Louise Leakey: Digging for humanity's origins

[westernciviliznation]

Speak for yourself apeGirl... your cranial evolution isn't working fast enough.

[Chitownboy1023]

Evolution is bullshit.

[HOMEnHIGH]

one thing i've learnt from digging around in the past, is that human beings have learnt nothing from digging around in the past..

besides i'll bet my bottom dollar that she's never given a soapy tit wank...

[moopism]

@HOMEnHIGH Well I'm pretty sure you're out of the running if she ever decides to hand one out.

[aphyd23]

She was alright until she got to the end. Then she was a little off on her "political message". I agree that overpopulation is a major problem. But all the population growth is coming from 3rd world countries so that's where population control will need to be implemented.

[PokieFred]

@Bumblyble256, there is proof now, the two mixed, the reason the neandretals look so different, is because they were in a cold environment, they had to get more body hair and different nose, and and, to be able to survive that environment. It is the same human as other humans, but different, that's all.

[JaySkulk]

You are just a dumb, jealous peckerwood my fiend! :-)

[ActaSanctorum]

one of the more mediocre talks I've seen. You can tell she's used to being out in the field or writing her thoughts rather than speaking about them

[JaySkulk]

@ActaSanctorum I rather listen to someone who knew what they were speaking about as she does rather than someone who speaks in a very elegant manner, but is totally ignorant and just baffles people with his bovine scatology! :-)

[ActaSanctorum]

@JaySkulk Yes, and I would rather hear her stumble through this topic than hear someone eloquently promote fascism as a solution to global problems (there's one of the talks where a guy does this). I don't disagree, but the lack of cadence makes it harder for the listener to follow the presentation

[qiovanni]

11:05 the nth proof of Extraterrestrial interference on Earth.

[gyromancy2]

If a chromosome fusion from a cosmic ray is what caused the transition from ape to man, then why can't we cause a chromosome fusion in some ape in a lab today?? Can't M.I.T create an artificial cosmic rays??

[PokieFred]

A common ancestor will never be found, has never been found, even if at a time we looked like a fish, we were still considered human. There are locked up genes within our genomes, that if they are switched off or on, will take us back and make us look totally different. She never mentioned the Neanderthals, they hade been in Europe for more than 250 thousand years ! Where they not the first humans to come out of Africa?

[Bumblybee256]

Er no, homo erectus was the first out of africa. The Neanderthals were wiped out due to competition with our ancestor.

[creten69]

i just wanted to say real quick, for millions of years we walked around murdering monkeys who were less evolved than us. Everyone knows this right?

[PokieFred]

@creten69 , Killed our own species too, and continuing so. Hopefully one day, we can call ourselves humans, when we can distinguish ourselves from other animal. At the moment, they are actually better than us.

[creten69]

@PokieFred their the same just all stupid and fuking and selfish and shitting

[Bumblybee256]

There is no such thing as 'less evolved' if the comparisons are living at the same time.

[creten69]

no a million years ago you couldnt go very far, so many species of the same type were isolated.

[Bumblybee256]

Sorry, what comment are you replying to?

[Omkara777]

3 years in US n i have problem understanding brit ascent

[WacheniUshenzi]

Louis is not a Brit. She is Kenyan.

[moopism]

@Omkara777 Well, you appear to have trouble with english as a whole, so why should we care?

[DAMOCLIES]

they say we came from ape's and i cant deny it. but if i hear one more time that i came from a ape...im gonna kill this lady.

[damo2353]

We didn't come from apes, we are apes.

[boorens18]

well we still came from apes, we are just a new type of ape

[PokieFred]

@damo2353 , loved your comment!

[DAMOCLIES]

maybe because jupiter is a gas giant dumbass. kinda hard for life to evolve there. and mercury has the atmosphere of battery acid and mars is a wasteland. why do you speak?

[HeWillBeManchester]

Ladies and gentlemen, you've seen him in almost every discussion about science that he has absolutely no knowledge of, he voted for Bush, he voted for McCain, a man who needs no introduction: Mr. Crackpot!

[DarkAvenger423]

so will our human race evlove again? if so, what?

[windex72]

facepalm

[calumlittle]

I thought we are only here cos we fucked up all the competition and the environment etc, now we are to stop? 2% of the greenhouse gas each year is our doing. Divide that by 6.5 billion and you can tell how guilty you should be. Not very. The environment is out to get us? as much as we are out to get it? I dont give a fuck. I dont even like this planet. Its indifferent to us. so fuck it. 6 thumbs down please.

[calumlittle]

oh how i wish i was a bonobo, i wouldnt be wanking myself off right now, someone else would. bonobos rule. Thumbs down?

[mistertakeda]

That's hawt.

[DefaultPosition]

Excellent video. Thanks for uploading.

[DSBrekus]

She's spent her working life doing this, cut her some slack if she isn't the best public speaker, not that many people are.

[papatoony]

"We have to control our numbers" ...take note, breeders!

[cjla1987]

If the chimpanzee has 99% of our genetic code similar to them, does that mean we evolved from them? The jelly fish is 99% water and so is the watermelon, therefore the watermelon evolved from the jellyfish...

[AlmightScoop]

We didn't evolve from chimpanzees, but we share a relatively recent common ancestor.

Jellyfish (~96% water) and watermelon (91% water) are not as very closely related genetically (probably ~40% similarity). Their last common ancestor was a LONG time ago. DNA similarity can be used to trace relationships becuase it is inherited and passed on down the tree of life. Water is not. It is DNA that controls the devlopment from the embryo/seed/cell and gives a creature its identity, not water.

[Hottides]

"The jelly fish is 99% water and so is the watermelon, therefore the watermelon evolved from the jellyfish..."

Are you trying to ridicule Evolution through a straw-man argumentative fallacy, or are you truly displaying severe mental retardation?

[patmagrath]

doesnt really matter... we are all made of the same stuff anyways ya retards. u are everything. your ego doesnt want to hear that though

[R1COs]

patmagrath

I (as in the form sending you this reply) hear you, here now wants to hear nothing else for that matter. have you seen the movie "revolver" by Guy Ritchie? If you haven't, I suggest you watch it. Having finally understood it's message I've found it to be mindbending. that is because I chose it to be ofcourse ;-)

[patmagrath]

will download it now mate, sounds interesting. cheers

[Punniabi]

so...... god doesn't exist?

[etienneranc]

She's talking about birth control, to be educated, to be conscious of our future as a species.

[srudlak]

12:58 - retarded nazi, there are too many ppl? should be less of you! how about that?

[redivivusrisen]

quote we have to control our numbers!i sugest,kill yourself.that that should be a good start...

[InFromTheVoid]

Maybe it is your ears that are being tickeled? Was it the bribe or the threat that got you!???

[yankeedo]

Andrew said, "She has great enthusiasm and charm."

That's what got Eve's attention, allowing her to belive the lie. LOL!

Does she tickel your ears?

[MeLL1eJ]

To all people who are saying that this woman is a idiot.. well she is about 5000x less idiot than you are i mean all the "uhh god made us we are no animals god is the master" stuff wtf is up with that i mean some dude up in the clouds that can do evrithing with a clap in his hands that is about the most retarted thing i have ever heard. And yes we are animals just very smart and evolved ones.

Il leave it with that i thing most of you get my point.

[yankeedo]

What an idiot! The first woman on earth was deceived just as this woman is.

It will never stop, they are spiritual dead people therefore they seek animal bones instead of a creator.

[AlmightScoop]

I don't see her as spiritually dead. Tracing our origins seems to be a spiritually satisfying occupation. Evolution, as the mechanism of our creation, gives huge meaning to what it is to be human.

[dancingnature]

oh so true

the concept of being related to everything that has ever lived on this planet is a spiritual feeling as well as being a physical reality

[cjla1987]

You don't even know what spiritual means...Stop acting like you do know...go and look on the internet what it means go ahead...

[patmagrath]

idiot

[andrewjohngordon]

She has great enthusiasm and charm. She has contributed to something so incredibly important to all of us which is the understanding and knowledge of where we come from. If you seriously believe in Adam and Eve and a talking snake...well I think you ought to be out in the street with a cardboard sign around your neck which reads 'THE END IS NIGH'. Now go say a prayer to Jesus or whatever it is you do to waste your time.

[cjla1987]

Jajajaja! Waste of time? Yeah...I am going to be there. I'd rather be doing that (reading the Bible) then saying that your mom is a monkey. I am sure that Abraham Linconl, Bejamin Frankin, Beethoevn should follow your advice (going on the streets with a cardboard) specially Abraham Lincoln...

[dancingnature]

my mom like yours is an ape ..all hominids (family Hominidae)are apes

humans are just bald bipedal mutant apes

[andrewjohngordon]

A bit difficult now that they died hundreds of years ago. As for monkeys well you obviously know nothing of which you talk about. Humans and apes share a common ancestor. It doesn't mean your grandfather was an ape. Go and read a book, maybe you will earn something.

[KaylinJH]

yep yep, they are our cousins not our great grandfathers. He was neither ape, monkey or man!

[zxc83]

If i'm nothing more than an ape why should i care about the environment. Survival of the fittest, right? I mean, she makes me an animal but expects me to act different. It's nonsense. Get your stories right. Are we just animals or not? If we are, stop this "save the world" crap. Eat, sleep and have sex ;)

[AlmightScoop]

Yes, we are animals, but not just animals. We are the most intelligent animals to walk this planet. We have the ability to rise above our lowly origins and think. We can act as a group for our own self interest and the interest of our decendants. We should 'save the world' because we can. Because we need to in order to continue making the progress towards a peacful world order where we can spend our excess capacity enjoying life and expolring the mysteries of nature.

[srudlak]

yeah, we have the power to nuke other countries and enslave others entities. at least most of them ;)

[dancingnature]

" If i'm nothing more than an ape why should i care about the environment. Survival of the fittest, right? I mean, she makes me an animal but expects me to act different. It's nonsense. Get your stories right. Are we just animals or not? If we are, stop this "save the world" crap. Eat, sleep and have sex ;)"

didja ever hear the expression ..dont sh*t in your living room

[cjla1987]

Hey! That was right! Her introduction is trash, man. Are we just that? Hey, why doesn't she tell Abraham Lincon, George Washignton, Mozart, Beehoven, Bach, Martin Luther King Jr," hey guys, you are just a big walking stick with a brain" Come on, man....

[AlmightScoop]

Because they aren't. There human. Our brain has 3 layers. Our basic function is in deep in our skull and evolved along with reptiles (300 million years ago). Then when mammals evolved, the limbic system was formed around that (200 million years ago), which controlled emotion and looking after our young etc. Then, a few million years ago our ancestors evolved the cerebral cortex which is important for higher function such as creativity, thinking and planning......

[cjla1987]

I am not arguing agaisnt evolution. Her introduction was just aweful, are we just big walking sticks with brains? Look, even my small existence encopasses much bigger things than this universe. My existence encopasses energy, dimension, ideas, life, much bigger than this Universe.

[AlmightScoop]

Not bigger than this universe. It is our nature to think and plan and be creative. Nature, within this universe, has provided us with a brain capable of thoughts, feelings, desires, love and all other aspects of the human condition. It has also given us the capacity for hate and depravity. In the sense that we can comprehend our existance and vast space and time, yes we are more, perhaps unique. We are, as she said, superintelligent apes. We are derived from nature and live within it.

[cjla1987]

If we aren't all bigger than this Universe, then does the Universe contain feelings, passions, ideas, life? This is the biggest thing in the known Universe, not just dead matter. I notice you said at the end of your response that we are unique, so, having said that, we are more than this concept of "big-walking-sticks with brains, right?

[AlmightScoop]

We are within the universe. We contain feelings, passions and ideas. Therefore the universe containts these things. Humans are unique on this earth, and possibly in the universe, for our ability to think and reason. I wouldn't say "walking sticks with brains" as this seems to be demeaning to our intricate and sophisticated capabilities. We should be humble enough to recongnise our lowly origin, yet proud enough to acknowlege our unique ability to change the world and us this responsibly.

[cjla1987]

That was my issue here. Just saying big walking sticks with brains. That is just stupid and she is stupid for what she said. Organs, five senses, spiritual capacity, nerves, neurons, bones, blood cells, energy, I mean, all of this and we catagorized it as a simple shit? Needless to say. That was my problem. My problem was not arguing if we evolved or not. Her introduction was shit. That is what I wanted to point out.

[nudsh]

Actually her intro was right on...... It isn't "simple shit" nor did she say so. The implication is that we are no more complicated than most all other species, just more evolved.

Every living creature on this earth essentially has organs, senses, spiritual capacity, nerves, neurons, bones, blood cells, energy. Some do not display vanity or spirituality, but we cannot know if they are not capable. I thought the introduction realistically framed her study.

[cjla1987]

Well, I can say the same intro for our planet. I'd would be sayin' "our planet Earth it is just one out of billions of planets in the entire Universe. The planet Earth is not special at all since it has only 1 moon and it is vfery small compared to others ones" You see, now, my introduction about our planet is right on...but, do you agree? This planet is more than special. By the way, people like this lady, now in Spanin, monkeys have the same right like us (human rights) we can't keep them....

[cjla1987]

....at the zoo anymore or experiment with them because we would be violating their human rights, what do you think about this?

[dancingnature]

The planet Earth is not special at all since it has only 1 moon and it is vfery small compared to others ones"

and most astronomers would agree with you description ..so whats your problem ?

humans ARE bald fully bipedal apes and we're classified as such under family Homindae

[dancingnature]

Hominidae

[cjla1987]

So this not planet is not special at all? I think you can asnwer this question very easily, why life only happened here on Earth? Why not on Jupiter? Mars? Mercury? Why? If this planet is not especial...why only happened here? By the way..this moon we have is special...if we'd have another one...becareful with the tsunamies..

[54polarbear54]

we actually dont know if there is some sort of life or not on the other planets

but we do find complex organic compounds in space

[cjla1987]

eVEN IF YOU FIND COMPLEX ORGANIC COMPUDNS..HOW FAR ARE WE FROM CREATING LIFE?

[calumlittle]

What happens when we apply massive impact forces to these compounds? like those that a comet might have provided when hitting our planet, counterintuitavely enough you get even closer to life, whith even more complex compounds being " created" want to worship somthing, worship comets.

[Hottides]

"Every living creature on this earth essentially has organs, senses, spiritual capacity, nerves, neurons, bones, blood cells, energy."

Most organisms inhabiting Earth are bacteria, which lack organs, nerves and bones (i.e. task-dedicated multi-cellular structures) and blood. Prokaryotes also lack "spiritual capacity", since this vaguely defined quality presumably requires consciousness.

[nudsh]

hottides,

I never implied that they had all at once....just that the concept of these traits are not unique to humans. Whatever combination a given life form may have is irrelevant, the idea that all these are on the menu is the point.

[calumlittle]

Not more evolved. Not at all. Perhaps less well adapted and having had needed to evolve more. but not more evolved.

[Hottides]

".. does the Universe contain feelings, passions, ideas, life?". Emotions are products of mammalian neurological processes that evolved to foster child rearing and socialization and more dramatic responses to potentially dangerous situations. Since emotions are are the manifestations of neural activity, they are contained in brains and are thus contained in the Universe.

[cjla1987]

what? r u saying the universe has feelings? in essence, can we make him cry?

[Hottides]

No, mammalian brains create the conscious states termed emotions. Since mammalian brains possess emotions, and these brains are contained within the Universe, (minuscule) parts of the Universe have feelings. White large, the Universe is without feelings or thoughts. Certainly the vast lifeless stretches of cold void separating the stars weep not.

[LPF767]

FANTASTIC insightful comment left behind! There aren't many as thought-filled comments on YOUTUBE like this one. Thank you for posting your thoughts and making others think, even if it hurts their brain to do so. Amazing comment!

[blackshadowsnoopy]

Many of us as children heard the story about the frog transforming into a Prince and most of us knew that this was only an imaginary tale. The magic there was the kiss of a Princess and the magic of evolution is time. Evolutionists are prone to believe that fairy tale that with enough time...anything is possible !

[norcofreerider604]

Wow, just by saying that, you show everyone your ignorance on the subject of evolution. I feel confident in saying that no evolutionist would even suggest we evolved from frogs. Although we do share a common ancestor, this is completley different than evolving from frogs.

[dancingnature]

"Evolutionists are prone to believe that fairy tale that with enough time...anything is possible !"

cdk007's youtube vid

Big Numbers explains why what you said is just ...ignorant

watch?v=mCgt3qb-Kb0

[saxmanchiro]

Many population Biologists figure, as a species, we will reach our 'Carrying Capacity'(CC) at between 9-10 billion. Drastic changes in biomes that are foreseen in the very near future will affect agriculture, conflict, food/habitat refugees, etc. Death from food and water shortage will slow down our pace of pop. increase but the unknowns that we cannot predict(pandemics, pestilence, oceanic food reduction, toxic magnification, etc)could hasten this CC. Could get interesting.

[sekkingu]

i want to marry T.E.D.

[Mrmoc7]

I found the video very inspiring and informative. I think it is our collective duty to take responsibility for the survival of our own species, and if we can, the prolonged survival of our home-earth.

[cjla1987]

Her introduction was aweful. We are not only a big "upright, walking, big brain". We way beyond than that. Human existence encompasses ideas, energy, dimension, etc. It is beyond the notion of just this Universe. We are bigger than this Universe. If we are only an "upright, walking, big brain" she will have to explain how the five senses came to be and work with such harmony, also, the misteries that encloses the existence of humanity and everything else.

[sekkingu]

yes because no animals have senses or are capable of thought...

wait, what?

philosophy has for centuries attempted to differentiate humans from animals diffinitively, with not much success. But if you can conclusively make an argument otherwise, i would love to read your essay.

[cjla1987]

What are you saying? Are you saying an ant is the same as a human? I don't see your point. Look, we are NOT like the rest of other animals. We have a spiritual capacity. She makes it sound as if we are meaningless. Abraham Lincoln, Issac Newton, Shakespare, Mozart, are they just big sticks walking around with two legs? Please....

[gusphraba]

These videos are too complicated for you and other 2 year olds, you might hurt yourself watching them. Maybe there are some bible stories on YouTube for you son of a bigot slave master too prude for Europe.

[cjla1987]

yEAH, i AM GOING TO READ THE bIBLE BETTER. sAY HI TO YOUR GRANDMA AT THE ZOO FROM WHICH YOU EVOLVED...OHH YEAH...ALL YOUR COUSINS AND GRANDPARENTS AND TRAPPED IN THOSE CAGES AND SADLY YOU CANNOT DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND TELL THE ZOO KEEPERS TO LEAVE THEM ALONE AFTER ALL, THEY ARE UR FAMILY , ARENT THEY?

[cjla1987]

JAJAJAJAJ

[gusphraba]

Yes, even you are part of my family and I wouldn't mind throwing you in a cage instead of a monkey. I'm not against zoos since monkeys are being eradicated by ignorant dorks like you and they're at least trying to keep some alive. Oh and an ant is not the same as a human, nobody but you would claim something as stupid as that.

[dancingnature]

um yes

humans are a type of large ape and other apes, in fact all other organisms, are cousins

denial is a river in egypt for creationists isnt it ?

[globs89]

interesting channel

[PopeColbert]

I'd like to let nature take its course with her. eh eh

[ctastrophe]

Who says less is more? ("Old Sayings" aren't logical arguing points.) Who will we endow with the authority to tell us how many children we are "allowed" to have, if any at all? If you want to appoint people to tell you what to do with yourself and your family, be my guest; we live in a free society and we've decided that keeping the government out of our bedrooms is among the freedoms we enjoy. If anyone wants to choose not to have kids, fine, but it shouldn't be mandatory.

[FantasmaBAnco]

If we don't collectively decide to behave responsibly, then you can bet that the powers that be will find some way of deciding for us.

[michael0845]

The coming global warming famines will drastically cut the population.

A disaster bigger than all the previous disasters in human history. And we are staring this disaster in the face. We watch as the population and rise and the oil be burned away.

Would the coming famines also cause the human race to evolve ?

[c6gunner]

Global warming famines? You do realize, don't you, that the parts of the world which are best at making food actually lie in the northern hemisphere?

Take Canada, Norther Europe, Russia, and China as an example. ALL of these area will be able to produce MORE food as temperatures rise. Meanwhile, the parts of the world which will be hardest hit are primarily Africa, the middle east, and parts of South America - areas which are already bad at producing food.

[FantasmaBAnco]

Where is your evidence?

[c6gunner]

Evidence for what? To support the idea that warm weather is better for crop production that cold weather? Do I SERIOUSLY need to document that for you?

[FantasmaBAnco]

It's not just about the "warm weather"; have you considered how water supplies (ie rising evaporation rates) will be affected by rising temperatures? (Last time I checked, plants need water to grow). Or that all intensive agriculture is reliant on petroleum-based fertiliser? Or that greater numbers of people mean that farming land becomes exhausted and acidified from the overuse of chemical fertilisers? You haven't really thought your "Global warming is great" argument out, have you gunnyboy?

[c6gunner]

You've mixed 3 different concepts. Two of them have nothing to do with AGW. The third (rising evaporation rates) shows you really have no understanding of the variables involved. You also seem to be rather ignorant of the average temperature ranges of the northern nations.

You're also WAY too arrogant for someone who knows so little. Fix your attitude if you expect any further responses.

[FantasmaBAnco]

I was pointing out a major flaw in your argument; your argument only accounts for ONE factor, "warmer weather", while it fails to account for other factors (pop'n pressures on agricultural land/ the oil crisis). To say there will be "MORE food as temperatures rise" fails to take these co-factors into account; I made this clear from the first sentence of my response.

[FantasmaBAnco]

An improvement in one factor does not mean that there will be more food AVAILABLE; there will be a rise in the cost of fertiliser and no oil to transport the food that we do grow. Throughout the world, water for agriculture is stored in open dams. Rising temperatures around the world (including the northern hemisphere) as well as a disparity between day and night time temperatures will speed up the evaporation rate, meaning less water in storage for agricultural or domestic use.

[FantasmaBAnco]

Add to this the effects of global dimming and deforestation, and you can see how the hydrologic cycle is negatively impacted upon; less rain, and especially where we need it (ie in the dams). Huge amounts of money would need to be spent globally on water storage infrastructure to counteract the negative impact of a rising evaporation rate. "Average temperature ranges of the northern nations" are set to rise as the world heats up; what's so hard to understand about that?

[FantasmaBAnco]

Oh, and before you comment on another's (perceived) arrogance, maybe you should check your own: eg "Do I SERIOUSLY need to document that for you?"

[lordmetroid]

We don't have to control our numbers, total ignorance of economics working. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

[popitypop]

fk u man... stop spammming ted videos.... plz fking get a life.. wtf is wrong wif u? if u re trying to attract an intellectual crowd, u should consider rephrasing ur spam, and target specific users, and not videos...

[akylae101]

We need green tech and a 2.1 birthrate in the developing world - the west is a demographic black hole already.

If consumerism comes to the developing world before the demographic shift is complete...

Hope dies last.

[danbblau]

Exactly!

Leakey is too ignorant to understand that though.

[FantasmaBAnco]

Riiiiight... a world respected paleontologist is "too ignorant". Whatever dan.

[jayredster]

i think governments have started to cut the birth rates. fertility falling!

[smkymcnugget420]

That would be the Sodium Floride in your water.

[Finiras]

adapt or kill the biggest consumers and we'll be able to live for a few more million years.... thats right americans.

[papatoony]

So you're saying you want to kill Americans? Why not kill breeders?

[Finiras]

I don't give a shit about what happens beyond my life time. But the people who do care maybe should think about doing that...

[atypicalguy]

Nice talk but kind of annoying that she has to get all political at the end.

[FantasmaBAnco]

Everything is political.

[nestorrfortuna]

our future is darker than our past/

we will extinguish regardless of what we do.

it is just a matter of time

[HKragh]

why? You know something I don't? Or do you just try to guess a completely unknown future, sounding like it's fact?

I'm sure we'll survive. But who knows...

[nestorrfortuna]

based on the fact that 90% of species are not longer here, and the fact of the numbers of out spicies, and the fact that we do not neccearily are interested in taking care of the fragile ecosystem we live in, i think the only hope we should have is magic jesus and his immaginary father.

[HKragh]

We have something no other specie has ever had before us, and that is a rather big brain. We can see what is coming, and can do things to prevent them from hurting us. And we now have the technology to at least be able to save a small amount of us, almost no matter what happens. Melting poles? We build floating cities. Astoroid? We find a way to blow it out of the sky (I asure you, if we were told that an astoroid would hit in 10 years, a solution would be found before...)->

[HKragh]

Destroyed environment? Well, some rich people build some giant greenhouses.

There are too many people, with too much desire to survive, to wipe out every human on this planet. Ok, if an astoroid hit in 5 min. from now, we would be fucked. But I can't think of one single human made disaster, capeable of wiping out every single one of us. Some will survive, some will start again. I sincerely believe that humans are here to stay. We will even find a way to survive the sun, when its time comes.

[danbblau]

What a fool...

Amazingly ignorant

[nestorrfortuna]

why?

[danbblau]

The Western world is suffering from record lows in fertility. Governments need to focus on boosting the birthrate, not trying to limit the lifeline that is in an unprecedented decline.

[FantasmaBAnco]

It's a round world, dan, and it's quickly running out of clean air, water and space.

[nestorrfortuna]

ok, i understand, you are afraid nobody will be there to push your wheelchair, it is a normal fear. but there is a different between quality of life and expectancy of life.

we live badly, but we lived longer.

[HumanitysAdvocate]

How many old bones does it take to convince someone they're chasing their evolutionary tails?

[reupbert]

Ishmael is coming true? :)

[ShilgenVens]

I'm glad she talked about human population. I am a 31 year old woman who chooses not to have children primarily because we humans are too great in number on this fragile earth.

[DanHipp]

I wish I could convince my GF of your philosophy. I'm of the same opinion.

[iggy4323]

If you have children and raise them to be questioning, intelligent people, then there's nothing better that you could do for the health of the planet.

[ShilgenVens]

Not raising any more children is better than raising more children. It's not about how smart the children are it's about how many children there are.

[HumanitysAdvocate]

Good choice. No reason to perpetuate the de-evolution of humanity.

[gillumine]

isn't it always the conscious ppl like you that are intelligent and caring of the Earth that don't raise kids, when it is you that is most needed to raise kids just because we need kids who think like u as future leaders. adopt at least!!!

[ctastrophe]

We are far too intelligent a species to only come up with a single answer to the issues of our budding population. As GOAQ says, colonizing other planets is a feasible solution, but there are several other answers out there, most of which we haven't thought of yet. Population control is one possible route but it's the most elementary, and in direct opposition to what we were born to do...reproduce.

Remember, before medicine the only way to get rid of many ailments was to die.

[GOAQ]

Colonization of Mars would be a good way to expand rather than constrain.

[HumanitysAdvocate]

Mars? LOL! We can't even keep a simple space station in orbit with working toilets! Man will never make it beyond the Moon - alive that is.

[DistinctiveBlend]

HumanitysAdvocate,

"Man will never make it beyond the Moon - alive that is."

So much for being an advocate for humanity! It might not happen in our life time, but if humans are to survive we literally need to reach for the stars. Our planet wont last forever.

[Finiras]

yeah, just a few more billion years.... and as for earth supporting life... maybe a few million years?

[shawnhornickel]

That's more of a constraint of money than ability.

[GOAQ]

We WILL evolve further...but in what direction? Fascinating.

[iggy4323]

We may not evolve much - medical science is greatly impeding the natural selection mechanism.

[HumanitysAdvocate]

Backwards, obviously.

[akylae101]

And yet genetic technology is deemed immoral / risky / playing god. Go figure.

[onehandraisinbransam]

This was a great talk, its awesome that she's continuing with her family's work.

[stevesurv]

In other words, we're fucked.

[semiliteratedgod]

a fairly decent nuclear holocaust would solve the problem, there still are some chances, be positive!!

[stevesurv]

Yes you're right. :-)

[beancube2008]

We ignore things so science ignores data. We acknowledge bias, science acknowledges negligence. Can we predict what we didn't think? We have tons of evidences yet we can be so sure what we believe that is a very interesting behavior.