It's the End of the World as We Know it

by **k_semler** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 00:52:22

I plead Nolo Contendere on 1 charge of Y2k fanaticism. I surrender to you will, your honor. :lol:

LOL

Yes, your honor. I have been drinking! :lol:

by **UIUCstudent01** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 01:06:41

Nothing, this would be my first!

For Y2K, I understood that it was a problem and that people were working at it - something I heard in the news reports that I didn't question... But, I was absolutely abstract to me at the time though as I was more concerned about annihilating people in 3v3 BGH! games in Starcraft and in Counter-Strike.

This whole "Peak Oil" caught my attention probably because in every strategy game I've played.. resources are pretty much extracted at a constant rate. And Peak Oil seemed like an involuntary slowing flow of resources - which was a new concept, but seemed to be grounded in reality. And somewhat recently, the concept of diminishing returns (A Blizzard Favorite now) was introduced in Warcraft 3 with stats and with having a standing army (the gold-mines production of 10 per tick slows down to 7, then 4 as your army gets bigger and bigger.. so to retain the same rate of gold intake; you had to go out and expand your tiny empre.) So, in a way, alot of concepts (diminishing returns/limited resource) and concerns (resource wars/geopolitical strategizing) were already somewhat familiar...

I kinda also buy the IPCC Climate Change scenario's as well... Some of my country-kin would tell me off that it's a bunch of psuedo-science and that they can't even predict the weather a month in advance (and that I'm a crazy leftist (?) (Why would being leftist have anything to do with it?))..
Of course, I have this strange idea that all these scientists seem to be writing all those proposals for some reason... And I dislike the conspiracy theory aspect of climate change being a giant leftist conspiracy(?).

So, I may be just a big dupe. You know the kind: the one that bases authority on people who do research and provide realistically-pessimistic scenarios...

by **pea-jay** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 01:12:45

In all seriousness, I thought TEOTWAWKI would be brought on by overgrowth of artificially intellegent machinery. Given another four or five decades of cheap energy and continued high-tech research I really believe that truely artificially intellegent machines could be brought into being. Combine that with nanotech manipulation and you got the recipe for an AI vs human conflict sometime mid century.

Don't laugh, it's possible...or at least it was before PO.

by **Colorado-Valley** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 01:19:00

I was also concerned about the nano-tech viruses. Still am.

I'm also concerned about global climate change and widespread ecological collapse, but we may be saved from that by peak oil.

by **k_semler** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 01:28:44

If my computer ever is a sentient being, I WILL SHOOT IT. No ifs, ands, or buts about it., I will kill it, even if I have to blow it to bits. The day a maghine I biult with my own 2 hands begins to think, it will die a very firey death.

by **Carlhole** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 02:29:30

I thought kudzu was going to grow all over everything...

...and then the snakes would come. The snakes! THE SNAKES!!

THE SNAAAaaKES!!!!!!

by **katkinkate** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 06:04:07

Environmental degradation. It may still yet be the final blow.

by MD » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 06:16:20

I still expect a Revelations described apocalypse. Mankind is up to the task of completing these prophesies, from what I can see.
Then Jesus will return and set up the new deal.
I couldn't answer your poll, because of the inherent implication that other TEOTWAWKI scenarios are ridiculous.
Maybe you should go back and look at the metaphorical references in Revelation one more time. "skies departing like scrolls" sound alarmingly like mushroom clouds.
"lions spewing fire and sulpher from their nose" sounds remarkably like tanks. Men standing out to sea watching the "smoke of her burning" and bewailing the loss of the "incense, oils, fine clothes, etc." sounds remarkably like the crashing of a world wide market economy.....

All this from a 1900 year old document, written by a man decribing scenes of the future using his contemporary refernece base.

by MD » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 06:28:17

Oh, and don't forget the reference to massive armies from the east(China)collecting at the Euphrates river (Iraq-oil).
All that is needed to set the stage is the removal of the United states as a world power.
Of course no one see that happening any time soon! :roll:

by **Barbara** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 07:26:48

Inspired by the nice poll made by Ayoob, I'd like to know which scenario you actually believe possible other than Peak Oil. About me... well, I admit that flu thingy is a bit scaring!!!!

by **Such** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 08:31:29

I don't buy into any end of the world scenarios.

and to clarify... Peak oil is not the end of the world.

by **WhistleWind** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 11:31:08

None of these are physically 'end of the world' events except the Bible apocalypse, which IIRC is, by definition. I don't suscribe to that.

The others could lead to severe disruption to our lives, and three
in extremis could wipe out the human race, which is near enough
'end of the world' for most people.

These I propose include

genetically engineered flu virus - The soviets in the '70s extensively
researched modified smallpox virus as a biological weapon. We have
far greater skills now, and could easily create and release a supervirus
by accident, if not intent.

nuclear WWIII - Nobody is going to attack the US with nuclear weapons
but a local confict (India v China? ) could escalate.

Accute climate change leading to extreme runaway greenhouse effect -
Not in our lifetime, but if we continue as we appear to be doing, and
accelerate CO2 emissions for another 50 years, maybe we will flip the
world into irreversible positive feedback loop and raise global
temperatures by 12 degrees centigrade or more - at that point
human survival would be seriously threatened.

These could in theory wipe out all human life, but I think they are very remote probabilities - but they are all a serious threat to all of us in the near future.

Economic collapse is almost a certainty regardless of PO, but is not
in and of itself going to wipe out most of humanity.

by **bobaloo** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 15:36:31

To me it's still a race between PO and some other technologically induced OOPS!

For example, last year at a University near me, they were doing some research with some genetically modified bacteria designed to control pests. Thank god they tried it out in an isolated plot, because they found out that when introduced to the soil it killed EVERYTHING else. If this had been sprayed on a field and had the chance to spread, it would have killed every plant on earth.

I still suspect the world will end not with a bang but with an oops, but at least I can make some common-sense preps for peak oil.

by **turmoil** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 15:55:58

katkinkate wrote:Environmental degradation. It may still yet be the final blow.

along those lines, i always assumed that we would just run out of resources like every other civilization. Along with any amount of climate change, resource depletion would be a nasty combo.

i'm only 20 so reacting to Y2K was out of my control completely. My mother, being in IT, always thought it was a little bug that needed to be fixed in a lot of systems. Indeed it was.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 16:06:32

pea-jay wrote: truely artificially intellegent machines could be brought into being.

really 'truely intellegent' machines use the dictionary! :lol:

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 16:10:42

How about the option that scientists working in a lab unwittingly create a singularity which produces another Big Bang event, thus restarting the Universal Clock?

by **turmoil** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 16:33:25

PenultimateManStanding wrote:How about the option that scientists working in a lab unwittingly create a singularity which produces another Big Bang event, thus restarting the Universal Clock?

DAMN, that would hurt! Like in that Red Vs. Blue episode...er both episodes!!!!

I get to be Doc!! (yes, I'm a pacifist...but give me a real leader--if i'm not the one leading--and i'd gladly shoot anyone in sight)

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 16:49:13

stupid_monkeys wrote:
PenultimateManStanding wrote:How about the option that scientists working in a lab unwittingly create a singularity which produces another Big Bang event, thus restarting the Universal Clock?

DAMN, that would hurt!

Wouldn't hurt at all, that's the beauty of it. Of course it would be about the same if you were at ground zero of a thermonuclear event, too. Or as the Commander-In-Chief would put it, thermonooclur.

TOMBSTONE BLUES

Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief
Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"

The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry"
And dropping a bar bell he points to the sky
Saying, "The sun's not yellow it's chicken"

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

More Dylan lyrics.

by **turmoil** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 17:19:39

...all too true.

also, with all those "thief"s and "chief"s close together like that,
a hybrid came to mind: Commander-in-Thief.

It might not be original, but I have never heard it before.

by **TheTurtle** » Mon 27 Jun 2005, 17:30:32

It has always been man's propensity for cruelty that has concerned me, regardless of the trigger event(s) ...

It's the End of the World as We Know it

Nothing...

Other end-of-the-world scenarios you BUY into?

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