I wonder how the human race will die.

[blackhole123]

Obviously we won't be around forever, I wonder what the circumstances will be, a quick death from a catastrophic event? Maybe something that would be considered science fiction today?

 

I wish I could travel into the future and see what society will be like.

[Phi for All]

We become so dependent on "convenience" mentality that one day the whole species suffers a massive stroke when all the television remotes get hit with an EM pulse from badly manufactured wristwatch popcorn-poppers and we all have to heave our bloated selves off the couch to change the channel manually.

[JohnB]

I wonder how the human race will die.

Immediately after the words "Whatever you do, don't press the big red button" are spoken.

[YT2095]

Obviously we won't be around forever,

 

says who?

[Phi for All]

My serious answer to this question is that if we survive until we can start a systematic migration off-planet then the only things that would wipe us out would be something that affects the entire system (or multiple systems if we are able to get to another star). Novae or other large-scale galactic phenomena would be difficult for us to live through, but not impossible. Once we're "out there" I see us spreading like a virus. Evolution is really going to have it's hands full if that happens.

 

If we don't leave there are too many ways to count. Diseases, world warfare, ecological disasters, even racial cleansing (from extra-terrestrial sources). Surviving the first stages of atomic bomb development is a really huge hurdle and sometimes I don't think we congratulate ourselves enough on that. Maybe if it were more widely recognized it would help us be smarter about future stages. We definitely need to separate the bombs from the religious ideologies. When total destruction isn't feared *that's* when I'm afraid.

[herpguy]

If we can't get out of the solar system in the next billion years, then the sun will kill everyone.

[CPL.Luke]

in terms of survivability the human race is on the cockroach level at this point, in the event of disease, the population is large enough and diverse enough that no single disease could wipe out every member of humanity. In the event of nuclear war the hman race is spread far enough, and is located in enough locations that no nuclear war could be effective in killing everyone (especially once bombshelters are taken into account), Similarly with asteroids and the like.

 

The worst case scenario would be that our level of human is incapable of reaching he next step and branching out onto other planets, as we will always destroy our civilisation before that occurs, however over the nex several million years I'm sure evolution would lead us to the point where we could take that step, although evolution may change us slightly so htat we couldn't get back to where we are now, (although I can't think of a situation where such traits would become desirable).

[MyThai]

Probably some astrological catastrophe.

 

So I see us around for some 100 million years at least.

[YT2095]

If we can't get out of the solar system in the next billion years, then the sun will kill everyone.

 

if we can`t get out by then, we DESERVE to DIE!

[MyThai]

I'm sure evolution would lead us to the point where we could take that step, although evolution may change us slightly so htat we couldn't get back to where we are now

 

Evolution without natural selection?

[jackson33]

in looking back, life that has failed are generally from uncontrollable factors. of course until very recently, there have been no forms with abilities to reason or what we call applicable intelligence. many species have survived hundreds of million years in form if not near, the same structure.

 

mankind, i suspect will continue to evolve, intellectually or physically and probably to better results. the problem in spreading to other star systems or galaxy, even with C speeds are the times required for adaptation. more likely than anything man will create a life form with these abilities and to our current mentality these would be robots with a method and way to evolve in very short time periods. in this case travel time or even time would be of no value, has self regeneration a matter of a few spare parts. travel vessels would be simple, less dependent on particular need to these units and easy to repair, even en-route or a stop over on any surface with materials. fuels by this time a form of fuel which regenerates itself or one of mans current dreams, perpetual energy.

 

this then to a construction of man, a new life form to the universe could do and achieve all we could never as we exist.

 

as a species however, we will pass on much as all we now call pre-history vertebrates. the human as we know, in a million years could resemble anything, none of which should look, act or think as we do. as mentioned the sun will eventually burn out. long before this reality our planet will not have any life on it, oceans and atmosphere long gone. also as suggested anything short of this will not take out all of anything and man or his descendants will survive, adapt over time to most anything.

[Sisyphus]

Optimistically, "humans" will no longer exist when we intentionally change ourselves into something different.

 

Pessimistically, we will no longer exist when we evolve naturally (along current trends) into something rather less than we are now. Remember, intelligence is inversely correlated with number of children, and we effectively protect the lives and reproduction rights of those whose genes wouldn't allow either in a less technologically advanced society.

 

Or, something like a nuclear war kills most of us and destroys civilization, and the small pockets of survivors each individually are more vulnerable to the sorts of things that cause extinctions of other species, like climate changes.

[Rexus]

ceasing to exist will be a result of our own hands. the japanese will create a super mecha godjera and the US will retaliate with the clint eastwood clones and then we'll die. imo

[woelen]

I believe that mankind will not be wiped out by any natural disaster, nor by any human-induced disaster. We can make things very difficult for ourselves, but that does not mean total extinction.

 

I have severe doubts that we will ever get out of our solar system. Considering the immense distances between stars and the limitation of speed to the speed of light (and all other immense problems we will face when going to near-c speeds) I think that mankind will be effectively confined in its container, called the Sol-system .

 

And I think it is good that we are confined to our solar system. If we would find another civilization, then either we would wipe it out (if we are technically superior to them), or they would have to wipe us out (because we are such a nuisance and threat to them that no other choice is left for them).

 

If extraterrestrial intelligence exists, then it will be either MUCH more advanced than us, or at a MUCH lower level. Given the time scales at which life has developed (hundreds of millions of years) and given the timescale at which planets/stars are formed (billions of years), the chance that two intelligences are at precisely the same level of development would be extremely small. Even a difference of 1000 years is HUGE in terms of technological advance and what is 1000 years on a cosmic time scale?

[Gilded]

says who?

 

Says the second law of thermodynamics.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I'll make a prediction, and I'll bet I'm right:

 

Nothing we predict here will actually turn out to be correct.

[ydoaPs]

My serious answer to this question is that if we survive until we can start a systematic migration off-planet then the only things that would wipe us out would be something that affects the entire system (or multiple systems if we are able to get to another star). Novae or other large-scale galactic phenomena would be difficult for us to live through, but not impossible. Once we're "out there" I see us spreading like a virus. Evolution is really going to have it's hands full if that happens.

 

Wouldn't that mean there would no longer be a singular human species?

[Gilded]

While some likely-sounding scenarios have been presented I'd like to think it will be something very silly that no-one will expect. Then you could at least laugh about it afterwards if there is an afterwards.

[SkepticLance]

Life on planet Earth is 3600 plus or minus 400 million years old. The first living things did not die out. They evolved into us.

 

There is no reason humans have to die out in the foreseeable future either. We will probably evolve into something else. And even though some would say that there is no natural selection, evolution never stops. In the future, there will be guided evolution.

 

For example : An essential step in leaving our solar system will be to spend enormous amounts of time (possibly generations) in giant space ships. This will expose the travellers to enough radiation to cause 100% mortality from cancer. Unless ...

 

What we will do is genetically alter the people going to give much higher radiation resistance. There are genes in other life forms that produce enzymes for rapid genetic repair that confer such radiation resistance. It is only a matter of time before humans learn how to do it.

 

I believe that an intermediate step to moving to other stellar systems will be the building of giant space habitats, rotating for gravity, that will be close to 100% self sufficient. This is possible in theory, and time will give us the skills. Once these habitats exist, they can be moved to other worlds by strapping on very long ion drive engines.

 

If we take 10 years to accelerate to 0.1c (which NASA scientists predict will be possible within 1000 years), and another 10 to decelerate, then the time to get to alpha centauri is 55 years approximately.

 

Using that level of technology, humans, or whatever follows humans, could expand to colonise the entire galaxy in a few million years. No time at all by astronomical standards!

[JohnB]

I came across a story many years ago about man expanding through the Galaxy and finding no alien life. He colonises millions of worlds always looking for other races.

 

After a million years a mission on the far side of the Galaxy actually meets aliens. Copper blood, antennas, the whole box and dice.

 

When they check the DNA, the alien is of human descent. As man spread clockwise around the Galaxy he also spread in the other direction, mutating for a million years.

 

After a million years man had closed the circle and found no-one to share it with.

 

Scary.

[Sisyphus]

Life on planet Earth is 3600 plus or minus 400 million years old. The first living things did not die out. They evolved into us.

 

Perhaps, but all life on Earth is descended from a tiny percentage of life soon after it first appeared. Almost everything goes extinct.

[AzurePhoenix]

eh, it also goes into whether or not you consider a species evolving itself out if existence and into something else counts as extinction for the former species or not. what's the official stance on that?

[CISCO2600]

War. All the bombs and chemicals we have today will wipe us out.

That or Zombies

[ParanoiA]

War. All the bombs and chemicals we have today will wipe us out.

That or Zombies

 

Zombies will wipe us out before war will. It's poetic, makes neat bumper stickers for you car, or works as an Oliver Stone film...but it's not realistic. Humans will not wipe themselves out. We will die from the inability to adapt to changes in environment. Isn't that pretty much how the previous hominids got wiped out?

[AzurePhoenix]

Zombies will wipe us out before war will. It's poetic, makes neat bumper stickers for you car, or works as an Oliver Stone film...but it's not realistic. Humans will not wipe themselves out. We will die from the inability to adapt to changes in environment. Isn't that pretty much how the previous hominids got wiped out?

Until you consider that we were not wiped out alongside them quite possibly specifically because of our ability to adapt, and then later forced the world to bend for us... as i see it, other than a cosmic event, we're the only power on earth with a chance of creating a situation we can't adapt to. Us and zombies. But i'll bet you the zombies will be our fault too!