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kharmon's picture

Friday's discussion was

Friday's discussion was definitely overwhelming! I for one can't imagine a world where humans are not the dominant form of life. Of course, I won't necessarily have to face this issue in my lifetime, however it surely gives you something to thing about. On the other hand, theres that statistic that 99% of all organisms in the fossil record are now extinct. I'm still grappling with the idea that humans could one day be a minority, but it is STILL entirely possible that we could just become extinct. As a matter of fact, it's not just possible, it's likely when considering history and its patterns.

In a way, this statistic contradicts what we agreed to about evolution. We decided that "better" cannot really be used when comparing existing organims because just like we have been successful enough to thrive on Earth, so have bacteria and prokaryotes that exist today. For humans to become extinct like the majority of the fossil record's other organisms, something BETTER would have to come along that would prevent us from thriving. I hate to be arrogant, but can anyone think of anything better than us? Not smarter, not more efficient, not bigger, but better?

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