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Joined 7 months ago
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Cake day: March 3rd, 2024

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  • The first publishing of “Limits to Growth” suggested that if immediate actions were done to curtail growth and use of resources, the world could possibly in many decades peak and then come back down to a sustainable flat line. That was in 1970. 54 years ago we may have had a chance - although the research didn’t include many things not known to them, including the impact of climate change that was already underway and just not obvious (the ocean was buffering much of the effects for a long time).

    My non-scientific opinion is that crossing the line of hunter-gatherer to agriculture was the real point of no return. We gained a lot from that, but it also sealed our path and fate. Finding the rich energy source of petroleum was the final accelerant.


  • Only if it changes laws of physics. Which I suppose could be in the realm of possibility, since none of us could outthink a ASI. I imagine three outcomes (assuming getting to ASI) - it determines that no, silly humans, the math says you’re too far gone. Or, yes, it can develop X and Y beyond our comprehension to change the state of reality and make things better in some or all ways. And lastly, it says it found the problem and solution, and the problem is the Earth is contaminated with humans that consume and pollute too much. And it is deploying the solution now.

    I forgot the fourth, that I’ve seen in a few places (satirically, but could be true). The ASI analyses what we’ve done, tries to figure out what could be done to help, and then suicides itself out of frustration, anger, sadness, etc.





  • The idea of migration and data preservation has been a topic since day one, since that’s a big reason why so many moved to the Fediverse. I still haven’t seen a perfect solution, and maybe there isn’t one. Perhaps just having a lot of redundancy (oh no, reposts!) is the only true way of protecting posts for as long as possible, and even then…

    Ernest started things rolling with something that probably wasn’t ready for the demand, but it was there when the time came. That others forked off from it and kept it going is the bright spot here. I appreciate Lemmy and even have an account from the first days, but I like the kbin/mbin setup better so that’s where I sit.






  • I’d agree I’m cynical, but it’s just my opinion based on everything I’ve read and seen over decades, not some attempt to brainwash people into inaction. We should absolutely do anything we can to change our ways both individually and overall now that we know the damage we do, but that doesn’t guarantee a fix.

    It’s very difficult to discuss the state of things today without being accused of being too negative and now even claimed to be “the problem”. If you want to continue thinking that we could have had a modern society with high living standards and constant growth, then go ahead. It’s simply not realistic to me knowing we have a finite world. The bacteria in the beaker analogy is well known to everyone.

    We crossed the line maybe with the industrial revolution, but certainly with learning how to use chemical means to provide far more food than naturally possible (Haber process). I fail to see how we can ever get back to that line now, especially since it and everything else we do is heavily dependent on petroleum that’s also finite. Hence my comment on restructuring society - unlimited growth is not sustainable, yet it’s a cornerstone for us for centuries.

    I did think we could fix things long ago, but after a while you begin to see the pattern of hope and promises and realize we’re experts at fooling ourselves.