Doomsday

S

SpaceTiger

New member
Which of the major doomsday scenarios do you consider the most probable? Here's a partial list off the top of my head:

- Nuclear holocaust
- Killer Disease
- Celestial Event (like an impact)
- Alien Invasion
- Economic Collapse
- Earth-based Natural Disaster (like the Yellowstone volcano)

Note that, in this context, "doomsday" doesn't necessarily mean that everybody dies, just that society as we know it collapses. I'm gonna have to go with the disease or nuclear holocaust. Fifty years ago, I would have definitely gone with the nuclear option, but things like AIDS and Ebola are making me wonder.
 
> - Nuclear holocaust


I guess that's the most probable, but I know it won't happen. Humans are too scared, (i.e. too smart) to do something stupid like that. The nuclear (weapon) age has proven to be a large scale penis-size contest.
 
> - Nuclear holocaust
Added: Poisoned/Stressed Environment
Added: Climate Change

Poisoned/Stressed Environment:

If we poison our environment (ie water supply and food sources) or stress itso much that it could not support our population, society as we know it would fall into anarchy.

Climate Change:

If the climate becomes either too hot or to cold (ice age), are food supply as we know it would be devastated and again society as we know would fall into anarchy

> - Killer Disease

Very Doubtful. Human societies have suffered through killer plagues quite often in history. Infact, we are due for another one. Society picks itself up and continues on (hobbled for the first little bit)

- Celestial Event (like an impact)

It would collapse society as we know if it was on a big enough scale (ie causing major climate change), but the odds are against it.

- Alien Invasion

Laughable. Next to nill.

- Economic Collapse

They occur occaisonally. Aslong as the food and water supply is good, scociety will recover. It may change a little but societies are continually changing.

- Earth-based Natural Disaster (like the Yellowstone volcano)

Only if on a large enough scale to effect major climate change


Basically, I think either a poisoned environmnet or somthing that causes severe climate change would collapse society as we know it
 
Humans are too scared, (i.e. too smart) to do
> something stupid like that.

You give humans to much credit. Lets face it, the people who are capable of flying jets into the WTC, bombed Madrid, and bombled London would likely not even blink at letting nukes off if they could get ahold of them. There is always somebody crazy enough or stupid enough to do anything.
 
<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>


You give humans to much credit. Lets face it, the people
who are capable of flying jets into the WTC, bombed Madrid,
and bombled London would likely not even blink at letting
nukes off if they could get ahold of them. There is always
somebody crazy enough or stupid enough to do anything.


<hr></blockquote>

Wish I could say it's hard to get said nukes too, getting easier and easier.

Thing is that the ones who can get away with something as awful as a nuke would be said suicide bombers who have no real powerbase in any big concentrated area, or hold a specific nationality. It's rather hard to retaliate and nuke to kingdom come what you can't see or target.

Speaking of retaliation from nukes, the only really firm conclusion I came to at first when thinking about it was that I'm immeasurably glad I am not a war leader and don't have to make this kind of decision, because that's probably among the worst lose-lose scenarios in the world.
The current Bush administration in the states would probably be nuts enough to do it if NK was nuts enough to nuke Japan or whatnot.

"Eye for an eye" has a function in many non-lethal incidents (though I can't say it's something we should practice and preach at any level), but it gets ridiculous if it reaches the scale that we feel the need to murder millions of innocents to satisfy our lust for revenge.
Even in defense it's a completely batshit insane thing to do. But I guess it is deemed necessary by most.

Three cheers for tactical measured response and its merry friends; death, doom, blood and decay!
Hurray!

> Topic

I'd say Nuclear Holocaust would be among the closer options as well as some new killer mutated disease (really shouldn't underestimate that option, the bastards are getting stronger every time we beat 'em).
 
> Added: Poisoned/Stressed Environment

I've never heard of this one. Maybe you could give a link to a plausible scenario in which this occurs. Are you referring to things like global warming and a hole in the ozone layer? If so, I would put it in with climate change. Perhaps we could also consider a category for exhaustion of natural resources.


> Added: Climate Change

Yes, good point, I can't believe I overlooked that. Global warming and ice ages would be good doomsday scenarios.


> Very Doubtful. Human societies have suffered through killer
> plagues quite often in history.

They have also died by killer diseases quite often in history. It wasn't just war that killed off the Native Americans. In addition, the potential for man-made diseases now exists. Since those could be made specifically to kill as many humans as possible, I'd expect them to be far more deadly than any naturally occurring disease.


> Infact, we are due for
> another one.

There's no such thing as being "due" for a random event. However, the increasing population and cramped conditions in third-world countries will, I suspect, increase the probability in the coming years.


> - Economic Collapse
>
> They occur occaisonally. Aslong as the food and water
> supply is good, scociety will recover. It may change a
> little but societies are continually changing.

You seem to be relying a lot on historical precedent, but it's not clear to me that there are any past societies closely comparable to ours in this sense. The workings of the current global economy are vastly different from that of, say, the Roman Empire. Also, economic fluctuations have been known to trigger political events, such as war and terrorism, which sometimes lead to other doomsday scenarios mentioned.
 
> Which of the major doomsday scenarios do you consider the
> most probable? Here's a partial list off the top of my
> head:

Economic collapse resulting from depletion of natural resources and damage to eco-systems followed by killer disease.
 
> New Kids On The Block will reunite.
>

Yep, and they will provide fine, succulent meat for stronger people after doomsday.

BTW, anyone realize that anyone brings up something like "WE'RE ALL GOING TO FUCKING DIE!" someone comes up with something to distract from that subject?
 
> BTW, anyone realize that anyone brings up something like
> "WE'RE ALL GOING TO FUCKING DIE!" someone comes up with
> something to distract from that subject?

Actually this is a first for me, but I like the trend. <img src=smilies/cwm11.gif> Or maybe I'm just noticing for the first time.
 
> > Added: Poisoned/Stressed Environment>

No, I am talking about some of the lakes that get so polluted that they become by acid rain and polluted effluent that they die. I am talking about what happned in Walkerton ON (but on a wide scale), where intensive pig and cow farming and innsufficient oversight caused the drinking water to beome undrinkable.

Basically, I am talking about our environment being destroyed by our own hand.
 
Holocaust? Not one of the higher probabilities. But a definite chance.
Killer Disease? Way possible. I'd rank it in the top three.
Celestial Event? I dunno let's punch some more holes in comets....I'll give it a slight chance.
Alien Invasion? Hasn't that happened al- oops. Gotta report to my superiors.
Get a grip. Nope.
Economic Collapse? It's happening now. Doesn't mean doomsday, however.
Natural Disaster? #1 with a bullet.
Now before any of you conservative goofballs go throwing stones at me, we're slowly killing this wonderful world we inhabit. (Call me a tree hugger and I'll sling bio-degradeable poo at you). Bush has done nothing to help that situation,and according to his billy-badass attitude about global warming, he and Blair will actually disagree about something. And do you know why?
When the polar icecaps melt, who will be first to feel the onrush of excess water? Not us.
Yup. England.
But it will get us too.
If our president could get his fucking head out of his ass maybe he could see that his grandchildren won't have to live like Flipper if he gets a little environment savvy.
The one you missed, SpaceTiger, is ourselves.
We're going to do it, no matter what method.
Be it worldwide genocide or some toxin or some new long range missle, it's all up to us in the long run.
Hope you have faith in your fellow man.
 
To be honest, I think things will begin to become less and less real and we'll all be living in one big dream.

BUt other than that, I think we'll most likely die of Ozone collapse.
 
Addendum: If you're religious, you might also throw in rapture or something. I'm only considering the slightly sillier options (like alien invasion) because I wanted to give our more eccentric members a chance to express themselves. After all, anything's possible.
 
Kinda off-topic, but bear with me.

I was discussing end-of-world scenerios with my roommate the other night. We both agreed that we would like to be around if the world came to an end on a Biblical level, like what is described in Revelations. Otherwise, all other likely causes (food/water shortage, disease, etc) would either be rather boring or take quite a while to happen.

So I would like to see Biblical hellfire, four horsemen appear, that type of thing.

Great topic, btw. <img src=smilies/thumb.gif>
 
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