I just hope that if humans die out, the next sentient species will discover our ruins and learn from our mistakes
this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
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I wonder if there would be enough time for human level intelligence to evolve a second time here. We came to the scene very late, and for billions of years there's been no intelligent life capable of technological progress here. In a few more billion years, the sun will expand and heat up to the point where no life on Earth will be possible. We may be the last shot for life to bootstrap and expand past our Solar system.
To be fair, most of that time was spent prokaryotic, then as single-celled organisms. Once actual animals arose it was relatively short evolutionary time for complex forms to happen. I just hope that won't be necessary of course.
That's true, the progression isn't linear. Although, it's not clear human level of intelligence is really that important for survival either. It's entirely possible that there could be a local maximum for intelligence that doesn't pave the way to a technological civilization.