to recognise a general acceptation of that doctrine would devestate society therefore you propagate the idea of determined free will. Or the act of choosing requires free will, even if your choice was predetermined.

I dunno, I kinda see it like that. I could go into more depth but I'm outta budha and cant focus.

[RESiNATE]

One thing that makes me chuckle, is the idea that one has an instructor for philosophy!
lol
Surely, that is defeating the object of the excersise?

I suppose that we need a model to work with here.
So, the senario is this:

The one you love more than anything is standing underneath a big block of iron. The block of iron is big enough to squash that person and kill them out-right. However, that person is standing on a button that, if released, will instantly destroy the city in which you live, killing thousands of people.
Within the next 5 minutes, the block of iron will drop.
What do you do?