Poll: What is the shelf life of mankind?

[Virginia Dare]

and feel free to post your opinion as to the final downfall. Will it be prolonged or quick?

[bryant69]

1. It's impossible to say unless you believe it to be in a matter of decades

Beyond that technological innovation and philosophical changes are probably impossible to predict.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[acmavm]

2. At the rate things are going we're about to reach our expiration

date anytime now.

[rman]

3. I think we've been off the shelf for a couple of 10,000 years

already. At least.

[William769]

4. Other, my crystal ball is not working today.

[opihimoimoi]

5. The Path to Reality and Sanity has been obliterated with selfish minutiae

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. How do you define downfall?

Extinction or just collapse of civilization?

[Virginia Dare]

10. Good question...extinction is my primary focus...

feel free to post your opinions about both though. As I recall scientists generally agree that human beings will most likely be completely gone within 5 million years?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Well, there's no way to tell.

I doubt there be an extinction.

I mean I'll bet most species don't last five million years. But there's never been a species like humans before. So theres no real such thing as a scientific consensus, just shots in the dark.

That said, societies going to collapse, and my guess is sooner, rather than later.

Humans have spent by far the most of their time on earth in loose tribes of hunters and gatherers. I suspect civilization's just a blip on the timeline.

[Virginia Dare]

15. Probably only the ones that make it to the Arctic...

and survive after the "great melt-down". Then comes the next ice age, so your chances of surviving in the Arctic at that point are pretty slim. By then most of the rest of the world will be frozen tundra.

It's not too promising, but I suppose there's always the chance that humans could evolve into something that would be able to survive.

I predict civilization has another 1,000 years tops, at least the civilization as we know it.

"Globalization" will be our final downfall. Mankind will go back to being tribal in nature, I believe that is the natural instinct by which we all can survive. We were never meant to live in a global society.

[Igel]

7. A few hundred humans left Africa and managed to

colonize most of the planet in the course of 40k years. Without agriculture, without metal, without domestication of animals.

I chose "10s of thousands of years" simply because after too many 10s of thousands of years, you start getting to where there may be a new species, if the circumstances are right.

[The2ndWheel]

9. Can something be colonized

without agriculture and domestication?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. Yes.

The Western hemisphere, for instance.

[Hugin]

8. 4 hours...

About the same as unrefrigerated Mayonnaise.

Uh, and that's a cumulative 4 hours.

[mr.sparkle]

12. the "Ishmael Factor"

If any of you have read "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn then you might remember the metaphor that compares our civilization to an early pedal-powered airplane that is shoved off a cliff. The harder and harder we pedal to keep the craft from crashing into the ground the faster we plummet to our destruction. Basically, until we find another design for our "airplane" we will continue toward the bottom of the cliff. We must become the leavers of the world and abandon our role as the takers of the world. This is a must read if you haven't already done so.

[Virginia Dare]

14. Thanks for your advice and input Mr. Sparkle...

and welcome to DU!

[Swamp Rat]

16. The End is near

:D