If the cockroach can adapt, then so can humans.
Cockroaches don’t use 12 point plans to adapt. The adapted cockroaches get to reproduce. The lesson? Be strong enough to survive to have sex! ![]()
The Captain
If the cockroach can adapt, then so can humans.
Cockroaches don’t use 12 point plans to adapt. The adapted cockroaches get to reproduce. The lesson? Be strong enough to survive to have sex! ![]()
The Captain
Among the things we may consider doing sooner than later are the following:
That is a good list to start with.
But after making the list it would be wise to estimate the cost/benefit of each and its lead time needed.
For example, you left out simply making homes more energy efficient (for heating/cooling).
Retrofitting and building new homes to higher standards is a double win. Saves energy, thus reducing GW. But it also makes the home more comfortable, thus less or delayed need for your north-south railways.
There are numerous so-called net-zero homes that require very little energy to heat/cool.
Mike
great thread, and epecially enjoyed Captain and Hound.
Crucially left out, the fastest and most powerful form of evolution is almost certainly the language based cultural evolution that makes homo sapiens unique***.
I expect that the humans that survive the oncoming crises will do so by being members of groups that are culturally superior, outsmarting lone rangers and other groups.
David fb
***See this pdf of the excellent book that launched the field
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/40886135_Not_By_Gen…
and
this solid wikipedia article
Crucially left out, the fastest and most powerful form of evolution is almost certainly the language based cultural evolution that makes homo sapiens unique***.
Language indeed! No longer any physical constraints… About as close to godliness as we will ever get.
And don’t forget software languages.
The Captain
was asked, “Do you program in English or in Spanish?” No, in Pascal.
What we need is more teaching, more in-depth teaching, and a resolve to push back against the forces of darkness whose kingdom is threatened by science. And, a willingness to understand that “we don’t know yet” is an acceptable answer to things that have not yet been figured out.
I find it interesting that you use the language of religion to promote science. And that makes a nice jumping off spot for a topic that has bugged me for years.
Why is the argument always framed as science vs. religion? I believe that science and religion are not at all incompatible. You can embrace both. It can even be argued that you are better off by embracing both.
I grew up in a religious household, and am still religious. My religious instruction focused on making me a better person and helping me to interact productively with others. But I also learned that religion can be - and much too often is - misused to control people. It is this misuse of religion that tends to make headlines and create conflict rather than resolve conflicts. That misuse has turned many away from religion completely and has blinded some from seeing the good than can come from religious beliefs.
But science can also be misused. Science that says everything can be understood and has a logical explanation fails those who put all of their hope in science. As you note, there are some things that science hasn’t figured out - where the proper answer is “we don’t know yet”. Failing to acknowledge those areas exist pushes people away from trusting in the science that is well-understood. It’s also important for individual scientists to know their own limitations in the scientific realm. Scientists who are incredibly knowledgeable in one area may not know as much about other parts of science. We see that principle in practice in the realm of medicine. Doctors choose to specialize in specific areas and may not know much more than a well-educated non-doctor about other areas of medicine. (For a funny look at this, here’s a YouTube video from a GI doctor, who is also a new father, poking a bit of fun at doctors seeing a pediatrician https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG4-6E4Q1M8 )
At any rate, I get frustrated at both scientists and the religious who reject each other and seem to be blind to see the good that the other can do.
–Peter
The Captain was asked, “Do you program in English or in Spanish?” No, in Pascal
Back in the day I worked with a Hungarian programmer. Yes we shared the Universal Language, Fortran. But all his comments and variable names were Hungarian.