A Radical Approach To The Survival Of The Human Species

[BudSmoker86]

Recently during an Acid Trip and good friend of mine and I had a conversation about society, it's past, and it's future.

The conclusion we came to in our conversation is this;

What if the 'answer' humanity has always been searching for rather it be through religion, psychedelics ect. is to ascend from this plant to insure the survival of our species past the life-span of the Earth and Sun.

It is a fact that one day the Sun will 'die', because it is a star, and that is part of a stars life. In turn the Earth will also 'die', but that doesn't mean that our precious species has to die does it? Space travel may sound farfetched so some, but it isn't as far-fetched as some might think.

Maybe this is the big answer to Humanity and the fact that we are the only Cognitive Species of it's kind as far as we can tell? Maybe there are other cognitive species elsewhere in the universe who have realized that they can also travel in space and survive beyond the life of their planets? That explains UFOs or whatever the strange lights in the sky are that i've seen and I'm sure some of you have too.

But!!!!! In order for a cognitive species to ascend beyond their planet and ensure the survival of the species they need to learn how to work as one to create a peaceful and healthy society without hatred between people due to race, religion, war, ect. The kind of society that we all long for, a 'Utopia' if you will in order to start the work at hand, (Learning the ways of space/time travel)

THE FACT IS THAT LIFE ON THIS PLANET IS WORKING FOR SOME REASON. IT WORKING AND WORKING WELL. PERHAPS THE REASON IT IS WORKING IS DEEPER THAN RELIGION AND PERSONAL ENJOYMENT. PERHAPS THIS IS THE ANSWER TO LIFE.

Questions and Comments would be really appreciated, I REALLY want to see what others think of this Off-the-wall idea.

[Agent R]

One of the thought’s I had when I read your hypotheses…

So going by what you’ve said, hippies are holding humanity back, stopping us from evolving. With all the tree-hugging, and saving the planet it gives us less incentive to work harder, to make new and exciting rocket ships. It gives false hope that we can save the planet, when in all reality it’s doomed, and so are we if we keep sitting on our asses hugging trees, instead of working for the betterment of the human race by trying to harness new forms of energy be it nuclear, or whatever else may come along…

[Strawberry_Fields_Fo]

So....if we did leave earth, where would we go? There's not exactly a road map available. And what would we eat? More importantly, how would we get water?

I'm not sure I understand what makes you so sure humans are to be exempt from extinction. You're also basing this idea on the assumption that our species will be able to live elsewhere; like playing leap frog from planet to planet to planet for all of eternity. Considering that water alone is practically unheard of outside Earth, I'd say we'd have a slim chance.

I think even if the planet is doomed anyways, we should at least do damage control for the sake of future generations.

[porkstock41]

i think it's reasonable, far fetched, but possible. not anytime soon (compared to our measly human life span) but our species could be around for awhile.

there could be other planets out there, that could support our life. outside our solar system, outside our galaxy? sounds crazy to us, but so would most of our technologies, if you went back a couple thousands years.

i think we should still embrace life on this earth, and try not to destroy it as badly as we do. but if we united as a species we could get A LOT of things accomplished.

[Yeal]

So....if we did leave earth, where would we go? There's not exactly a road map available. And what would we eat? More importantly, how would we get water?

I'm not sure I understand what makes you so sure humans are to be exempt from extinction. You're also basing this idea on the assumption that our species will be able to live elsewhere; like playing leap frog from planet to planet to planet for all of eternity. Considering that water alone is practically unheard of outside Earth, I'd say we'd have a slim chance.

I think even if the planet is doomed anyways, we should at least do damage control for the sake of future generations.

Water is one of the most common natural universal compounds. It isn't rare at all. In fact, it's right next door. Water was recently confirmed to be discovered by NASA on Mars.

[Molecular Mirage]

the sun ll explode ... :cool:
next sun ll explode ... :coolgleamA:
universe implode ... :ack2:

curious why you vest import-ants in survivale eternale a la "who-man species " ?

[DaveHT]

The sun will die in 4 or 5 billion years. Considering the fact that it is 5 billion years old now means it has about half a lifetime left. Now how many species on this rock have survived for even 1 billion years? I really think that homo sapiens will join the dinosaurs well before 4 billion years come along even if we manage to populate the universe. I would give better odds on finding 5 seperate extraterestrial intelligent life forms in the next 3 years than I would give on our species surviving even 500 million more years.

[Strawberry_Fields_Fo]

Water is one of the most common natural universal compounds. It isn't rare at all. In fact, it's right next door. Water was recently confirmed to be discovered by NASA on Mars.

In very small amounts. Not enough for a planet full of people. I have never heard of water anywhere else in the universe. Sources?

[dippin]

Shes right you know, your all idiots.

[LanSLIde]

In very small amounts. Not enough for a planet full of people. I have never heard of water anywhere else in the universe. Sources?
Water is simply a combination of two types of atoms which aren't all too rare in the universe. Since life-types are a reaction to environment (as in species adapt to fit the environment they're in), we're highly specific to the environment of earth and can't expect to freely live in any other type of place.

Here's a source for that:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/081120-martian-glaciers.html
Ice, though. We'll eventually find a planet in a temperature range where water oceans could exist.
Enough to support a planet of people, not quite yet. If we could grow trees in another planet's hypothetical environment we would eventually have the oxygen levels needed to make water. Hydrogen, I'm not sure. We have a few billion years to figure out an exodus strategy.


So going by what you’ve said, hippies are holding humanity back, stopping us from evolving. With all the tree-hugging, and saving the planet it gives us less incentive to work harder, to make new and exciting rocket ships. It gives false hope that we can save the planet, when in all reality it’s doomed, and so are we if we keep sitting on our asses hugging trees, instead of working for the betterment of the human race by trying to harness new forms of energy be it nuclear, or whatever else may come along…The idea that we can make our planet more livable isn't much of a false hope, and it's not distracting human development, as scientists and tree huggers can (and do) co-exist.

It's not unthinkable that humanity can overcome biological limitations in, say, a hundred years to two hundred or so given our current progress.

Shes right you know, your all idiots.
*You're

[Strawberry_Fields_Fo]

Yes, hydrogen is one of the most common elements in the universe---the huge detail you seem to be glazing over is that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to HARNESS it. Just because hydrogen and oxygen are present in the same atmosphere doesn't mean they will combine to form water. Water is dihydrogen oxide, but there's also hydrogen monoxide, hydrogen dioxide, hydrogen peroxide...so how exactly would you combine them to ensure they don't form one of these other compounds? Do you have any examples of people creating water out of pure hydrogen and oxygen?

[snocbor]

Just some facts since the sun wont be dying within the next 5 billion years.

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old and it is estimated to still possess a 5-billion year supply of hydrogen (hydrogen is the fuel that drives nuclear fusion on the sun). Therefore, it is predicted that our sun will die in approximately 5 billion years.
Once the sun has converted all its hydrogen into helium, the sun will change from its current form, a yellow dwarf, into a red giant. As a red giant, its diameter will extend well beyond the orbit of Venus, and even possibly beyond the orbit of Earth. When the sun enters the red giant phase, in which it will spend the final 10 percent of its lifetime, the Earth will be burned to a cinder.


Acid is beautiful, don't let your mind get carried away with the wrong idea. There is no need for the human species to be alive anywhere else but here on Earth where we belong.


Peace

[Meagain]

This is an idea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_and_survival) that has been around for some time, although the death of the sun is not the greatest concern, usually the dangers listed are depletion of the Earth's resources, collisions with asteroids, destabilization of the Earth's orbit, nuclear war, etc. It as been expressed by Stephen Hawkins, Ben Bova, Sylvia Engdahl, NASA, etc.

One form is the Gaia Spore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_spore) concept. The Gaia Hypothesis states that the Earth's ecosystem can be treated as a single organism. The Gaia Spore idea goes further and states that the Earth can reproduce by sending seeds out into space via human space travel.

Water, according to Space.com (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/milkyway_water_010412.html), is the third most comman molecule in certain areas of space in the form of ice. NASA (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hBHeQGq6_cMZ8o3uM5zsWeIWv14A) has confirmed water on Mars, including the liquid state.

[LanSLIde]

Yes, hydrogen is one of the most common elements in the universe---the huge detail you seem to be glazing over is that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to HARNESS it. Just because hydrogen and oxygen are present in the same atmosphere doesn't mean they will combine to form water. Water is dihydrogen oxide, but there's also hydrogen monoxide, hydrogen dioxide, hydrogen peroxide...so how exactly would you combine them to ensure they don't form one of these other compounds? Do you have any examples of people creating water out of pure hydrogen and oxygen?
Sure can:

To combine hydrogen and oxygen to make water, you basically have to mix the gases together and light them with a match. Just mixing the gases together isn’t enough - you have to do something to get the chemical reaction started. The problem is that this creates a big explosion. I’ve seen this done as a demonstration by college professors (under very controlled circumstances), but it’s really not something that you should try at home. A famous example of a hydrogen/oxygen explosion performed under uncontrolled circumstances is the deadly 1937 explosion of the Hindenburg zeppelin in New Jersey:
http://van.physics.uiuc.edu/qa/listing.php?id=460

As for gathering massive quantities of both and combining them, I don't think a means to do so is impossible on a large timeline. We could somehow use the polarity of the atoms to drag or push them where we want them, or better yet collect and compress the gas, seeing as to how easily compression can store a large amount of atoms in a relatively manageable container that can be shipped at will.

[Hoatzin]

This universe has a limited lifespan too, you know?

Someday we'll have to learn to escape it or accept our end.

[Hoatzin]

Just some facts since the sun wont be dying within the next 5 billion years.

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old and it is estimated to still possess a 5-billion year supply of hydrogen (hydrogen is the fuel that drives nuclear fusion on the sun). Therefore, it is predicted that our sun will die in approximately 5 billion years.
Once the sun has converted all its hydrogen into helium, the sun will change from its current form, a yellow dwarf, into a red giant. As a red giant, its diameter will extend well beyond the orbit of Venus, and even possibly beyond the orbit of Earth. When the sun enters the red giant phase, in which it will spend the final 10 percent of its lifetime, the Earth will be burned to a cinder.


Acid is beautiful, don't let your mind get carried away with the wrong idea. There is no need for the human species to be alive anywhere else but here on Earth where we belong.


Peace


No need?

[Jimmy P]

I think there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of before we concern ourselves overly with space exploration and colonization.
is it possible? of course. anything is possible. the human race is incredibly adaptable, and the current rate of advancement in technology should make obvious to anyone the possibilities within the next couple of centuries.

the real challenge lies in surviving until we have the means to escape this world.

[Tokelokenem]

meh

[Hoatzin]

I think there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of before we concern ourselves overly with space exploration and colonization.
is it possible? of course. anything is possible. the human race is incredibly adaptable, and the current rate of advancement in technology should make obvious to anyone the possibilities within the next couple of centuries.

the real challenge lies in surviving until we have the means to escape this world.

Maybe, although I would argue that if we put off scientific innovation until it seems like a sensible idea and there's nothing else getting in the way, chances are we'll put it off forever. There'll always be something that could be argued as more deserving of our attention. In the long-term, exploration can in my view only be beneficial, especially in light of the problems facing humanity lately. So I think we should get on with it, and to be fair, we are getting on with it. No-one ever said it would be quick, and in a lot of ways I'd rather it wasn't.

[dudeman99]

it is 100 percent certain that if humans survive 5 billion years there wont even be humans as we know them. just think about what will happen to the species after 5 billion years of evolution. and think of the technology after 5 billion years of exponential growth.

yea

[Hoatzin]

it is 100 percent certain that if humans survive 5 billion years there wont even be humans as we know them. just think about what will happen to the species after 5 billion years of evolution. and think of the technology after 5 billion years of exponential growth.

yea

Barring some extinction level event, as top carnivores humans are highly unlikely to evolve significantly in the future.

[KemikalPsykosis]

Well.. If the sun died, wouldn't ALL of the other planets die as well? :confused:

[Hoatzin]

Well.. If the sun died, wouldn't ALL of the other planets die as well? :confused:

They'd lose their source of heat and presumably cease to be life bearing. Of course, most of them aren't life-bearing anyway. I did wonder though, if the sun cools, whether planets closer to the sun would become more habitable.

Either way, we'd need to find something else more habitable, other planets around other stars or habitats otherwise independent of our own sun for light, warmth etc. We've got a while to think about it, fortunately.

[porkstock41]

it is 100 percent certain that if humans survive 5 billion years there wont even be humans as we know them. just think about what will happen to the species after 5 billion years of evolution. and think of the technology after 5 billion years of exponential growth.

yea

that part won't be possible..unless we do leave the planet

[Jimmy P]

Maybe, although I would argue that if we put off scientific innovation until it seems like a sensible idea and there's nothing else getting in the way, chances are we'll put it off forever. There'll always be something that could be argued as more deserving of our attention. In the long-term, exploration can in my view only be beneficial, especially in light of the problems facing humanity lately. So I think we should get on with it, and to be fair, we are getting on with it. No-one ever said it would be quick, and in a lot of ways I'd rather it wasn't.

Forever is a long time.
Scientists are claiming the sun could last another 5-10bn years (recent research) which is a very long time indeed, especially considering humanity has only been around for a couple hundred thousand years.

Then if we take into account the vast technological advances of the past hundred years, have a look at current rate of advancement, the possibilities a hundred, or even twenty, years from now are almost unimaginable.

Stellar exploration is a logical step for humanity at some point, but our primary concern right now should be maintaining our homeworld. I'm not saying "abandon ship!" for space travel research, I'm just saying focus on our planet and its well-being before trying to find ways to escape it.

If we make an effort not to destroy ourselves or our home, there will plenty of time to explore space later on. At the rate we're going, I think our civilization and existence are going to be nothing more than fascinating archeological findings to some future inhabitants of our planet 100 million years from now.

Oh, and once stars like the sun begin to die, they expand greatly and become red giants. Once our sun reaches this stage, its mass will engulf Earth, among other planets.. So assuming there's still life on Earth, it's not going to freeze to death because of the sun cools down, quite the opposite :)