What do you think is going to be the most dominant apex of apex predators after man is no longer around? Lets be reasonable; based on the exponential growth we have produced in the last 200 years, our current patience and attention span, it's pretty doubtful we'll make it another 1000 or 500 without some form of apocalypse or three. You can use whatever scenario you want, however if we were to bomb the earth with radiation that might give insects an advantage, but that's venturing into science fiction. Some birds are pretty damn smart
Do you think we can even become completely extinct?
Do you think we're condemned for a never ending cycle of reducing ourselves into a dark-age world, and climbing back to where we are now, and repeating this forever?
Looking at the fossilization process, what do you figure will remain of our world in X-million years?
>>949730
>>Do you think we can even become completely extinct?
nah, most people are hedonists and will do anything to continue being so. Nobody is born a monk and even most monks fail to stop being hedonists. The good news is that it does not matter if we die and even the scientists claim that massive extinctions happened before and yet complex life started again. if you have faith in science, you do not have to worry. if you stop being a hedonist, you do not care if you die. All is well.
>>949730
>after man is no longer around
But that'll never happen.
HUMANS FOREVER
In less than 1 billion years the Sun will have expanded to the point that it's too hot on Earth for plants to undergo photosynthesis, so Earth will be essentially devoid of life for the last 3 or 4 billion years before the Sun swallows it.
I anticipate that climate change will cause massive migrations, which will strain our already limited resources beyond their capacity to feed us all. Massive food and water shortages, nations going to war over access to fresh water, massive riots as immigrants and refugees struggle to assimilate to their new home nations. I doubt anyone would use a nuke in such a scenario, but I'd be astonished if we weren't to lose a few billion people to droughts and famines in the next few centuries.
Of course, then there's the potential for a superbug to sweep through and kill off a lot of people, which will be easier to do once the oceans start to rise and habitable land starts to get more and more crowded.
Yes, of course we will one day become completely extinct. Happens to every single species. We will either evolve into another form of homo sapiens or we'll die out entirely. As to who the next apex predator would be, I can only assume it would be another primate. Though it'd be cool if crows or elephants took over, as they both demonstrate considerable cognitive abilities.
Planet of the Elephants. That'd be cool.
Parenthetically, I remember reading that Mount Rushmore is supposedly the one monument that will outlast everything else humans have built. It's supposed to still be recognizable in 200,000 years or something like that. Long after the skyscrapers have disintegrated back into the soil, after the houses and farmland have been reclaimed by nature, after all our bones have rotted away into dust, Mount Rushmore will still be there. So that will be the last evidence that we were ever here.
>>949794
>Implying we'll still only be on Earth in a million years, let alone a billion
>>949806
>Implying human beings will still be around in a million years
>Implying we'd ever get farther than Mars
>Implying Martian inhabitants wouldn't eventually evolve into an entirely new sub-species that can't even be called "human beings"
Come on, buddy.
>>949794
Really? Mount Rushmore? Damn.
>>949850
The way it's built into the mountain rather than on top of or out of the mountain (like the Crazy Horse Monument nearby) helps to protect it from erosion. And South Dakota doesn't really have an erratic climate. No earthquakes, no hurricanes, very few tornadoes. Just rain, snow, and wind.
Shameless OP bump
Assuming some massive technological regression doesn't happen before the end of this century human beings will probably become part machine and effectively immortal before any kind of extinction event that would wipe out purely biological humans happens.
Unless a nuclear apocalypse or some sort of Dark Age caused by the rise of Islam occurs we will go beyond nature's limitations and basically become impervious to any extinction event that could be thrown our way.
Disease and natural disasters won't be enough to kill us, food can be artificially created in labs. Even a meteor strike or some kind of supervolcano erupting won't be enough to wipe us all out once we begin to spread out from Earth.
We just have to survive this century without fucking up and humanity will essentially live forever.
>>949794
>I remember reading that Mount Rushmore is supposedly the one monument that will outlast everything else humans have built.
Source? I don't doubt it, but I'd like to read that article.
>>952426
>human beings will probably become part machine and effectively immortal
Nope
>>952494
Not that guy, but we'll soon enough have nano-bots in our blood, repairing us more effectively than any current medicine.
>>952494
Nice refutation with an interesting counter point. Many interesting ideas expressed in this post.
individual human beings may not become immortal within our lifetimes. But human beings will begin to become part machine within the next few decades, and we will continue in that fashion until we basically cannot die by conventional means.
Most of these technologies are already theoretically possible, all it's going to take is time for our technological capabilities to catch up.
>>952548
After reproductive age there is very little ability for evolution to act upon longevity. I doubt that even if we could extend lifetimes greatly that it would be anything but slower deterioration.
Also In that post it suggests that we can go beyond natures limitations and create food in labs etc. but this neglects to consider that things like inorganic fertilisers are limited resources.
Overall that post seems like ignorant hopefulness.
>We just have to survive this century without fucking up and humanity will essentially live forever.
>>952571
It is theoretically possible to reverse or halt aging. Aging is a defect like any other, it can be cured.
>>952634
>Aging is a defect like any other, it can be cured.
Ageing is very different to say a disease, it's not inherently a defect, without ageing a population will reach the carrying capacity much faster and lead to a crash. All species have evolved with this limitation. And while technology pushes the limit further away it doesn't remove limits.
>>952658
>All species have evolved with this limitation.
>Not knowing of the few immortal species
Nigga, it's a fucking Google search away.
>949730
>most dominant apex of apex predators after man is no longer around?
Squid
>Do you think we can even become completely extinct?
Probably not completely.
>Do you think we're condemned for a never ending cycle of reducing ourselves into a dark-age world, and climbing back to where we are now, and repeating this forever?
We've already grabbed all of the easy to get stuff. For future societies that need resources, they'll have to mine twice as hard to get half as much minerals and stuff. The middle east is the cradle of civilization. Why did we move out of the cradle? We used up all the easy to get metals, minerals, & soil.
>Looking at the fossilization process, what do you figure will remain of our world in X-million years?
A layer of concentrated metals that will be mined by the Xdwififniefndknksfnc's in 200000 years.
>>952875
>muh jellyfish
death is necessary for life.
>>952485
It was mentioned in The World Without People.
Or maybe Life After People.
Some geologist said it.
>>949794
>after all our bones have rotted away into dust, Mount Rushmore will still be there. So that will be the last evidence that we were ever here.
Fuck, thats beautiful.
>>949730
Black plague and spanish flu killed lots of people. Native americans 90% died of smallpox. Not everyone will ever die of disease. But we will eventually die out. Either from climate change. If we keep getting smarter the population will keep rising and eventually somethings gotta break. Like blowing more air into a full baloon. Its gonna pop. You might use a bigger ballon or make it stronger. But eventually its gonna pop
>>949794
Atomic shells
>>949823
By JOHJ anon
>>953027
Surely you realize that this is not actually an argument re: the possibility of radically extending human lifespans
>>949730
>What do you think is going to be the most dominant apex of apex predators after man is no longer around?
Dogs.
>>949730
Anyone interested in this topic should read the novel "Earth Abides" I think it was written in 1954, but it covers this topic extensively, where basically 99% of the pop. gets wiped out by a fast acting disease, and that it's nature's way of controlling the population.
>>955835
It's an argument that even if we could it isn't desirable.
>>956244
And why the fuck not, Dubs-Man?
>>956249
Multiple reasons, Larger population size would means we would reach the carrying capacity quicker, see sustainability in general. You would never completely control all health problems and living longer would be a drain for the economy in terms of medical costs. And greater longevity is fundamentally an individual benefit at the expense of everyone else. But mostly I disagree for the first reason, see this pic >>952658.
>>949730
Humans survived a super eruption and an ice age it will take a meteor to kill us off.
>>956288
So we regulate breeding to only be when another human has died an unnatural death.
>>956416
In that case, sure. But this is extremely hypothetical.
>>956436
Of course. But we can assume that tough restrictions would be placed on who even can become immortal, at least for the first 50~ years of our discovery on how to become immortal.
By the time the general public gains access, the restrictions on everything will be immensely tight.
>>956479
>You will never use magic to gain immortality and become a dark mage
>Instead you'll have to go through a long government process that will probably reject you anyways
WHY. LIVE.
>>956741
>You will never be a Pokemon trainer, a Digidestined, a Saiyan, a wizard, a knight, a ANYTHING
FUCK
KILL ME NOW
