b3ta.com links
You are not logged in. Login or Signup
Home » links » Link 1429251 | Random (Thread)

This is a normal post All successful species live unsustainably
That's just normal population flux that has occurred for millennia.

Herbivores find a big plain full of grass that they can eat, everyone thrives, has lots of babies, suddenly the grass gets eaten faster than it grows back and the population dies back. This pulses back and forth ad infinitum or until other environmental factors kick in as well.

We're just a bit smarter, and have the ability to foresee our impending correction and do something about it. I don't see a problem with terraforming other planets. Once we've figured out interstellar travel, then there's an awfully big universe to grow into.

Like, quite literally infinitely big, so over-population is only ever going to be a highly localised problem.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 9:56, , Reply)
This is a normal post But then we've essentially turned into the alien invaders we're supposed to fear in sci-fi movies.
Sucking a planet dry then moving onto the next. It's essentially colonization/invasion on a macroscopic scale. It's something that leaves a pretty bad taste in my mouth personally, which is why I don't really support the idea.
 (Huw Edwards #notalljews, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:04, , Reply)
This is a normal post But we won't be sucking planets dry, we'll fill them with life!
And again... the universe is INFINITE. It will never run out of anything.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:15, , Reply)
This is a normal post Creating life is creating death. Inifinite has many meanings.

(I helped save b3ta! omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 11:02, , Reply)
This is a normal post Reminds me of that AI that they programmed to play Tetris
After a while, it realised that it always lost, so it just refused to play.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 17:27, , Reply)
This is a normal post Planets, grass, what's the difference?
I get your point of view, especially after you admit it's emotional tint.
 (I helped save b3ta! omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 11:02, , Reply)
This is a normal post That ability to foresee and adapt intelligently is actually a problem.
It means that we prevent most natural die-backs, so our population only keeps growing.
Eventually we'll end up with a problem vastly more problematic than the normal natural disasters, but one which we will not be able to avoid, because it will be the product of ever more intricate optimisations with no room for adaptation left.
 (eViLegion Chief Commissioner of the Scottish Lunacy Board, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:11, , Reply)
This is a normal post Put far more eloquently than I could manage
Whilst pretending to be hard at work :)
 (Huw Edwards #notalljews, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:14, , Reply)
This is a normal post Everyone keeps referring to the 'Natural' way of things
We are part of nature too - everything that happens is natural.

To quote a Facebook platitude - "You are not in a traffic jam; You ARE the traffic jam".

And your argument that we'll end up at a point where we 'run out of adaptations' just suggests a lack of imagination.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:23, , Reply)
This is a normal post Very fair point.
But my way of thinking is more along the lines of:
"I've contributed to this traffic jam by relying on my car. Perhaps if people didn't rely on cars so much, car shared or chose alternative means of transport, nobody would need to suffer traffic jams such as these."

Actually, my thinking is more along the lines of:
"Stop making cars, we use far too many of them!" But I'm pretty happy with either solution :)
 (Huw Edwards #notalljews, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 10:37, , Reply)
This is a normal post Yes, this natural fallacy irks me still, but I'm glad there is some acknowledgement : p

(I helped save b3ta! omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 11:04, , Reply)
This is a normal post I don't mean this to be rude
but you seem to have a very short-sighted way of viewing these problems.

Cars are not the problem, burning fossil fuels is the problem. People need to get around, always have, always will.

Saying that we should stop building cars is to entirely miss the point. Build electric cars that are charged via renewable energy sources. Put your energy into finding alternatives and actions that let us have the best of both worlds - it's not selfish to want to be happy and to be able to do the things you want to do. It is selfish to do such things in the knowledge that you are harming others, and doing absolutely nothing to mitigate it.

In this particular case I can hold my head up high, as I've founded a company that does car sharing, and efficient allocation of car stock etc. but in general, I think that as the human race is already trying to solve most of these problems, you don't need to be actively involved in the solution in order to do it with a clear conscience.

So looping back to the original premise - having children is not the problem. Not spending enough on research into space exploration, harnessing the power of the sun, and efficient food growth are the problems.

Humans are living creatures and want to do anything possible to survive and thrive, you can either sit back and say that that's a bad thing and wither away into nothing, or you can join the other amazing human beings who have come up with solutions to our problems that benefits everyone.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 14:37, , Reply)
This is a normal post Man trapped in giant sealed septic tank, slowly filling with sewage:
"The shit filling up this tank is NOT what's threatening to drown me, it's the lack of foresight to research the possibility of building other septic tanks we can then fill with shit"

....glub glub glub
 (I helped save b3ta! Tab Hunter Make this useless process end and so, begin again, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 16:07, , Reply)
This is a normal post Man trapped in giant sealed septic tank, slowly filling with sewage:
Man figures out how to turn the shit tap off. Goes and builds another septic tank to live in that doesn't fill with shit, and leaves everyone else wallowing in the remaining shit arguing about who turned the tap on in the first place.
 (I helped save b3ta! HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Thu 16 Mar 2017, 17:44, , Reply)