Entropic Watermark

Submitted by [deleted] t3_zvf37r in Futurology

The consumer-based society we live in as a global community thrives on using raw materials to build products which are then discarded once used up. Producing such consumable products takes primarily a large amount of raw materials, but can in some cases leverage small amounts of recyclables. As raw material is turned into a “soup” of waste, there exists a cutoff point, a watermark, beyond which humanity will no longer have the ability to colonize other worlds because the raw materials needed for such endeavors would be used up. The entropy of materials available for production will grow until humans even lack the ability to leave the planet - another watermark. Further still, at high enough entropy humans will no longer be able to produce anything other than what can be grown or honed from plain rocks. At that stage, humanity has essentially gone full circle back into the Stone Age, with the exception being that land will be far more toxic, and there is no return to what is considered modernity (the materials required would no longer exist in a usable form).

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xxDooomedxx t1_j1ov377 wrote

I think we will have colonised other worlds long before we reach this watermark. And then we can use the resources of those worlds to continue our expansion

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DM_me_ur_tacos t1_j1owg35 wrote

The entropy of the universe increases and humans are certainly experts at accelerating this process.

That said, we have huge energy reserves from our sun and potentially from fusion if it can be made viable.

If we can harness this energy, we will be able to recycle practically everything and extract purified raw materials from today's waste.

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ChrisEpicKarma t1_j1ox9tb wrote

We will hit another wall before: the crumble of ecosystem services. If we want, as society, to survive that one (it happens now), we have to evolve fast and quit that logic of consommation.

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Erriis t1_j1oz2ty wrote

There’s a lot that would kill us far before we run out of resources to reach Mars.

Natural gas is constantly being produced by fossils, and we have more minerals than we can mine

The issue is something like climate catastrophe or our ozone doing what Twitter’s stock value just did and disappear

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Surur t1_j1pngrb wrote

Earth is an open, not closed system, so none of that applies.

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RutCry t1_j1qbqjg wrote

What in your scenario causes the death of human creativity so that we are no longer able to solve the problems we encounter?

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johndburger t1_j1qfqzg wrote

I’m struggling to understand why you’re using the term “watermark” here.

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[deleted] OP t1_j1rh3tn wrote

Replying to McCaffeteria (#1,079,038)

Creativity cannot reverse entropy without having the necessary energy sources. To harness such energy sources requires components to be manufactured, built, assembled, and deployed. Once a certain threshold has been reached the raw materials needed will not be available in large enough quantities. That’s what I’m getting at. If we can develop those energy sources before that threshold is reached we had a chance of continuing.

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ironangel2k3 t1_j1rhk6o wrote

Replying to johndburger (#1,074,200)

Its like the term 'event horizon'. The event horizon of a black hole is the distance from a black hole at which nothing can escape. Once something crosses the event horizon, it can never get back out.

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[deleted] OP t1_j1rhpw5 wrote

Replying to GlitteringBroccoli12 (#1,068,623)

I believe you are mistaken, the experiment simply produced more power than the laser initiating the fusion. The measure was against the laser beam itself, not the apparatus powering the laser. They are still a long way away from making it sustain the fusion, and powering itself in the process.

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Alien_Fruit t1_j1sdj6e wrote

Replying to ironangel2k3 (#1,079,235)

IMHO, capitalism is the ONLY cause of these problems. It is totally dependent on the increase of all goods, on a continuous need for growth and the further enrichment of the already-rich, damn the cost to the poor and the planet. The only sane answer is a equitable economy (it's called Socialism, folks), and the development of a socially moral compass.

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QChavez t1_j1shwr9 wrote

You just learned what entropy is and had a shower thought didn't you

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GlitteringBroccoli12 t1_j1vg3bz wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,079,313)

Lame.

I don't think we're far though. Looking at a.i. and realizing that googles quantum computer calculates at a rate supposedly 10,000 human years per 3 hours... While presumably the current maximum rate of simulation, even having a non opinionated a.i. think at a fraction of that speed while giving it the data we gathered from this experiment along with the exploding speed of a.i. which is multiplicative vs additive in annual development its a matter of years. This is before considering the possibilities that after Elons science slaves put neurolink (allowing for competitive markets refining the tech similar to phones yet faster) is in play. That will be entering human trials early next year.

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