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The People Cheering for Humanity's End
(www.theatlantic.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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Personally, I think humans are the most interesting and important thing going on in this solar system, let alone planet. Actually, I think it would be a pretty tough argument to suggest anything else...
Can't tell if you being sarcastic or sincere.
100% sincere. I guess it's trendy to say things like "humans are parasites", certainly the concept of "humans as a virus" has been explored in fiction often enough. But if we're being perfectly honest, humans are simply amazing and what we've already achieved is monumental and incredibly meaningful. In fact, it's the very definition of meaningful, because it's intelligent life that creates "meaning" in the first place.
Humans definitely rely on parasitism to survive, especially on each other, but we're susceptible to intra-species parasitism because our organizational instincts lead us to be credulous. I think if we didn't think of it as that, and embraced a cooperative outlook (that restricted competition or antagonism) then we'd have fewer people wanting to engage in parasitism.
But I'm guessing. Some people want to compete for competition's sake, and some people do so just because kinder survival strategies aren't available or working.
That said, whether we go extinct in the next few centuries (a significant risk right now) or we are able to organize enough to quell the climate crisis and clean up the plastic crisis, or just are reduced down to thousands, and stay that way though a few ice ages, is beyond our individual power to influence at this point. Our elites who own all the wealth can't even think past next year, which might be an indictment regarding the deep-time survivability of our species.
I've learned to disinvest. I will not be here to notice what happens, and have only been disappointed in how humanity treats each other.
I would be more apt to agree with you if humans weren't actively killing the planet, have killed so many plant and animal species to extinction, and are constantly at war with each other. Sure, we created the internet, can travel in space, can alter genetic code. But what does it matter when we destroy the earth, and the next planet, and the next planet.
But do you know what's killed even more species than humans have?
A supervolcano.
And what killed even more species than that?
An asteroid.
And honestly, the world has very little to show for it.
Mass extensions happen, they've happened many times and they will continue to happen for as long as there's still life in this planet. So sure, humans are causing a mass extinction right now, but (A) that's not unique or unusual for the planet, and (B) we're aware of it, and we're trying to change (even if we're mostly failing). The asteroid never even tried to turn around, so in that sense we're already proving friendlier than nature.
And on the topic of asteroids, here's another thought... NASA's DART mission has made meaningful progress in our efforts to prevent the next mass extinction by redirecting an asteroid. What that proves is that we are capable of doing positive things for the planet. Our self awareness gives us incentive to protect the planet and ourselves. I would think that the combination of our incentive and proven ability likely means that the planet is better off with us than without us, but in the end we'll just have to wait and see.
Yup, really doing a bang up job with that importance. Really look after each other, are full of compassion and want the best for all living creatures. Really a gift to this university..