Humanity's Limits

[Reece Borgars]

Just a point to anyone who thinks we may have achieved FTL travel by now - we wouldnt, for the simple fact that anything with a mass cannot achieve it.
We can come very close (in theory) but it is impossible - as you approach the speed of light you begin to contract. The closer you get the light speed, the more you contract, to the point where, when you reached light speed, you would have exactly 0 length. This essentially means you would not be made of matter if you reached light speed, and that, if we reverse it, nothing with a mass (ie, all matter in the universe) can reach light speed.
sorry to burst your bubbles.

on a slightly more positive note though, instantaneous travel (like tardis materialisation) is theoratically possible, as it requires no velocity at all. the problems lie around the issue of working out how the hell it might work

 

[spartan231490]

Alright, if Humanity as a whole got rid of all its political, social, and economic boundaries and actually worked together in peace, how far could we reach?

So, you're question is, once humanity is without limits, what will we be able to accomplish.

 

[Gigano]

If humanity got rid of all ideological and social boundaries and individual/group interests, in favour of collective efficiency, it'd no longer be humanity, but have magically transformed into whatever species communism mistakenly assumed it be.

As for how far such species would get, that depends on how pliable physics turn out to be, and whether the ways to utilize it are actually happened upon. A trillion minds working on theories are much more likely to find something useful, but they could fail to do so. And a single human in an imperfect world happen upon the right train of thought instead... then use to annihilate/enslave the opposing groups. Competition for one's very survival is quite the motivation, and if the entire world generate resources which are then largely pooled in a few wealthy nations, that much more can be spent on research.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

That would be cool, but war comes from economic imperatives in most developed countries. I think we're headed for a micro-scaled version of Warhammer 40K, personally, with new races or clans forming on other planets and keeping up with the ages-old human tradition of getting our own sons and daughters slaughtered for the stupidest of reasons or to line some warlord's already fat pockets.

 

[serious biscuit]

Alright, if Humanity as a whole got rid of all its political, social, and economic boundaries and actually worked together in peace, how far could we reach?

Do you think we could possibly create colonies on distant planets today if we worked together? Could we find a cure for cancer? What are our real limits?

I believe the only thing stopping us from exploring the galaxy is each other. (obviously) If we combined forces imagine the great advances we could make in every field.

So I'm asking you guys, how far could we go within the next 30 years if we all worked together? Or how far do you think we would be if we made this decision several hundred years ago? And that begs another question, could humanity actually unite itself in this way?

Sorry to disappoint, but there's no way that humanity will ever come together, its our nature to fight mainly because of opinion and because on a whole we are very self centered anyone who has a different view to you is wrong, and therefore you wouldn't want to associate with them. Furthermore getting rid of the boundaries mentioned would just cause more problems, for instance no politics means no government and no government means no laws which means total anarchy, people need to be told what to do/think and they need to be governed otherwise primal intrinsic will kick in and with no consequences you'll start doing whatever you feel like because it isn't right or wrong; this would also create a bigger wedge in society where people will group off and start their own 'utopias' with their own ideal laws.
And with no economy how do you expect for people to work for the common goal? Because no matter how good it is for all of us, no one will do it for free because everyone wants some short term return on their work.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Humanity's limits are irrelevant.

Soon as the technological singularity happens, humans will be obsolete.

 

[mammothbroncho]

If humanity suddenly said "fuck fighting each other lets do cool shit" I cannot fathom what we'd do. We'd be on Mars in less then 30 years and have FTL in a century.

Oh please, we'd have a decent sized colony on Mars in 10.

snip

In 30 years we;d probably have ships off searching other solar systems and a couple planets might even be colonized even if only for mining. Cancer we'd have cured in a month, and have it distributed internationally in two.

What would it take to do this though? I think we need a dictator, not one of those "all hail me" dictators, I mean someone who puts a stop to violence and corruption. Basically what we need is a king from the fairy tales. most leaders today are corrupt, we need someone who will sacrifice their life for the people and carry the world on their back.

Then again religion would have to take a pretty big hit. Seeing as the deeply religious are all afraid of anything outside the mentionings of their shitty texts, so they'd fight tooth and nail and have a cry about it, but we could get rid of them eventually.

Alright, if Humanity as a whole got rid of all its political, social, and economic boundaries and actually worked together in peace, how far could we reach?

Within 50 years: Fully powered exosuits, probes in alpha centauri, permanent bases on the moon and mars, asteroid mining, probe either at or on the way to Sirius A/B, nuclear power, electric cars, next-gen passanger jets run scramjets, etc.

Alright, if Humanity as a whole got rid of all its political, social, and economic boundaries and actually worked together in peace, how far could we reach?

Within 50 years: Fully powered exosuits, probes in alpha centauri, permanent bases on the moon and mars, asteroid mining, probe either at or on the way to Sirius A/B, nuclear power, electric cars, next-gen passanger jets run scramjets, etc.

That sounds a lot like what the Emperor did in Warhammer 40k and look how that turned out.

OT: I think a mars colony would exist in a couple decades and most diseases currently considered uncured would be curable.

 

[mammothbroncho]

Oh please, we'd have a decent sized colony on Mars in 10.

snip

In 30 years we;d probably have ships off searching other solar systems and a couple planets might even be colonized even if only for mining. Cancer we'd have cured in a month, and have it distributed internationally in two.

What would it take to do this though? I think we need a dictator, not one of those "all hail me" dictators, I mean someone who puts a stop to violence and corruption. Basically what we need is a king from the fairy tales. most leaders today are corrupt, we need someone who will sacrifice their life for the people and carry the world on their back.


That sounds a lot like what the Emperor did in Warhammer 40k and look how that turned out.

OT: I think a mars colony would exist in a couple decades and most diseases currently considered uncured would be curable.
EDIT: I'm quoting CpT_x_Killsteal the quote thing is all messed up for some reason

 

[Stryphoon]

World peace would result in complacency, everything is great and working so why change it? Its the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality.

Technology moves faster in times of war for a very basic, primal reason: Fear. The urgency of not being the ones without access to the current new big thing. Not just weaponry itself but things like space travel, data transference, mechanical superiority, etc. the list is practically endless. The spirit of competition works but pales in comparison to the fear of the deaths of you and everyone you care about.

 

[lacktheknack]

What is with you people and this incredibly bleak, defeatist attitude towards FTL? The laws of physics are exactly that: laws. And what do we do with laws? Obey, bend or break them.

Because you explode in a ridiculously oversized explosion of plasma, broken atoms and fire if you even approach the speed of light.

That's not a bendable law, or breakable. It's like trying to walk through a wall of Fort Knox, it's not going to happen unless you make a hole. In this case, the hole would be a perfect vacuum from here to there.

And that'll never happen for the same reason we'll never build an entire city out of cheese: It's ludicrous, impossible to maintain and exceedingly dangerous.

Wishing doesn't make things possible. You'll have to use wormholes, which aren't exactly feasible either.

OT: What a silly question. If we all stopped fighting, we'd lose a HUGE amount of research that is gained from conflict. Some of our strongest materials, for instance, were discovered in pursuit of military superiority. And besides, if we all stopped fighting, it's not like we'd all start researching. Most people would just work a standard nine-to-five job. If anything, science would stagnate, because of aforementioned lack of military research.

 

[Heronblade]

If humanity suddenly said "fuck fighting each other lets do cool shit" I cannot fathom what we'd do. We'd be on Mars in less then 30 years and have FTL in a century.

Or not, because in all likelyhood FTL travel is impossible. Still though, we could at least fully inhabit the vast, unimaginable reaches of this solar system.

Also, lots of people would die. As fundamentally hazardous as space is there's no way we could start venturing out into it regularly without expecting enormous death tolls. It's just one of the many, many, many huge sacrifices we'd have to make as a species to make OP's vision a reality.

Actually, we already have concept designs for a (in theory) functional FTL warp drive similar in concept to the ones in Star Trek. The problem is power drain rather than FTL being truly impossible, we just cannot produce enough energy to get the sucker moving with current sources.

Of course, that still doesn't mean we can manage it in 30 or even 100 years, just that there is a means in sight.

 

[lacktheknack]

If humanity suddenly said "fuck fighting each other lets do cool shit" I cannot fathom what we'd do. We'd be on Mars in less then 30 years and have FTL in a century.

Or not, because in all likelyhood FTL travel is impossible. Still though, we could at least fully inhabit the vast, unimaginable reaches of this solar system.

Also, lots of people would die. As fundamentally hazardous as space is there's no way we could start venturing out into it regularly without expecting enormous death tolls. It's just one of the many, many, many huge sacrifices we'd have to make as a species to make OP's vision a reality.

Actually, we already have concept designs for a (in theory) functional FTL warp drive similar in concept to the ones in Star Trek. The problem is power drain rather than FTL being truly impossible, we just cannot produce enough energy to get the sucker moving with current sources.

Yeah, but does it travel through physical space, or does it actually warp through the time-space continuum? If it's the first, then the first launch would be like a Tsar going off.

 

[Heronblade]

If humanity suddenly said "fuck fighting each other lets do cool shit" I cannot fathom what we'd do. We'd be on Mars in less then 30 years and have FTL in a century.

Or not, because in all likelyhood FTL travel is impossible. Still though, we could at least fully inhabit the vast, unimaginable reaches of this solar system.

Also, lots of people would die. As fundamentally hazardous as space is there's no way we could start venturing out into it regularly without expecting enormous death tolls. It's just one of the many, many, many huge sacrifices we'd have to make as a species to make OP's vision a reality.

Actually, we already have concept designs for a (in theory) functional FTL warp drive similar in concept to the ones in Star Trek. The problem is power drain rather than FTL being truly impossible, we just cannot produce enough energy to get the sucker moving with current sources.

Yeah, but does it travel through physical space, or does it actually warp through the time-space continuum? If it's the first, then the first launch would be like a Tsar going off.

Technically both, and neither. The relative velocity and acceleration of the ship remains constant, its space itself that is moving.

The potential downside is that when the thing actually stops moving, according to calculations, a massive burst of energy is released in outward directions, particularly in front of the vehicle's path. It shouldn't harm the ship itself, but if we cannot find a way to offset this, a careless pilot could blow his destination to smithereens.

 

[lacktheknack]

If humanity suddenly said "fuck fighting each other lets do cool shit" I cannot fathom what we'd do. We'd be on Mars in less then 30 years and have FTL in a century.

Or not, because in all likelyhood FTL travel is impossible. Still though, we could at least fully inhabit the vast, unimaginable reaches of this solar system.

Also, lots of people would die. As fundamentally hazardous as space is there's no way we could start venturing out into it regularly without expecting enormous death tolls. It's just one of the many, many, many huge sacrifices we'd have to make as a species to make OP's vision a reality.

Actually, we already have concept designs for a (in theory) functional FTL warp drive similar in concept to the ones in Star Trek. The problem is power drain rather than FTL being truly impossible, we just cannot produce enough energy to get the sucker moving with current sources.

Yeah, but does it travel through physical space, or does it actually warp through the time-space continuum? If it's the first, then the first launch would be like a Tsar going off.

Technically both, and neither. The relative velocity and acceleration of the ship remains constant, its space itself that is moving.

The potential downside is that when the thing actually stops moving, according to calculations, a massive burst of energy is released in outward directions, particularly in front of the vehicle's path. It shouldn't harm the ship itself, but if we cannot find a way to offset this, a careless pilot could blow his destination to smithereens.

Sounds like a glorified planet cracker. But yeah, that sounds waaaaay beyond our current capacity to power up, let alone test and make usable. Excuse me while I have my doubts.

 

[Evilpigeon]

On the condition that it is possible for us to create artificial intelligences that are more intelligent than we are then the sky is the limit.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Just a point to anyone who thinks we may have achieved FTL travel by now - we wouldnt, for the simple fact that anything with a mass cannot achieve it.
We can come very close (in theory) but it is impossible - as you approach the speed of light you begin to contract. The closer you get the light speed, the more you contract, to the point where, when you reached light speed, you would have exactly 0 length. This essentially means you would not be made of matter if you reached light speed, and that, if we reverse it, nothing with a mass (ie, all matter in the universe) can reach light speed.
sorry to burst your bubbles.

on a slightly more positive note though, instantaneous travel (like tardis materialisation) is theoratically possible, as it requires no velocity at all. the problems lie around the issue of working out how the hell it might work

Er, doesn't quite work that way, you still have length from your PoV, you just look like you don't from someone else's. Mass increase is going to be an issue, though.

And, saying that instantaneous travel is theoretically possible in that until you define anything about it you can't say which, if any, laws it is breaking is pushing it a bit.

 

[The_Waspman]

Actually, humanity as a whole would stagnate even further. The majority of our technological develoment comes from warfare. Or, let us be somewhat kinder and say that it comes from adversity.

With no adversity we'd all just kick back and not get anything done.

 

[Jfswift]

Humanity's limit is 99 OH HO HO. Little Dark Souls reference there.

On topic though if we can't achieve FTL speed then our space exploration-options are pretty limited I think. But I bet it's possible. Although Earth has served us well so far so I just hope that there aren't any nuclear winters in our future. I'd rather patrol the Mojave than endure one of those.

*Darkhands you* >:3 (nice fallout ref btw )

As far as space travel is concerned, I think we'd see an increase in the use of long range drones and possibly a trip to mars, although it'd likely be a one way flight and aside from bragging rights I'm not sure why anyone would want to go there.

I can see improved energy, irrigation and medical technology though if everyone were cooperating. These things are definitely possible during peacetime with lowered military spending.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I dunno about colonizing space, that's hard to do with modern tech, but eventually we could. We could certainly end world hunger and probably have essentially unlimited energy through fusion earlier. I'm not sure if the quality of life would rise or fall though, as there would need to be a redistribution of resources to end conflict. The possibilities for what we could do are certainly interesting though.