# Where is The Human Race heading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 5, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021 "2009-07-05T23:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/21 "2009-07-06T16:59:53Z")
Hey, we may all be gone in a scant [800 years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(29075)_1950_DA) : > [@](#): > > 1950 DA is a near Earth asteroid. It is notable for having the highest known probability of impacting Earth..The energy released by a collision with an object the size of 1950 DA would cause major effects on the climate and biosphere which would be devastating to human civilization. That’ll solve your technology problem! ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/22 "2009-07-06T17:42:50Z")
If the media is to be believed it’s headed to the Staples Center for the Michael Jackson Memorial ---
**Author:** ![Gam\_Zeh\_Yaavor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@Gam\_Zeh\_Yaavor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gam_Zeh_Yaavor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/23 "2009-07-06T18:53:48Z")
My take: Years 2009-2200: patchy and variable increases and decreases in technology and standards of living depending on location. Resource wars, at least one of which will be nuclear. Gradual decline in influence of large nation-states, with the fragmentation and balkanization of the currently geographically massive countries. Years 2200-10000ish: the population decline begun in the previous period continues. Gradual reversion to pre-industrial societies, nation-states nonexistent or vastly reduced; small scale city-states, chieftainships and fiefdoms more the norm. Years 10000ish-10 million: Isolation of populations and one or more nearly extinction-level events lead to evolution of a variety of specially adapted post-human species, mainly non-sentient by modern human standards. Year 10 million to 500 million: post-human species and their descendents eventually die off. Around year 500 million, increasing solar output kills off remaining life on Earth. Year 500 million onward: peace and quiet at last! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/24 "2009-07-06T19:08:25Z")
> [@Mojo\_Pin](#): > > Nitpick: free will doesn’t exist. 😛 You only believe that because you were predestined to. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/25 "2009-07-06T19:48:21Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Look, if you don’t want a cellphone, don’t carry a cellphone. Nobody really gives a fuck. But spare us the _sub specie aeternitatis_ excogitations you came up while you were on the shitter congratulating yourself for your technological righteousness. I was going to say something along these lines, but mine didn’t have latin so I like yours better. Maybe life was better 100 years ago, I have no idea. Maybe people were generally happier, or thought they were. They also had pretty short lives and suffered from things that we’ve managed to eradicate. I don’t know where it’s all heading. But frankly I’m excited to go along for the ride. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/26 "2009-07-06T22:53:11Z")
**Nation** –there are 7-8 _Billion_ Humans on Earth right now. Without technology, what will you do with them all? Shoot them? Eat them? They can’t be fed without tech, much less housed, clothed or educated. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/27 "2009-07-07T01:43:55Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > If the media is to be believed it’s headed to the Staples Center for the Michael Jackson Memorial :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Good one! ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/28 "2009-07-07T09:26:17Z")
Sign me up for immortality too. Whether it’s as a human, cyborg, completely robotic, or information circulating in a computer… as long as I’m still “me”, it beats the hell out of “no-me”. I just can’t fathom someone who “hates the internet” posting that on the internet. There are things in life that I hate too, but since I’m not a masochist, I tend not to do them. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/29 "2009-07-07T09:50:38Z")
…[sub-species](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6057734.stm) in 100,000 years . One a tall healthy upper class and the other dim-witted ugly goblins. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/30 "2009-07-07T15:13:23Z")
You’re perfectly able to not have a cell phone. You know what I use my cell phone for? To call my wife and tell her when I’m headed home from work, to coordinate meetings for our kids, and so on. My life would be worse without a cell phone, because I’d be out of contact with my family, who I love. So if you don’t have anyone worth calling, then get rid of your phone. And no one will care. Plus, if you hate the internet there is fortunately another simple solution for that problem. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/31 "2009-07-07T22:18:36Z")
> [@indian](#): > > ..[sub-species](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6057734.stm) in 100,000 years . > > One a tall healthy upper class and the other dim-witted ugly goblins. > > 🙂 The last line of that article is, “He carried out the report for men’s satellite TV channel Bravo.” Man, that can’t _help_ but come true ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/32 "2009-07-08T18:14:21Z")
> **[Home - IEET](https://ieet.org/)** > > What is the IEET? > The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies is a nonprofit think tank which promotes ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies. We believe that... This essay is always my response to stuff like this–the real question is ALWAYS “who decides what the ‘right’ level of technology is?”, not “should there be technology or not?”. Me, I’m with the post-humanists–the current body is just a vehicle that carries me around, as was said upthread. I often wonder how people could NOT want to live forever, with so much to learn and experience that no human lifetime could begin to take it all in. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/33 "2009-07-08T20:15:14Z")
[QUOTE=Zeriel;11319633Me, I’m with the post-humanists–the current body is just a vehicle that carries me around, as was said upthread. I often wonder how people could NOT want to live forever, with so much to learn and experience that no human lifetime could begin to take it all in.[/QUOTE] But how many people actually _want_ to learn and experience. IME, most people have found their comfort nitch by the time they’re 25 and will only experience and learn something new when they’re forced to. Sure there are people who have a midlife crisis and move across the country and start a new career, but they are by far the exception and not the rule. The majority of the world will die in the city they’re living in when they’re 35. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021/34 "2009-07-08T20:47:59Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > The majority of the world will die in the city they’re living in when they’re 35. I’ve been reconnecting with high school friends through Facebook, and it’s actually kind of depressing how many still live in the same area, if not the same _house_, as they did 25 years ago. \<— 41 years old, and just moved all the way across the country for the second time to take a new job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-human-race-heading/502021.md?page=1)