Futurists Weigh In on What Our World Might Look Like in 500 Years

Barring any significant scientific advancements, none of us alive today are going to be around in 500 years. That doesn’t mean we can’t harbor some curiosity about whether or not our planet will look the same for our descendents, or different?

If it’s going to look different, how will it look different? It can be a crazy thing to consider, and not just from a technology point of view, either.

Image Credit: Pexels

500 years ago, after all, the world barely resembles the one we see all around us today. It was in the midst of a small Ice Age, and a period of vast European exploration and discovery.

When looking ahead several centuries, it’s hard to say for sure, largely because we remain unsure how the relationship between humans and the natural world is going to develop. We’ve been leaving our mark on the Earth since the Neolithic Age, manipulating the evolution of domestic plants and animal species, transforming the landscape, and of course, burning fossil fuels to our heart’s consent.

We’ve altered the planet’s climate, which continues to change and affect everything around us. Carbon dioxide levels are up to 412 parts per million as of the end of 2019, and global temperatures and sea levels are also on the rise.

Our planet is warming, and scientists have been warning for decades that natural disasters, food shortages, and other catastrophic events will eventually lead to social unrest, mass migration, and increased conflict.

Will the 26th century humans be dealing with the fallout of our lack of action? Or will they be looking back and thanking us for changing course while there was still time?

Image Credit: Pexels

Technology will surely continue to advance, and theoretical physicist Michio Kaku predicts that, by then, humans will be a civilization that’s learned to harness the entire sum of a planet’s energy. That means they would be able to use any clean energy technology we’ve imagined, and probably some that we haven’t.

Other theoretical futurists disagree, citing political and economic forces being likely to thwart any real steps toward progress.

Machine learning will be AMAZING, though. Stephen Hawking weighed in, proposing that by the year 2600, we would be publishing theoretical physics papers every 10 seconds. Moore’s Law says computer speed and complexity double every 18 months, so some of this work would surely be done by machines, without assistance.

Chew on that for a minute.

Other ideas include the average human lifespan stretching to 140 years, and that the digital storage of human personalities will let humans achieve a sort of immortality. We’ll be farming oceans, traveling in starships, and living on the moon and on Mars while robots take on the great frontiers.

Image Credit: Pexels

If any or all of that sounds pretty cool to you, I suggest you start calling your representatives today and pushing for action on climate change.

Otherwise we’re just going to be fighting over land and food instead of living on Mars.

And you’ve gotta agree that one of those things sounds way cooler than the other.

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This is Why We See Such Beautiful Colors in the Fall

Fall is such a great time of year. It’s a time of transition from summer to winter, and nothing quite embodies that transition like the changing colors of the leaves.

According to an Iroquois Native American legend, the leaves change colors in the winter because a group of young hunters slew the Great Bear, and its blood turned the leaves red.

While a vivid illustration, there’s actually a much simpler and less gory explanation for why the leaves change colors in the fall.

Image Credit: Unsplash

Do you remember learning about photosynthesis in school? If not, let’s do a quick refresher.

Photosynthesis is the process of plants converting carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into energy. Photosynthesis cannot happen without chlorophyll.

According to Gardening Know How,

“chlorophyll, which resides in the chloroplasts of plants, is the green pigment that is necessary in order for plants to convert carbon dioxide and water, using sunlight, into oxygen and glucose.”

So, does that mean the leaves turn shades of yellow, orange, and red because the plants are running out of chlorophyll?

Well… yes and no.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Chlorophyll isn’t the only pigment present in leaves, even when they looks green. Pigments carotene and xanthophyll are also present, although we can’t see them.

In the fall, when the days are shorter and colder, and the air is dryer, there isn’t as much sunlight for the leaves of the trees to absorb.

Without sunlight, those leaves can’t convert carbon dioxide and water into energy, so they stop their food making process.

The chlorophyll in the leaf breaks down, revealing the other beautiful pigments that were always there.

Image Credit: Unsplash

Have you ever wondered why the leaves fall as they change color?

This happens because as the days get shorter and colder, each leaf grows a layer of cells that seal it off from the tree.

The tree keeps living, and the leaf detaches and decomposes, so that a new leaf can grow in the spring.

While carotene pigments give rise to orange leaves, xanthophyll pigments give us those beautiful yellow leaves like you might see on a Big-leaf Maple.

Image Credit: Unsplash

Some leaves, like those of most oak trees, will simply turn brown. Red or reddish-purple leaves will have various mixtures of anthocyanin pigments residing within them.

Some years you might see more vivid red leaves. This is because weather plays a role in determining how much anthocyanin pigment can be found in certain leaves.

Sunny days mixed with low evening temperatures, above freezing, generally lead to more anthocyanin production in trees like maples.

With the sun shining, the leaf can produce energy, but the cool evenings cause the tree to absorb as much sugar and nutrients from the leaf as possible.

The result is a higher amount of anthocyanin pigments.

Image Credit: Unsplash

Isn’t science cool?

Hopefully, the next time you take an autumn stroll through the park or in the woods, you’ll remember how the colors of fall come to be, and appreciate them all the more.

Personally, I love a maple full of yellow leaves.

What do you think is the most beautiful type of tree in the fall? Let us know in the comments!

The post This is Why We See Such Beautiful Colors in the Fall appeared first on UberFacts.

Fascinating Facts That’ll Make You Think

Ready to put your thinking cap on?

I know I sure am!

In that case, we’re happy to present you with another set of great facts that will stimulate your brain and make you ponder all kinds of facets of life.

What else could you ask for, really?!?!

Are you ready to get your learnin’ on?

Let’s do it together!

1. Let’s see how rich you are…

Let me see your pineapple, sir.

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2. It happens to even the most famous people.

All throughout history…

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3. This makes a lot of sense.

Kids need their fathers.

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4. Monkeys using money.

They’re pretty sharp, aren’t they?

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5. Well, that’s a relief.

Forgetfulness is okay!

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6. Mind your business.

He was a smart man.

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7. This guy! Right here!

I’m very thankful for this invention.

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8. Is this obscene?

No, but this is hilarious.

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9. I did not know that!

Very interesting stuff!

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10. An offer he couldn’t refuse.

That sounds like a very loud cat!

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Now we want to hear from you.

Have you seen any really interesting facts or articles lately?

If so, please share them with us in the comments.

Thanks in advance!

The post Fascinating Facts That’ll Make You Think appeared first on UberFacts.

Facts We Think You Will Find Very Interesting

I sound like a broken record, but we think it’s really important to keep showering you with quality facts because you always need to keep learning!

You shouldn’t stop being curious about the world after high school, or after college, or after age 40. I know people who are in their 70s who love to read about new subjects because they know how rewarding it is to be a lifelong learner.

So in the spirit of always learning, here are 10 facts that we think you will find incredibly interesting.

Enjoy!

1. Remember Total Recall?

That does not sound like fun…

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2. Stop tailgating!

Drives me insane.

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3. Loudest sound of all time.

And here I thought it was my mother-in-law’s voice! Hey o!

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4. This is so weird.

And also fascinating!

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5. The flu shell.

Ugh. I’m sick of all viruses…

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6. Very interesting…

What do you think?

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7. That is wild!

Isn’t nature just great?

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8. A fungus among us.

That is ENORMOUS. Wow!

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9. Take a look at your Chuck Taylors.

I didn’t know that!

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10. I love this!

Cheech and Chong for President and Vice President! Think it might happen…?

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Now we’d like to hear from you!

In the comments, please tell us about something really interesting that you’ve learned recently.

Share a link, a photo, or just tell us about it.

Thanks in advance!

The post Facts We Think You Will Find Very Interesting appeared first on UberFacts.

Great Facts That We Think Will Impress You

It takes a lot to impress people with all the information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis.

But our fact sets have gained a reputation as solid, interesting, and dependable because we do our best to cultivate the most interesting things out there.

We love to give you the good stuff!

And here’s another set of facts that we’re confident will impress you mightily.

Enjoy these 10 facts and feel free to share them with your family and friends!

1. That’s why they’re called that?

Did you know that?

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2. Join the club, Mr. Jefferson.

So many people have this fear.

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3. Meteor town.

This is really cool.

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4. Never been one case.

Light it up and puff, puff, pass!

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5. This makes sense.

Does this fact describe YOU?

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6. Flatter than a pancake.

It’s true! Here’s the proof!

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7. A total accident.

Thankful for this mistake.

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8. They were this close.

Imagine what the world would be like.

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9. Ancient warnings.

Going back centuries.

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10. Another reason to like them!

They really are great dogs!

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Color me impressed!

Okay, now we want to hear from all the readers out there.

In the comments, please share something that you’ve seen or learned lately that has impressed you.

It could be a fact, an article, a story, etc.

Thanks in advance!

The post Great Facts That We Think Will Impress You appeared first on UberFacts.

People Offer Theories About How They Believe Humans Will Become Extinct

It’s very unpleasant to think about death, extinction, or the world coming to an end, but I will say that it definitely makes for some good conversation.

Will it be a nuclear war? A plague? An asteroid that hits Earth and wipes us all out?

It could be any number of things…

Here’s what people on AskReddit had to say…

1. A scary thought.

“I have a feeling we’re eventually headed towards nuclear fallout or chemical destruction.

I believe it is inevitably China Vs the United States (and allies like Australia).

I also believe Putin is sitting back with the popcorn at the moment.”

2. Sickness spreads…

“I think it will be a pandemic, much like we are having now, only more lethal.

I’ve heard several people say that COVID isn’t the big one, but it’s going to expose how unprepared the world is for the big one.”

3. Poetic justice.

“Because the majority of the population choose to believe oil CEOs with everything to lose instead of scientists with no reason to lie.

Pretty fitting way to go honestly, I hope the climate change deniers keep on denying it up til the very end, that’d be poetic justice for humanity.”

4. Inching closer to it.

“Depletion of resources, destruction of the environment, and the wars that will result from those things.

I don’t think humanity will ever get to a sci-fi future where we’re exploring the stars and colonizing other planets. The resources on this planet are very finite and they will not last thousands of years at the rate we’re using them. Even 10,000 years is less than a blink of an eye on a cosmic scale.

I think the next 100, maybe 200 years are going to be the peak for our civilization. As the critical resources necessary for technological advancements dry up and environmental destruction creates refugees/migration/starvation on a global scale, we’ll basically destroy ourselves in the resulting wars.

We might not actually go extinct until many millennia after that, but civilization as we know it will be over.”

5. All kinds of calamities.

“Absolutely we will go extinct.

Rising temperatures will eventually push many places around the earth to be uninhabitable. Combine that with the decreased ability to grow grains at scale needed to sustain the over-bloated human population, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Eventually large wars will break out over the very scarce resources that the earth is able to provide.

It’s called loss of habitat due to resource exhaustion. Many species experience it and it leads to their extinction, and humans are just another species.”

6. Poisoning ourselves.

“Pollution.

Especially the hormone disruptive ones. They won’t kill us instantly, but each generation will be more affected by them than the last, making it harder and harder to reproduce.

Might not happen this century or even the next few centuries, as there’s still plenty of people to reproduce, even at a lower rate. But it’s already affecting people , and the problem will worsen generation by generation.”

7. A simple act.

“Through some act of stupidity in all honesty.

With all the dangerous diseases and viruses various governments all over the world are experimenting with at any given moment, all it takes is one screw up to have some catastrophic results

And the current pandemic has shown that the general population is either unable or unwilling to respond to a disease or virus of significance.”

8. The crazies.

“Most likely nuclear war or some other form of military action.

Mutual assured destruction only applies to people who are afraid to die.

Once the crazies figure out how to build something extremely destructive, they will set of a chain of events that can’t be undone.”

9. Stupidity.

“Our own stupidity (in America anyway).

Too many think covid-19 is a hoax by (all?) The government(s) to remove our freedoms….the whole world is going through this, idiots, not just one country.

America’s President didn’t get with all the leaders of the world and convince them to shut down absolutely everything worldwide just to take American freedoms.

But yes, some of our rights are being trodden on, I’m not saying its not happening, but it’s a side effect, not the cause.”

10. Hell hole.

“Overpopulation, honestly.

The insane amount of people will outnumber the amount of food the earth can produce and it will become a hell hole.”

11. Keep an eye on it.

“Let’s watch out for South Korea.

They made a study and it says Korean people will be extinct in 300 years because newer generations ditch marriage and having a family.”

12. Scary scenarios.

“We will either kill ourselves in war or burn out the Earth’s resources and cause such heavy global warming and pollution that life at our level cannot physically survive anymore.

Slowly, people will be unable to successfully raise children until we all filter out.”

13. Could happen…

“Unpopular opinion: I don’t think it‘s gonna be our fault.

More something like a comet hitting us, the sun exploding or something like that.”

14. Uh oh…

“Genetic manipulation will become popular in the future and we accidentally or purposefully create a new species that is better than humans.

I expect it will be a human that makes the modification to themselves to create the new species.”

15. The end of days.

“It will probably not be war because we are to smart for that so maybe something from space like a huge meteor or the sun turning into a red giant if we are still on this planet in the next billions of years.”

Well, that was certainly uplifting!

How about you?

In the comments, tell us how you think human beings will become extinct.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The post People Offer Theories About How They Believe Humans Will Become Extinct appeared first on UberFacts.

People Talk About How Humans Will Become Extinct

It’s kind of scary, but you’ve probably considered it at one point or another.

How will human beings become extinct?

What will be the final catalyst that wipes us off the planet for good?

Are you ready to do a little thinking about our existence?

Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say about it.

1. Oh, boy…

“A highly contagious virus designed to make its host infertile without presenting any other symptoms escapes from a lab and infects everyone.”

2. A hot take.

“As a long term optimist, my favorite is evolution.

As we expand out into space through the eons eventually we diverge and evolve into new species, and what we consider human is extinct.

You can also view AI as a version of evolution and count that as well, but I personally think we can coexist with an AI we create.”

3. WAR.

“It’s got to be war.

We literally have a weapon that can wipe out an entire country, now multiply the amount of that weapon by thousands.

One day countries and leaders will face a breaking point through clashing ideologies and before we even knew it, we already fucked ourselves over.”

4. Irreparable damage.

“By irreparably damaging our biosphere.

Takes a biosphere to evolve and sustain a complex living organism like us, destroy that and we probably won’t last long.”

5. That’s not pleasant.

“Slow and painful.

Slowly losing clean water until we’re a desert planet and we die.”

6. That’s not good.

“I’d say we’ll either kill each other for resources due to overpopulation or (which by now I think is more likely) a pandemic worse than the coronavirus will collapse health and economic systems throughout the world which will lead to supply shortages then maybe to war.”

7. Something to think about…

“Humans will biologically die out. I think at we could maybe reach a point where sentimental value of being a human is slowly gone in favour of something else, like being a machine, uploading consciousness.

We may be our real selves but digital, or just a program with personality effectively killing the host and stealing their memory, while retaining their information, soulless.

Either way, it won’t be human.”

8. Human error.

“I think we will make a mistake. Something like, we send the majority of the population to another planet, but they crash. Or, we couldn’t get to another planet in time.

Humans make mistakes. It’s about time we make a big one.”

9. Or maybe a machine?

“It could even be machine error. In 1983, at the height of the Cold War (during Reagan’s era), the USSR detected multiple incoming ICBM missiles allegedly launched by the US.

Turns out the system mistook a particular alignment of sunlight for nukes. Had it not been for Stanislav Petrov, a USSR officer who decided against retaliation despite all evidence pointing towards an attack, we would have had full blown nuclear war and humanity may very well be extinct today.”

10. This is scary.

“Honestly, a massive asteroid. (I’m talking miles in diameter).

I mean nuclear war is devastating but just think about the colossal amount of energy released during such an impact event (billions of nukes).

The worst part? There’s pretty much nothing we can do about it with our current technology.”

11. Our fault.

“We’ll probably damage the environment to a point where we can no longer live in it.

In the last 100 years we’ve been burning through Earth’s resources like we have another planet to move to.”

12. Two theories.

“Two likely options:

Climate collapse.

Might not be the direct cause of human extinction, but it would certainly prompt a lot of candidates for human extinction.

Nations going to war with each other as their land goes underwater or becomes otherwise uninhabitable, wars over the last remaining resources, increased temperatures across the globe result in more heatstroke deaths and tropical diseases spreading across the globe.

In that scenario, either nuclear war or uncontrolled disease kills us all.

Massive collapse of technology.

A coronal mass ejection cripples all technology on Earth- life support systems, planes, power plants, anything more complex than a radio is rendered unusable. Within hours, millions are dead. As supply chains collapse across the globe, famine becomes a part of life for many.

With today’s level of dependence on technology, it would knock us back to being an agrarian species. And the more technologically advanced we get, the worse a coronal mass ejection becomes.

Imagine a time when most humans have complex cybernetics- a coronal mass ejection would literally kill billions as their body’s electronic components failed. It would deal us a blow we could never recover from.”

13. As simple as that.

“Stupidity.

Or I should say the rapidly increasing gulf between common and academic knowledge.

Science is moving faster than the average person’s intellect because we have coddled being fucking morons for decades now.

Look at how Covid has been handled in the scientific vs. common communities and imagine that level of dissonance in an even greater threat.”

14. I’m sorry I’ll miss this.

“An asteroid composed of dinosaurs will crash into the Earth and they’ll eat us all.”

People sure are creative, aren’t they?

Okay, now we want to hear from you!

If you had to guess, how do you think human beings will become extinct?

Let us know in the comments!

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