Let's not get into making political statements! 

15 minutes ago, charliearon said:

Let's not get into making political statements! 

its a fact and I wont say anything further. 

26 minutes ago, sightseer said:

its a fact and I wont say anything further. 

Fact-Schmak.....let's not make political statements!  I will not say anything further.

Presumably this entire discussion is based on what happens in the USA.
There are other places that make up the world which is probably why I have
no idea what the "political" remark means, so it can't hurt the rest of us.

On the topic, technology doesn't make us any more vulnerable than any other need that cannot be fulfilled.
If we were to all return to hunter-gathering, having wiped out most of what can be hunted or gathered and multiplied our own numbers beyond any even slightly sustainable level, we would soon be in far greater trouble than if the lights went out or our "cell" phones stopped working.
I gather from the news over here, that many parts of your country are close to running out of water too. Now that's not good at all.

 

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by Reader

27 minutes ago, Reader said:

f we were to all return to hunter-gathering, having wiped out most of what can be hunted or gathered and multiplied our own numbers beyond any even slightly sustainable level, we would soon be in far greater trouble than if the lights went out or our "cell" phones stopped working.

That's happened before.

Where did the inhabitants of Mesa Verde go when things dried up and the water ran out?  Or the Incas or the Mayans?

When your natural habitat can no longer sustain your population or your way of life you eventually become extinct.  Where are the Neanderthals now?  Or the Mastodons or the Wooly Mammoths or the Tasmanian Devils or the Passenger Pigeons?

Mankind is not invulnerable despite the fact many of us think so.  In the future be it a comet hit or lack of natural resources or unable to adapt to changes when technology runs out our species will become extinct or almost extinct and the survivors will change to adapt to their new environments and wonder what became of homo sapiens just as we wonder what happened to the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

Miller's A Canticle for Liebowitz covers it well.

Noel

Noel

I would do fine if this was to happen, already have my hoard of cash, rainwater harvesting system, cache of food and supplies, you name it. But this is because I live directly on top of one of the largest fault lines. I always figured if you can be prepared for a big earthquake you pretty much have most other things covered, the only thing that I am not prepared for would be a bush fire taking out the entire neighbourhood. 

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

Miller's A Canticle for Liebowitz covers it well.

Just picked up the Kindle version for 4 bucks.

Thanks for this suggestion, Noel.

Dave

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

 

When your natural habitat can no longer sustain your population or your way of life you eventually become extinct.  

Noel

Noel

 

Unless your technology can compensate or allow you to find a new habitat.

But eventually...

Of all species that have existed on Earth, 99.9 percent are now extinct. Many of them perished in five cataclysmic events. According to a recent poll, seven out of ten biologists think we are currently in the throes of a sixth mass extinction.

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by martin-w

Tha 00.1% must be cockroaches.

Noel

35 minutes ago, martin-w said:

Many of them perished in five cataclysmic events.

Apparently, the third event, which was the worst, killed off 96% of marine life. It is thought to have been as a result of "g***** w****** that left ocean animals unable to breathe.".

https://earth.stanford.edu/news/what-caused-earths-biggest-mass-extinction#gs.5yy5bd

Edited July 10, 20223 yr by dmwalker

12 hours ago, birdguy said:

Tha 00.1% must be cockroaches.

Noel

 

The good news though is that most species have become extinct through old age. A  species generally sticks around for between  one million and eleven million years for mammals.  

https://www.discovery.com/nature/99-Percent-Of-The-Earths-Species-Are-Extinct

 

There are websites listing problems which can kill the biosphere, destroy mankind, that sort of thing. The lists can have maybe 100 entries.

Almost all of these problems are the result of problems resulting from advanced technology. Chemicals, lab created biological hazards, universal vaccines or medical treatments backfiring decades later, super destructive military weapons, and so forth.

The cycle is obvious. As science advances the dangers of extinction rise proportionately. As science accelerates faster, the road to oblivion draws nigh. 

This is the most obvious reason why no civilizations out there are advanced enough to contact or visit us. Only the more primitive civilizations are still around. And a tiny advanced few, like the one Earth, which are near to the snap point. 

This phenomenon was partially perceived by great thinkers over 2000 years ago. Witness the books predicting that the most arrogant and proud civilizations were the most vulnerable, even a whole world full of people perishing in a universal cataclysm. 

13 hours ago, Fielder said:

 

The cycle is obvious. As science advances the dangers of extinction rise proportionately. As science accelerates faster, the road to oblivion draws nigh. 

This is the most obvious reason why no civilizations out there are advanced enough to contact or visit us. Only the more primitive civilizations are still around. And a tiny advanced few, like the one Earth, which are near to the snap point. 

 

 

Exactly! The most obvious answer to the Fermi Paradox.

As I've argued before on the forum, advanced technological life could indeed be very rare in the galaxy, and advanced enough to get here, nonexistent. 

But who knows... maybe some UFO's are such visitors. 😁

Yes, I agree with you. More safeguards and toning down technical advances to proceed more carefully. If the aliens don't want us to perceive their presence, I don't think they would be buzzing around obvious places, such as our warships, military bases, or  power plants. If they do want us to interact, they would be landing near 10 Downing for all to see. 

2 hours ago, Fielder said:

If they do want us to interact, they would be landing near 10 Downing for all to see. 

There's no room. They should land at Heathrow like the rest of us.