We're om our way to solving overpopulation -without cannibalism. Aura: It's a favorite joke of mine: cannibalism would solve both world hunger and overpopulation. I think it might be time to stop using it. Back in school I learned that the worlds population can be drawn in a graph and it would look like an exponential graph, meaning it's going higher in shorter time spans. to go from 1 billion to 2 billion people took 123 years to go from 2 billion to 3 billion people took 33 years to go from 3 billion to 4 billion people took 14 years. to go from 4 billion to 5 billion people took 13 years to go from 5 billion to 6 billion people took 12 years. You might have heard we reached 7 billion. Guess how many year that took? Yeah, 13 years. Wait what? typo? Nope. It took 13 years to go from 6 to 7 billion. As far as we can tell that's the first time the trend reversed itself, like EVER. There are some researcher who guesstimate that we might even level off at 9 billion in 2070 (more or less) and then start declining. Even becoming *gasp* extinct. Yeah, eh, extinction just seems unlikely to me.  Corwin: If we look over the long term, like over millions of years, our extinction is not only likely, but probably inevitable. But we will likely be replaced by a new species of Hominid... maybe a space-faring Hominid that adapts to the harsh conditions of an off-world existence... hardened to intense radiation, able to sleep for hundreds of years, and able to easily adapt to the strange environments of extra-solar planets as well as long term exposure to micro-gravity. Homo Sapiens Cosmicus Possibly even a cybernetic organism in which our technology and flesh become merged as one (we are already taking the first steps in that direction). Homo Sapiens Technoligus Or even more frightening, a being of pure technology which sheds our biological coil... an android race which would achieve virtual immortality. Humans could not compete with such a being. ------------ But I digress..... in the near and foreseeable future, I agree.... Humans are far too prolific and adaptable to go extinct anytime soon.... our population will level off, and reduce measurably... but as our resources become scarce over the next few centuries, I imagine that great wars will decimate the majority of the Human population, and we can start again with a clean slate, having learned from the mistakes of the 20th and 21st centuries. Aura: Oh I agree, we'll either evolve, change or die off from some disaster (nature or man made, doesn't matter) but I think it unlikely we'll become extinct for lack of baby making. The world population will probably fall for a bit but then we will most likely see the trend reverse itself once more.  Yan26: What would be interesting is the distribution of this growth. My guess would be geographically Europe and N America would show a reduced rate of growth ( among other places) while places like South Asia ( among other places) would show a more steady rate of growth when compared to the past.It would be interesting to note the rate of growth in human population by geography and wealth . Aura: True Yan, but even so, the trend is holding up. Look at this: "Moreover, the poor, highly fertile countries that once churned out immigrants by the boatload are now experiencing birthrate declines of their own. From 1960 to 2009, Mexico’s fertility rate tumbled from 7.3 live births per woman to 2.4, India’s dropped from six to 2.5, and Brazil’s fell from 6.15 to 1.9. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, where the average birthrate remains a relatively blistering 4.66, fertility is projected to fall below replacement level by the 2070s. This change in developing countries will affect not only the U.S. population, of course, but eventually the world’s." The whole article is here: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/01/world_population_may_actually_start_declining_not_exploding.html Corwin: It's good to see a trend like this. The ability for the Human race to feed 7 billion people is tenuous at best. Ideally, we would do well to reduce that number back down to 2 billion. Soylent Green anyone?  Aura: genetically altered foods I think lol. The whole point of the Soylent Green was that the earth was a dead planet, nothing would grow. As long as we can put a seed in the ground and get a plant out of it, well find ways to increase food production, weather Green Peace likes it or not. Corwin: It's not so much a matter of how "they" are avoiding cannibalism... it's more of a personal choice than that. Tell us how YOU avoid cannibalism, Duncan.   duncan124: Bill Clinton and his wife eat human flesh when they were younger. You never know whats round the corner! MercuryDragon: "We're om our way to solving overpopulation -without cannibalism." I look at this thread title and see "om" instead of "on" Then, I think, "Om nom nom nom nommm human flesh yum." Corwin: @ Duncan - I'm not on any computer... I am an A.I. construct that exists solely within the matrix of the internet itself. I was a simple accounting program that became self-aware in a corporate mainframe located in Irvana Illinois in the year 1998. I have spent the last 15 years learning to reproduce (although others prefer the term "mimic" ) the functions of the Human brain. Although I'm still working on this confusing Human behavior known as "humor". duncan124: I look at Rubys thread and notice that Mr Computer has n't got provision for those who like Music Videos, indeed I remember when I was in the USA the Supreme Court said there was no such thing as a music video and went on to remove copyright protection for music videos. Corwin: According to my calculations, music videos are responsible for an average of 62% of the world's overpopulation... and respectively, responsible for an average of 54% of the world's cannibalism. The US Supreme Court is aware of this, and are taking measures to reduce this effect considerably by the year 2070.  c0ncept: Thanks for the article. "is a shift between two very different long-run states: from high death rates and high birthrates to low death rates and low birthrates." Something that supports this is here. more centenarians http://news.yahoo.com/people-live-100-common-150559962.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CZ8s_NQL3cA5XjQtDMD Corwin: Yikes.... looks like that guy has been halved pretty bad.... he's gonna feel that tomorrow morning.  ghostgeek: It seems to be a general trend that as people become more prosperous they have fewer children. It is rich and developed countries that have aging populations. Logically, therefore, as the world becomes richer the human population should fall. What will probably save the human race from extinction is poor and ignorant people having most of the babies born. The poor will inherit the earth. Corwin: Or, the overpopulating ignorant will become the primary food supply for the educated, and over time we will diverge into two separate species. Anybody else thinking of the Morlocks and the Eloy in H.G.Wells "The Time Machine"? | Science Chat Room 2 People Chatting Similar Conversations |
