Pandemics - Can there be one disease to kill us all?
- Thread starter Venetia
- Start date
I wanted to bring up the part about "I Am Legend". :down:
I have to admit though, I actually do think those people in underground labs will try to cure a disease, but that cure instead would turn us into mindless zombies or worse. So I think it's almost certain that human kind one day will face extinction, but somehow we manage to survive and we live on. What has actually ever stopped human beings from existing, nothing! Basically no matter what is thrown at humans there will always be survivors, the fortunate ones who are lucky and manages to survive and are probably immune.
I have to admit though, I actually do think those people in underground labs will try to cure a disease, but that cure instead would turn us into mindless zombies or worse. So I think it's almost certain that human kind one day will face extinction, but somehow we manage to survive and we live on. What has actually ever stopped human beings from existing, nothing! Basically no matter what is thrown at humans there will always be survivors, the fortunate ones who are lucky and manages to survive and are probably immune.
Ok I got a warning saying this is old but hey I just wanted to share something. I'm not saying there will be a pandemic to wipe us out and I'm not saying that it can't happen. Who has ever washed their hands with anti-bacterial soap, or ever had anti-biotics, virusus have a tendincy to strive to survive and if we are continually building up our deffences against these then their just going to get even stronger to survive untill they get so strong that they will inevidable kill us off, but hey you never know maby one day we will kill off all virals and the earth will be a sterile environment, I highly highly doubt it but hey you just never know.
sixtyandaquarter
Member
I absolutely love a certain chain of logic...
by protecting ourselves we spawn stronger diseases that will kill us, because eventually evidently we just suddenly stop protecting ourselves. I mean, it's not like Polio 2.0 will come along and we'll just stop, roll over. Not like we won't use anti bacterial soap 2.0, and Super Polio Vaccination 3.5 or nothing. We continue protecting ourselves simply until something comes and kills us - we just stopped?
by protecting ourselves we spawn stronger diseases that will kill us, because eventually evidently we just suddenly stop protecting ourselves. I mean, it's not like Polio 2.0 will come along and we'll just stop, roll over. Not like we won't use anti bacterial soap 2.0, and Super Polio Vaccination 3.5 or nothing. We continue protecting ourselves simply until something comes and kills us - we just stopped?
God I remember reading the Stand- from what I remember the ending seemed really shitty, or might just have been my age at the time w/e.
Just reading back through the topic, I notice that Ygg (who seems to be an angry person it seems) keeps repeating "the black death only killed 3/4 of EUROPEANS" which, by his logic, prevents anything ever arising again. The fact is, the Black Death was not always fatal, which meant it could not wipe us out. There are other diseases, though, which will ALWAYS kill. More than this, modern transport and globalisation means that an outbreak in one place in the world nigh on guarantees it will appear at least once in each part of the world. Look at SARs - that broke out in South America, France, South Africa, even with all the embargos in place.
I expect there will not be a single pandemic, but a cluster effect. A major disease will hit the world which is extremely contagious and airborne and everyone will eventually get it. Do they all die? Well with one that strong, its highly possible, however such a powerful disease needn't kill you- the effect that would have would weaken you to a point where anything else would kill you.
Think AIDs and you have the idea. So, for future reference, we don't want to go fucking any highly contagious monkeys as we may end up with a new mutation.
Just reading back through the topic, I notice that Ygg (who seems to be an angry person it seems) keeps repeating "the black death only killed 3/4 of EUROPEANS" which, by his logic, prevents anything ever arising again. The fact is, the Black Death was not always fatal, which meant it could not wipe us out. There are other diseases, though, which will ALWAYS kill. More than this, modern transport and globalisation means that an outbreak in one place in the world nigh on guarantees it will appear at least once in each part of the world. Look at SARs - that broke out in South America, France, South Africa, even with all the embargos in place.
I expect there will not be a single pandemic, but a cluster effect. A major disease will hit the world which is extremely contagious and airborne and everyone will eventually get it. Do they all die? Well with one that strong, its highly possible, however such a powerful disease needn't kill you- the effect that would have would weaken you to a point where anything else would kill you.
Think AIDs and you have the idea. So, for future reference, we don't want to go fucking any highly contagious monkeys as we may end up with a new mutation.
sixtyandaquarter
Member
That's like my thinking involving humans dying out from illness.
A handful of diseases that target the immune system, and everything else killing you.
I can't see one disease though. Hell for all the love of environmentalist screaming against bringing rats from other countries into new environments, even the Dodo - the greatest example for some in some way - didn't die off simply because of one illness.
Small groups can die.
Large groups can be hindered.
Globally it takes much, much more.
A handful of diseases that target the immune system, and everything else killing you.
I can't see one disease though. Hell for all the love of environmentalist screaming against bringing rats from other countries into new environments, even the Dodo - the greatest example for some in some way - didn't die off simply because of one illness.
Small groups can die.
Large groups can be hindered.
Globally it takes much, much more.
American Hero
Member