Could we manage without technology?

[Male Snorunt]

Originally Posted by Rival Silver

And it would help cut population.

Originally Posted by Masami

Someone who understands, very well done on being win.

Totally in agreement. Humans take up too much of the Earth. (Ebenezer Scrooge FTW.)

But yeah, a whole lot would die. Freezing to death, drought, no way to transport resources, no way to get a lot of the resources, and some would die by just being too damn stupid or weak.

If humans didn't have supreme intelligence, on the other hand, they'd be extinct.

[Ender the Xenocide]

Well, technology is so sophisticated now, that it is nearly impossible for one mind to be able to comprehend all of it. If all technology ceased to work, whether it be a massive EMP blast or simply a horrible natural event, all the minds that designed one thing would have to come together to rebuild whatever it is that was lost. Humans would last without technology, but I would not expect to see our race grow or even stay stable if we did not strive to meet new technological standards.

Let's face it, what do humans all live for? We all live to improve upon something. We all work to design, improvise, and adapt. Ever since the creation of man (through whatever theory you believe), humans have done nothing but improve upon. Don't get me wrong, most humans are stupid no matter what political view or how fancy the word is. Most humans are completely dull, and if it weren't for some random stroke of luck that a pair of genes connected, we would definitely not be around for millions of years. It would be nearly impossible for humans to exist without re-inventing something if it were entirely lost.

I went over this argument four years ago in my freshman year. My PhysApps teacher brought the same exact question up. And one of the more brilliant students brought the notion up of the Bubonic plague and how it would ravage humanity once more. I would like to say to whoever thinks the same thing that that is biologically impossible. Humanity could not possibly be wiped out from the Bubonic plague. As a matter of fact, when it was still widely spread around the world, humans slowly developed their own biological immunity. So, Bubonic plague can be checked off this list.

Overall, it would be impossible for technology to NOT exist within humanity. No matter how much you take away, humans will somehow adapt.

Now, if you think about it, there are two ways to view the human race.
The pessimistic "Humans are a fragile bunch of buffoons" or the more true view, "Humans are essentially an adaptable virus."

It all depends how you look on humanity as a whole.


NOTE: I do not think humanity needs a population cut, I just think we need to stop killing ourselves and expand to another planet damnit.

[Blood Red Lucario]

Well if we are talking about technology as any tool we use or have used then no humanity would never last.

If we can't make fire, spears, fur clothing, and shelter we'd all be dead by winter.

[Ender the Xenocide]

Originally Posted by Blood Red Lucario

Well if we are talking about technology as any tool we use or have used then no humanity would never last.

If we can't make fire, spears, fur clothing, and shelter we'd all be dead by winter.

Not true, early hominids did not use tools and managed to evolve into modern humans.

[Blood Red Lucario]

Originally Posted by Ender the Xenocide

Not true, early hominids did not use tools and managed to evolve into modern humans.

Early hominids also had a lot of adaptations we don't have now(fur, size, etc.). While yes they evolved into us as we got more intelligent we lost a lot of the natural defenses that would have kept us alive without us using our intelligence and tools. Perhaps we would survive in the tropics but hunting and gathering would be difficult because we can't kill things as easily as we normally would have with a spear or some other weapon. There would be little to no farming unless we tilled land by hand.

Our predecessors survived and evolved into beings that are good at making tools so we no longer needed biological advances to survive. If we lose our tools we are probably the most vulnerable species on the planet.

[Lusankya]

Originally Posted by Blood Red Lucario

Early hominids also had a lot of adaptations we don't have now(fur, size, etc.). While yes they evolved into us as we got more intelligent we lost a lot of the natural defenses that would have kept us alive without us using our intelligence and tools. Perhaps we would survive in the tropics but hunting and gathering would be difficult because we can't kill things as easily as we normally would have with a spear or some other weapon. There would be little to no farming unless we tilled land by hand.

Our predecessors survived and evolved into beings that are good at making tools so we no longer needed biological advances to survive. If we lose our tools we are probably the most vulnerable species on the planet.

There are plenty of isolated tribes in South America, Africa, and the Pacific where people still hunt and gather in the same way they have thousands of years ago. Those guys would be perfectly fine of course.

@Ender: I have no doubt humanity as a whole would survive, but a lot of people would die nonetheless.

[Exon Auxus]

Originally Posted by Lusankya

There are plenty of isolated tribes in South America, Africa, and the Pacific where people still hunt and gather in the same way they have thousands of years ago. Those guys would be perfectly fine of course.

@Ender: I have no doubt humanity as a whole would survive, but a lot of people would die nonetheless.

But you completely missed the message of his other post. Even crafting tools, shelters, and hunting weapons count as advancements in technology, and, because we would need these provisions even at our most primitive state, then that means we are dependent on technology. Essentially, to live a life without technology, we could not use any wooden spear, carved weapons, or anything that exists at a higher tech level than what has already naturally occurred. So even those tribes you just mentioned must use some form of technology to survive.

And even then, their life expectancy could, and more than likely has, become greatly diminished because they have lacked the wherewithal to grow (or at least grow faster) in critical fields like medicine. So I wouldn't call that "perfectly fine".

[Lusankya]

Originally Posted by Exon Auxus

But you completely missed the message of his other post. Even crafting tools, shelters, and hunting weapons count as advancements in technology, and, because we would need these provisions even at our most primitive state, then that means we are dependent on technology. Essentially, to live a life without technology, we could not use any wooden spear, carved weapons, or anything that exists at a higher tech level than what has already naturally occurred. So even those tribes you just mentioned must use some form of technology to survive.

And even then, their life expectancy could, and more than likely has, become greatly diminished because they have lacked the wherewithal to grow (or at least grow faster) in critical fields like medicine. So I wouldn't call that "perfectly fine".

OP specifically states lack of electricity, and short of magic I see no way to prevent people from using spears and knives. Seems like a pretty pointless argument. :/

[Exon Auxus]

Originally Posted by Lusankya

OP specifically states lack of electricity, and short of magic I see no way to prevent people from using spears and knives. Seems like a pretty pointless argument. :/

That it does, but the title of the thread uses the term technology, which extends far beyond electrically-operated products. The common misconception is that anything that has anything to do with technology is computerized or uses electrical energy, and that's wrong.

In context, I'm speaking to your reply to Blood Red Lucario, which, in its nebulous and vague glory, says that there still exist primitive groups of humans that survive on relatively low levels of technology. But what needs to be made clear is the fact that they still use it, and simply calling it a pointless argument will never make that fact go away.

[bbecham]

not possible because modern world is just based on new technology in all ways and this will be hard to maintain all economies of world without this. the world will go to disaster..

[Ender the Xenocide]

Originally Posted by bbecham

not possible because modern world is just based on new technology in all ways and this will be hard to maintain all economies of world without this. the world will go to disaster..

I love these dull explanations. No, the world is not based on modern technology. If it was, we would not be walking, we wouldn't have to manually create things by hand (yes, we still create things by hand). I love how much people say the world would end if modern technology fell. Are you really that cynical? Do you really doubt human ingenuity that much? It just shows what you think about yourself.

As I said before, it would be impossible for humans to not have a shred of technology. Humans constantly improve and invent things, and it would be impossible to NOT have simple spears and knives.

[Starkipraggy]

Originally Posted by Ender the Xenocide

I love these dull explanations. No, the world is not based on modern technology. If it was, we would not be walking, we wouldn't have to manually create things by hand (yes, we still create things by hand). I love how much people say the world would end if modern technology fell. Are you really that cynical? Do you really doubt human ingenuity that much? It just shows what you think about yourself.

As I said before, it would be impossible for humans to not have a shred of technology. Humans constantly improve and invent things, and it would be impossible to NOT have simple spears and knives.

Since we're talking theoretically, what if we remove the ability of humans to use technology instead? Will we make it?

[Ender the Xenocide]

Originally Posted by Starkipraggy

Since we're talking theoretically, what if we remove the ability of humans to use technology instead? Will we make it?

That is not the point of the thread. It is not saying we ran out of ways to you use technology, it is just saying that all technology as of now ceases to work. If we ran out of the ability to create technology, we would be humans no longer.

[Lusankya]

Originally Posted by Starkipraggy

Since we're talking theoretically, what if we remove the ability of humans to use technology instead? Will we make it?

Then we are just animals

[Exon Auxus]

Originally Posted by Ender the Xenocide

I love these dull explanations. No, the world is not based on modern technology. If it was, we would not be walking, we wouldn't have to manually create things by hand (yes, we still create things by hand). I love how much people say the world would end if modern technology fell. Are you really that cynical? Do you really doubt human ingenuity that much? It just shows what you think about yourself.

As I said before, it would be impossible for humans to not have a shred of technology. Humans constantly improve and invent things, and it would be impossible to NOT have simple spears and knives.

That's the whole point I've been trying to make. Technology, in essence, is critical to human survival as a whole.

Originally Posted by Lusankya

Then we are just animals

Humans are already animals. :x