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Programming in the Apocalypse

matduggan.com

181–190 of 301 posts

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This guy Mark Lynas studied the models and wrote a book about it, but then he wrote it again based on newer models, so make sure to find the latest one called "Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency" for a grizzly drilldown into the centigrades towards extinction. Few models deal with warming beyond three degress, in itself a point of some consideration, but the references are all there and here's the sy…

Actually I was kinda hoping for just a model or some peer reviewed conclusions. I'm just not in the mood to devote a lot of time to what sounds (to me) like hyperbole: If the earth stabilised at +8 degrees celcius I find it hard to understand why the entire earth becomes literally uninhabitable.

It doesn’t. It’s an extrapolation based on the limited insights of a PhD who by any reasonable definition spends too much time with simulations.

If you want to think of a way it could be possible, though, think of those areas that would be habitable, realize that they would be highly contested, are mostly presently permafrost, and consider your own ability to both protect and survive on melted tundra and reproduce there, given you will starve in a single season without food.

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#182

I agree that we need to plan for climate adaptation (preparing for predictable problems) and resilience (preparing for unpredictable problems), but I have a few kneejerk responses: - Although it's looking increasingly unlikely that we can avert climate disaster, we can never give up. For example, 8 degrees of warming would be much worse than 4 degrees of warming, and could mean the difference between human extinction…

> human extinction and the mere collapse of our civilization How do you imagine human extinction being an outcome? It seems to me that the worst case scenario is large loss of population which would decrease greenhouse gas output. There would still be some increase in temperature even once we stop emitting, but wouldn't people in colder climates still survive?

Positive feedback loops causing runaway warming is one way

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#183
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually I was kinda hoping for just a model or some peer reviewed conclusions. I'm just not in the mood to devote a lot of time to what sounds (to me) like hyperbole: If the earth stabilised at +8 degrees celcius I find it hard to understand why the entire earth becomes literally uninhabitable.

It doesn’t. It’s an extrapolation based on the limited insights of a PhD who by any reasonable definition spends too much time with simulations. If you want to think of a way it could be possible, though, think of those areas that would be habitable, realize that they would be highly contested, are mostly presently permafrost, and consider your own ability to both protect and survive on melted tundra and reproduce th…

> If you want to think of a way it could be possible, though, think of those areas that would be habitable, realize that they would be highly contested, are mostly presently permafrost, and consider your own ability to both protect and survive on melted tundra and reproduce there, given you will starve in a single season without food.

I actually did consider that first - that maybe at +8c humans will kill each other, but that's just pure speculation.

And, sure, food is necessary daily and constantly, but the situation you outline isn't an overnight thing. Hell, it isn't even a 100-year change, +8c is a lot longer.

That gives you plenty of time to move, and at +8c, as long as it is stable at +8c, you'd still have enough arable and livable land to ensure that humanity is nowhere close to extinction.

So if it isn't lack of land, and it isn't the temperature range that causes human extinction, what does?

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#184
post #155
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What COVID taught me is that the human ability to not give a fuck is apparently infinite. I have trouble processing the fact that a million people died (in the USA) and there is no mourning, no shared sense of tragedy or loss, no looking more kindly on other people, just a madder, faster dash on cash and even more finger-pointing. > Covid was not 1% as bad as any pandemic featured in a film. I'll be generous and not…

Something like 5 million people die every year, should we be in permanent mourning?

That's not what the likes of the poster you reply to want. They want you to be in permanent acceptance of whatever agenda they support with their virtue signalling.

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some fairly absurd doomerism going on in the "climate catastrophe tomorrow" camp where climate change will (somehow) turn earth into a barren rock and we're inches away from triggering a self-reinforcing climate resonance cascade of unforeseen consequences. It's of course a very urgent issue, but I think exaggerating it until it becomes a threat to "all life on earth" levels is a) dishonest b) does nothing to…

The temperature and co2 levels have been much higher in the past. The earth has been much more tropical as well as an ice world. Humans can adapt to change quite effectively - we did invent air conditioning, as well as the land of The Netherlands which is reclaimed and existing beneath sea level. What is the greatest tragedy is how much worry and anxiety climate change causes. The earth is not a thinking thing - “Mot…

> The temperature and co2 levels have been much higher in the past. The earth has been much more tropical as well as an ice world. Humans can adapt to change quite effectively

It doesn't matter what Earth was like at some point in the distant past. There weren't 8 billion humans living on it. It's not easy or cheap to move cities with populations in the millions because sea level rise puts them below water.

Humans can adapt to climate change but it's very likely to be very painful and very expensive.

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some fairly absurd doomerism going on in the "climate catastrophe tomorrow" camp where climate change will (somehow) turn earth into a barren rock and we're inches away from triggering a self-reinforcing climate resonance cascade of unforeseen consequences. It's of course a very urgent issue, but I think exaggerating it until it becomes a threat to "all life on earth" levels is a) dishonest b) does nothing to…

The temperature and co2 levels have been much higher in the past. The earth has been much more tropical as well as an ice world. Humans can adapt to change quite effectively - we did invent air conditioning, as well as the land of The Netherlands which is reclaimed and existing beneath sea level. What is the greatest tragedy is how much worry and anxiety climate change causes. The earth is not a thinking thing - “Mot…

  > We will adapt to whatever climate exists.
i dont know what to say except that a lot of people will have to unnecessarily suffer because of that inaction... [0]

also, air conditioning and the netherlands are ways to deal with existing nature, global warming on the other hand is entirely man-made and compunding

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/world/asia/india-extreme-...

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#188
COMPILERS - just use LLVM. Why do we need 900 different compilers ? We can have every architecture, programming language covered. Less human resource wasted. Experiments and new approaches can be tried inside LLVM too.

Re: Programming in the Apocalypse

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The temperature and co2 levels have been much higher in the past. The earth has been much more tropical as well as an ice world. Humans can adapt to change quite effectively - we did invent air conditioning, as well as the land of The Netherlands which is reclaimed and existing beneath sea level. What is the greatest tragedy is how much worry and anxiety climate change causes. The earth is not a thinking thing - “Mot…

> The temperature and co2 levels have been much higher in the past. The earth has been much more tropical as well as an ice world. Humans can adapt to change quite effectively It doesn't matter what Earth was like at some point in the distant past. There weren't 8 billion humans living on it. It's not easy or cheap to move cities with populations in the millions because sea level rise puts them below water. Humans ca…

Yes but acting like 99% of humanity is going to die is irrational, illogical, not true in any reality, and scares the shit out of people. It’s tragic that doomers have made people think that has any chance of happening.
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