How long do you think mankind will last?

[darkxshade]

We can't exist forever, it's said that after the big bang, the universe started to expand and theoretically at some point, the universe will begin to collapse. Assuming this theory has merit, we can't escape our fate and that is extintion but I don't think we'd actually be around that long as it is billions or even trillions of years away and I'm quite pessimistically confident that our race will be wiped out long before then. Sooooo with that said, how long do you think our civilization will continue to thrive? What do you imagine as the cause of our extintion? The world face many uncertainties these days as it is such as disease, pollution, etc.


I'd like to say we'd still be around in the year 10,000 AD but I just have this gut feeling that's not going to work out so well. I'd say we have at least another 2-3000 years ahead of us.

Edit: My #1 pick for reason of extintion is that we exhausted all of Earths natural resources.

Edit 2: Poll added.

Edit 3: keep in mind that I'm talkinga bout complete and utter destruction of our people. If even a man and woman were to survive at the end of a nuclear war, it's not over!

 

[cKGunslinger]

194 more years. That's it.

 

[meltdown75]

stay a while... stay... FOREVER!!! *ever... ever... ever*

 

[JulesMaximus]

Longer than Anandtech.

 

[andylawcc]

if people start rioting, reduce tax to 10% and build a Temple or Colosseum.

 

[Schadenfroh]

The number of days in The Ring that you had to live, i cant recall the number right now.

 

[imported_LoKe]

The only thing I could forsee destroying our civilization would be some natural disaster/phenomenon. So, Collapse of the Universe - 1 milisecond = end of the world.

 

[FrustratedUser]

42 years

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
if people start rioting, reduce tax to 10% and build a Temple or Colosseum.

Theaters FTW.

 

[Mrfrog840]

I think our civilization is rather young contrary to most peoples thoughts that it is very old. I think we will last another 1000-2000 years or so

 

[CaptainGoodnight]

When it does, I will blame Bush.

 

[darkxshade]

Ionno, I feel a little guilty to have "lived" by current standards the best time to be alive in all of history.

 

[BDawg]

I think we'll make it to Alpha Centauri.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: andylawcc
if people start rioting, reduce tax to 10% and build a Temple or Colosseum.

Theaters FTW.

You can build the machine that gives you all content citizens also =P

 

[robothouse77]

just don't worry about it. you'll live long enough.

 

[Baked]

50 more years. Then Predators will come, release the Aliens, and kill us all.

 

[drsafety]

Trying to predict the distant future in detail is extremely difficult... it almost doesn't make sense to talk about events that could happen 50-100 years from now. How could anyone possbily predict how long our civilization will last, especially on a cosmic time scale?

I'll venture a guess. If we can develop a clean, sustainable energy source such as nuclear fusion power, and the majority of countries on earth develop democratic free market societies, civilization will exist for a very long time, and only a major catastrophe such as asteroid impact or global virus/pandemic would seriously threaten all of civilization. Unfortunately majoe catastrophesl ike this are alos very difficult to predict.

 

[Feneant2]

You are looking at man as civilization... but shouldn't you look at it differently. The Babylonians, Romans, Incans, etc... theoretically, they could all be considered civilizations that eventually crumbled and from which began new civilizations.

I look at it this way- The current civilization is at its peak so I say within 25-50 years there will be a major shift from which new civilizations might emerge (Disease, natural disaster, war... something will wipe out a large part of mankind). I say might as we messed up the Earth so much we might be the last one and nothing will be left when we crumble.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: andylawcc
if people start rioting, reduce tax to 10% and build a Temple or Colosseum.

Theaters FTW.

too much upkeep...

 

[ManSnake]

3.141592654

 

[ElFenix]

17 days 13 hours 56 minutes and 22 seconds.

 

[Remy XO]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
Ionno, I feel a little guilty to have "lived" by current standards the best time to be alive in all of history.

your current average human sits infront of a computer 9-6 5 days a week. What standards are you talkin about? Technology doesn't make people happy.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
17 days 13 hours 56 minutes and 22 seconds.

Donnie Darko ftw???

 

[azazyel]

Try reading this, Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
I think our civilization is rather young contrary to most peoples thoughts that it is very old. I think we will last another 1000-2000 years or so

hard to say...tons of things could happen