Collective Wisdom

[lehighguy]

As like every other time in history, we will either invent our way out of it (renewable energy) or we will perish. Moderation, conservation, intelligent policy making, and general competence will not save us. God help the 1% of the population which might come up with an invention that saves us for a few more decades.

[balazs]

"The world is staggering and lurching along towards its remorseless doom."
This is true only if world=humankind. I think you overvalue humans. We are just a temporary "disease" of the Earth. Of course, we doesn't have to be, but it is our choice.
Define the expression "when the curtain falls".

[Il_Mostro]

[ QUOTE ]
we always can wear those bright metallic silver jump suits

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah! I'll look like a gay superhero in one of those. Can't the future come sooner?

[natedogg]

[ QUOTE ]
The world is staggering and lurching along towards its remorseless doom. I am too busy, at the moment, to calculate the date at which the world will end. Given the collective wisdom of all the posters on this forum, I would like to ask a favor. Get together and calculate the date when the curtain falls; I have a few bets to place and investments to make.

Thank You.

-Zeitgeist

[/ QUOTE ]

The world will end in approximately 6 Billion years.

When the human race will end depends on your definition, since we will almost certainly evolve into something else which will no longer be considered human, so I have two answers.

1. The end of whatever line of species stems from us, contemporary humans: never

2. Speciation of humans: 100 years, via artifical gene splicing.

natedogg

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
The world will end in approximately 6 Billion years.


[/ QUOTE ]

Close enough. The follow website gives a value of 5 Billion, but no need to quibble.

[ QUOTE ]
Date: Wed Jul 30 11:35:39 2003
Posted By: Irene Little, Faculty, CASA, University of Colorado
Area of science: Astronomy
ID: 1059264965.As

Message:

Let me give you a summary of what astronomers think is going to
happen to the Earth. For the next 5 billion years while the sun converts
hydrogen to helium in its core, Earth will experience few problems. The
sun will gradually brighten during that time probably with little serious
consequences to life on Earth. However, in 5 billion years when the sun
runs out of hydrogen in its core, the sun will expand to 3 times its
current size as well as being twice as bright (it will be a subgiant).
The increased luminosity (brightness) will evaporate the Earth's ocean
leading to a run-away greenhouse effect and the Earth's surface
temperature will be something like that of Venus (around 900 F). It is
doubtful that life can survive at these temperatures.


With time things will get worse. The sun continues to expand and
becomes a red giant-about 100 times larger in size and 1,000 times more
luminous. The earth's surface temperature will exceed 1000K (1800 F). By
that time the surviving humans need to have found a new home-possibly
Saturn's moon Titan (Titan's surface temperature would be somewhat like
that of Earth, but the atmosphere is not breathable by us). For about 100
million years, the sun will convert helium into carbon in its core. When
the helium finally runs out, the sun will expand to an even larger size
during the last million years of its lifetime. The sun will become more
than 200 times its present size and swallow up all the inner planets
(Mercury, Venus and Earth). These planets will be vaporized within a
couple of hundred years. In its last phase the sun will eject its outer
layers (its atmosphere) as a planetary nebula that will engulf Jupiter,
Saturn, Neptune and Uranus and drift on past Pluto into interstellar space.


The sun will never become a nova. Novae occur only in binary star systems.


Ref: The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider and Voit (1999),
p 525




[/ QUOTE ]

Of course, there are other possiblities. Check this out Be Ready [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]




[ QUOTE ]
When the human race will end depends on your definition, since we will almost certainly evolve into something else which will no longer be considered human, so I have two answers.

1. The end of whatever line of species stems from us, contemporary humans: never

2. Speciation of humans: 100 years, via artifical gene splicing.


[/ QUOTE ]

Good answer. You win the Louis Armstong CD and one pint jar of huckleberry jelly. PM me your address and I'll sent the stuff to you. No Joke.

Phat wins honorable mention for the wonderful Red Sox comment and gets one jar of huckleberry jelly. Phat you must PM me your address or you miss out. The other two jars of jelly are in reserved for something else.

-Zeno

[Ray Zee]

the correct answer is that the world is here in your perspctive so when you die the world is effectively gone for you. it doesnt matter if it still exists. the world is just the planet earth for you. when you die its all gone. so your death is the date of the end of the world. we all die at some point. so does the earth.

i have my own cd,s which unlike what they say. the film covering deteriates and makes them last shorter than old vinal records. we got screwed again folks.

as for the jelly i make my own and also have chokecherry jelly as the bushes are all over my place.

next time offer a good prize like a gun.

[etgryphon]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't wait for that day. I spend a lot of time in the morning selecting the perfect outfit. How do I feel today? Having a single choice of attire will release me from the burden of expressing the many moods, the many shades, the many sides of ripdog.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats what Einstein thought. How much time do we waste choosing clothes.

-Gryph

[etgryphon]

[ QUOTE ]

next time offer a good prize like a gun.


[/ QUOTE ]

A man after my own heart...

-Gryph

[ripdog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I can't wait for that day. I spend a lot of time in the morning selecting the perfect outfit. How do I feel today? Having a single choice of attire will release me from the burden of expressing the many moods, the many shades, the many sides of ripdog.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats what Einstein thought. How much time do we waste choosing clothes.

-Gryph

[/ QUOTE ]

I was just ripping off a line from Seinfeld, actually. Sub George Costanza in for ripdog and the quote is verbatim. I waste very little time in selecting clothing. Is it a jeans or shorts day? Dress T-shirt or non-dress T-shirt? White socks and Merrell's. Easy squeezy.

[Zeno]

A good answer as usual, though a bit relative and not the absolute answer I was after. Anyway, since you already are choked up with Jelly then you obviously don't need anymore.

A gun prize is an excellent idea. But I just sold my 9mm Beretta and have no extra guns to give away as a prize.

But the way, I purchased that Ruger mini-30 with the top-notch Swarovski scope. Shoots great, ran about 100 rounds through it yesterday (July 4!) at the gun range and adjusted/Zeroed in the scope. It was off some. It is stainless steel with wood stock and operates well, overall in excellent shape. Need to purchase some better quality ammo I think. I shot some Brown Bear Russian ammo (20 rounds for $3.50) and one of the steel cartriage casings split. I checked them out after shooting. Cabela's sells Wolf Russian ammo in bulk but I may need to get some better quality stuff. Any suggestions?

-Zeno