Scale of Universe

[Leshma]

If rats can grow this big, I don't see why crabs shouldn't grow big as well. This guy is your typical Elder Scrolls rat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uP-kOPirdg

[[ptx]]

(click to show/hide)

That is chocolate chip cookie, but he got a point. Natural selection doesn't operate as fully as it should for humans, and this trend will likely (and probably hopefully) not be reversed in the near future. We won't become stupid because intelligence (at least to a degree) helps reproduction, but we will most likely become weak to diseases and physically weak in general. Physical labor massively decreased with technology, so we don't need to be as strong and as tough as before to survive, and more importantly, reproduce. I predict that our dependance on human-made systems (as opposed to nature) will rise.

Answer - transhumanism.

[Leshma]

That is chocolate chip cookie, but he got a point. Natural selection doesn't operate as fully as it should for humans, and this trend will likely (and probably hopefully) not be reversed in the near future. We won't become stupid because intelligence (at least to a degree) helps reproduction, but we will most likely become weak to diseases and physically weak in general. Physical labor massively decreased with technology, so we don't need to be as strong and as tough as before to survive, and more importantly, reproduce. I predict that our dependance on human-made systems (as opposed to nature) will rise.

That's correct. Who needs strong human muscles when you can have hundred times stronger synthetic muscles and other body parts

[B3RS3RK]

Well, we are already in with replacing body parts with custom made stuff.

For example I got a new hip.


100 years from now, why not implement servomotors and shit into it and make me able to jump 100 metres high or stupid shit like that?

[Dezilagel]

Teeth:

Natural selection will always work at maximum efficiency. It's simply true by definition - those who adapt and survive are those who are "better" by evolutionary standards.

Now the criteria for evolutionary excellence may not be what want them to be, but that's because it is just that - evolution.

Evolution holds no interest in how many books you cram per month, or if you can speak Russian fluently backwards, all it cares about are the consequences of this knowledge/ability to act.

For example: Some while ago this video of a Swedish girl with huge jugs being a general prick (racist, thick, prejudicial, slutty - you name it) popped up, and my friends all laughed and called her an idiot. Being the general sob that I am I told them that "no, she's being smart, kind and genererous!"

"Huh? (What you on about you stupid...? _{(Want to fuck her that bad?)})"

"Smart - from an evolutionary and materialistic standpoint. Girl be getting kinda famous and rolling in cash - good for her material standards and that of her future children."

"Kind - Because she takes a standpoint that noone else does, defends it by heart and thus allows a real confrontation of opinions, strengthening our truths." (Read Mill)

"Generous - Because well, y'know, she's "taken" a lot from mankind and mankind has most certainly enjoyed it."'

Another primary example are of course the guys from "Jackass" and the likes.

From a moral pov though she was of course an absolute moron and that's why you shouldn't really bother with this kind of shit. Evolution takes the optimum direction whether you like it or not, and worrying about how people are today from an evolutionary standpoint is just silly, simply because of the definition of evolution.

Respect other people, live a good life, make sure to experience as much as possible and be done with it. Acting wannabe cynical racial biologist is not on my life schedule at least.

[Siiem]

The future!
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[The_Bloody_Nine]

with all the talk of evolution and human progress you shouldn't forget that both work in time periods absolutely not comparable. Life began 3-4 billion years ago, dinosaurs lived 230-65 million years ago, the evolution from reptils to mammals took around 70 million years, homo sapiens evolved around 200000 years ago, first written expression began 3000 years ago, printing was invented 600 years ago, right now I write on a pc which was invented a couple of decades ago, world population 2000 years ago was around 200-300 million, around 1800 1 billion, now seven.

These are only some random, rough numbers, point is: a couple of thousand years is nothing in therms of biological evolution and the progress of human advance is incredible fast. We simply cannot know what will be in 10000 years, but evolution won't be doing much in that time. I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, but it is something you have to keep in mind when you talk about these things. Its the same with climatic changes, the poles are melting? omg, since earths existence the poles were molten many and long times. Its nothing new, only the speed in which things change through human influence is fucking fast.

btw, thanks for the link, cool stuff.

[Stabby_Dave]

with all the talk of evolution and human progress you shouldn't forget that both work in time periods absolutely not comparable. Life began 3-4 billion years ago, dinosaurs lived 230-65 million years ago, the evolution from reptils to mammals took around 70 million years, homo sapiens evolved around 200000 years ago, first written expression began 3000 years ago, printing was invented 600 years ago, right now I write on a pc which was invented a couple of decades ago, world population 2000 years ago was around 200-300 million, around 1800 1 billion, now seven.

These are only some random, rough numbers, point is: a couple of thousand years is nothing in therms of biological evolution and the progress of human advance is incredible fast. We simply cannot know what will be in 10000 years, but evolution won't be doing much in that time. I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, but it is something you have to keep in mind when you talk about these things. Its the same with climatic changes, the poles are melting? omg, since earths existence the poles were molten many and long times. Its nothing new, only the speed in which things change through human influence is fucking fast.

btw, thanks for the link, cool stuff.

Very insightful post. A rare thing on these forums.

I would love to think that transhumanism would allow our lives to be extended but with the world population already becoming too big now, imagine how out of control it would become if people started regularly living to 150. I would imagine technology like that wouldnt be available to anyone but the super rich and super powerful.

[B3RS3RK]

Well, if we used the ressources optimally, we could sustain a much higher amount of people like now.

If the whole world became one nation, and if our politicians wouldnt be just stupid idiots but people who actually cared about problems and such we would own so hard.

There wouldnt be any overpopulation anymore.

And I bet we would reach the state where we could colonice other planets in a few hundred years.

But I think that will just stay a dream :/

[Nessaj]

When talking about scale I've always found this particular video to be amazing.

"WHAT IF other planetary bodies orbited our world at the same distance as the moon?"

Scale - http://vimeo.com/19231255

[Tigero]

With great power comes responsibility. But we humans are so lame creatures that we can't stop greed.
One great question is that will our resources last, answer is no, not with this amount of people and the greed of the ones with guns. For example, we westeners eat so much meat, that producing that amount of meat takes enough grain per year to feed 3 billion people, and at the same time 1 billion people are starving. Not to even mention the enviromental effects of meat producing. (methane, destruction of forest, water pollution)

All it would take to feed all those poor people is to stop spending money on war and cut 1/3 of our yearly meat consumption (and perhaps use a bit more condoms)

[Xant]

Just don't think we'll attain the ability to travel at (near)lightspeed before we wipe ourselves out. The technology required is still quite a whiles away

And I bet we would reach the state where we could colonice other planets in a few hundred years.

"Quite a whiles away"
"Few hundred years"

This kind of stuff is pointless. FTL travel might be invented very, very soon. Or it might not be invented ever. Colonize other planets in a few hundred years? And that's the "dream"? It could be MUCH faster, probably will be.

Where was humanity a few hundred years ago? What about twenty years ago? Fourty years ago? We have things that people a hundred years ago couldn't have imagined. What makes you think you can predict new technologies or how fast it'll all advance?

This is without even getting into what'll happen if and when technological singularity is achieved. The results are completely unpredictable, and it could happen in the coming decades, even within a decade or sooner.

[Leshma]

We have things that people a hundred years ago couldn't have imagined.

Yes we do. We have Merc_Xant, for example

[hamiler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc

[[ptx]]

Well, what with our current progress in biology and related things, i think it is somewhat safe to say that we might see some significant advances towards at least extending the human lifespan within our lifetimes. And, imho, scientists with a longer lifespan (= more experience, more knowledge -> more scientific output?) would be a good step towards singularity