I guess it's going to be hard, due to the nature of this topic, to avoid epistemology. There is an interesting correlation between the rise of materialism, technology and wealth, which one could interpret as having the potential to bring large scale damage to the planet, and a decline in the reproductive success of the species. I contrast this with mere overpopulation which is frequently encountered in nature and dealt with with the usual natural tools of famine, pestilence and disease.
So much of what we encounter in our nanosecond of life in this form, is simply nature's endless tests, adaptions, and retests, kind of like what we see on a greatly exaggerated scale in viruses like H1N1. We humans of course, in our specieal [sic/made up derivative of species] hubris, call this "free will". What has intrigued me is the question of whether or not the growing power of technology fits into this ebb and flow of natural process, i.e., species testing in another guise, or whether it is something new introduced into the natural system by or with humans. Something that the natural system, and I mean this not just on a planetary basis, but also on a universal one, has not seen.
This of course can and does lead to some great sci fi writing, but is an important question none the less. If technology is truly new universal system of some kind, it has profound implications, not just for this planet, but I fear for the universe itself. However, if technology is just another test, like a virus switches out genes, then it will be dealt with in the power of the natural system that operates on a universal scale over eons of time.
So much of what we encounter in our nanosecond of life in this form, is simply nature's endless tests, adaptions, and retests, kind of like what we see on a greatly exaggerated scale in viruses like H1N1. We humans of course, in our specieal [sic/made up derivative of species] hubris, call this "free will". What has intrigued me is the question of whether or not the growing power of technology fits into this ebb and flow of natural process, i.e., species testing in another guise, or whether it is something new introduced into the natural system by or with humans. Something that the natural system, and I mean this not just on a planetary basis, but also on a universal one, has not seen.
This of course can and does lead to some great sci fi writing, but is an important question none the less. If technology is truly new universal system of some kind, it has profound implications, not just for this planet, but I fear for the universe itself. However, if technology is just another test, like a virus switches out genes, then it will be dealt with in the power of the natural system that operates on a universal scale over eons of time.
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