Out of Eden: Pre-modern lifestyles were fraught with violence, disease, and uncertainty — we should be happy that indigenous societies are increasingly leaving them behind (and a response). Is "civilization" an idea worth saving? (and more). Half a century ago, the WWF was formed to help save endangered animals; today, it’s human beings who are increasingly at risk, through overpopulation and food scarcity. The Library of Utility: Imagine a library atop a remote mountain that collects the essential information needed to re-learn practical knowledge essential to civilization, the cultural equivalent of the Svalbard seed bank, a vault on the Arctic Circle that holds frozen seeds of crop plants from around the world. From TED, Marcin Jakubowski on open-sourced blueprints for civilization. From h+, an interview with Steve Omohundro on the global brain, existential risks and the future of AGI. From IEET, Sascha Vongehr on global suicide: No Singularity, just evolution of deadly rationality. A review of The Final Summit: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity by Andy Andrews. In case some kind soul hasn't informed you yet, the Rapture is fast approaching; according to Family Radio's Harold Camping, it's scheduled for May 21, 2011 (and more and more and more and more and more). The enduring appeal of the Apocalypse: Why are prophecies of doom so commonplace in human history? The answer lies in the brain's evolution. From Cracked, here are 7 horrible ways the universe can destroy us without warning. A review of Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life On Earth by Curt Stager. What will happen to us? Forecasters tackle the extremely deep future. If alien geologists were to visit our planet 10 million years from now, would they discern a distinct human fingerprint in Earth's accumulating layers of rock and sediment?
