5 Things You Would Do With The Earth If You Could

[Beleth]

If you could change up to five physical, chemical, or biological things ("hard science" things, not "soft science" stuff like politics or economics) about anything you wanted to on Earth, what would you change?

I'll start with one.

1) Make the human fertility rate a little more dependent on the nutritional health of the parents. I don't want to kill anyone off, I just want to make it so that the people who don't eat well don't make babies who don't eat well either.

[c4ts]

I'd turn my urine into gasoline.

[Andonyx]

I would have removed many of the enzymes that make Beef a digestible food.

Less beef in western diets would have severely descreased our average height.

A twelve inch lower average height would reduce fluid and caloric consumption by about %40.

[triadboy]

Originally posted by Andonyx
A twelve inch lower average height would reduce fluid and caloric consumption by about %40.

But then urinals would be unmanagable

[c4ts]

Originally posted by triadboy


But then urinals would be unmanagable

And then how would we harvest our gasoline?

[jayrev]

Originally posted by c4ts
I'd turn my urine into gasoline.


OUCH! I'd rather pay 5 bucks a gallon than pee gasoline.

[c4ts]

Originally posted by jayrev



OUCH! I'd rather pay 5 bucks a gallon than pee gasoline.

If your body were adapted to handle gasoline in your bowels then you probably wouldn't feel it on the way out.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by c4ts
I'd turn my urine into gasoline.

Say goodbye to the days where you could piss out a campfire...

[Yahweh]

If I could do one thing, I'd vaporize the moon.

The effects of being moonless would be so catastrophic, nearly all life on earth will be extinguished.

(Just let me dream, alright...)

[neutrino_cannon]

I would add a smattering of high density more moons nearer the earth. That would make it easier to get into higher orbits and escape Earth's gravity by means of gravity assists from these moons. Furthermore, it would add some close real estate that's too precious to ignore (lots of metals there since they're dense) and to hostile to fight on.

Then I'd reestablish populations of all species to go extinct since the begining of the pleistocene, and make whatever alterations to the ecosystem would be needed to sustain them.

After that, I'd increase the strength of Earth's magnetic field, thus keeping more radiation from hitting the moons.

I'm hoping that would encourage movement into space, leaving a pristine earth behind.

[epepke]

More fjords.

I may be old-fashioned, but I think they give a lovely kind of Baroque feeling to a planet.

[triadboy]

"Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun."

- Montgomery Burns

[The Don]

Originally posted by c4ts


If your body were adapted to handle gasoline in your bowels then you probably wouldn't feel it on the way out.

Pee, bowels ??? Any-hoo

If gasoline were present in the bowel I suspect fewer people would smoke :D

[El Greco]

This world is so cynic that if we would pee gasoline then the cars would need urine to move.

[LuxFerum]

Originally posted by El Greco
This world is so cynic that if we would pee gasoline then the cars would need urine to move.
lol:roll:

[Graham]

Originally posted by Beleth

1) Make the human fertility rate a little more dependent on the nutritional health of the parents. I don't want to kill anyone off, I just want to make it so that the people who don't eat well don't make babies who don't eat well either.

So because they haven't got enough to eat you want to make sure they can't have children either?

I understand your reasoning but why do you think you are entitled to make that decision on their behalf?

Graham

[Matabiri]

Originally posted by Beleth
1) Make the human fertility rate a little more dependent on the nutritional health of the parents. I don't want to kill anyone off, I just want to make it so that the people who don't eat well don't make babies who don't eat well either.

Or make them compete in The Games* to earn a license to bear children (in this case, a decent diet and some curtains).

I would bump down the Planck constant, so that people could walk through walls (probably, if they ran at them). This would not only be cool, but would be very funny to watch whenever it didn't work.

*Insert own choice of games.

[Upchurch]

Heck, get rid of the humans altogether. They've just been mucking up the place anyway...

;)

[Ladewig]

I'd send a small, but noticeable, meteor into a deserted area with hopes of motivating countries to spend more money to respond to larger ones.

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Graham


So because they haven't got enough to eat you want to make sure they can't have children either?

I understand your reasoning but why do you think you are entitled to make that decision on their behalf?

Graham

Did I miss where Beleth asked:

" For those of you who feel you are entitled to play God ?.. "


Is there anything you would change? Or would you rather avoid the question pending your beatification?

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Beleth
If you could change up to five physical, chemical, or biological things ("hard science" things, not "soft science" stuff like politics or economics) about anything you wanted to on Earth, what would you change?

I'll start with one.

1) Make the human fertility rate a little more dependent on the nutritional health of the parents. I don't want to kill anyone off, I just want to make it so that the people who don't eat well don't make babies who don't eat well either.

Isn't this already in place to some extent?

Don't malnourished women tend to have problems bringing healthy babies to full term? Don't they also have problems with their menstrual cyle?

Of, course in developed countries we circumvent some of these natural population control measures with natal care facilities, as opposed to leaving premies by the side of the road..

[Graham]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Did I miss where Beleth asked:

" For those of you who feel you are entitled to play God ?.. "


Is there anything you would change? Or would you rather avoid the question pending your beatification?

What's your problem? Beleth said what he wanted to do and I asked him why he thought he would be entitled to do that?

Is there soemthing wrong with that question?

Incidentally, "beatification" would make me a saint, not a god. Try deification, maybe.

Graham

[Keneke]

I'd make the biosphere a lot more durable. (which of course we can do the opposite side of the coin by making our impact lighter.)

I'd create an afterlife. I tend to enjoy consciousness and will have a hard time getting rid of it when the time comes.

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Graham


What's your problem? Beleth said what he wanted to do and I asked him why he thought he would be entitled to do that?

Is there soemthing wrong with that question?

Incidentally, "beatification" would make me a saint, not a god. Try deification, maybe.

Graham

Just curious why you inferred Beleth thought he was entitled?


Yes I understand the difference between beatification and deification.. You brought up entitlement. Empowerment was assumed in the topic...

[Graham]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Just curious why you inferred Beleth thought he was entitled?

He said that he would do it if he could do it - that indicates to me that he thinks he would be entitled to do it.



Yes I understand the difference between beatification and deification.. You brought up entitlement. Empowerment was assumed in the topic...

These two statements appear to be unconnected.

What's your point?

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Graham
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Diogenes

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes I understand the difference between beatification and deification.. You brought up entitlement. Empowerment was assumed in the topic...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These two statements appear to be unconnected.

What's your point?

You suggested I should have used the word ' deification ' instead of ' beatification '.. I attempted to explain why I didn't..


I wonder if this ( my comments ) is as obtuse to anyone else? Beleth? If so, I will conclude my presentation is in error..

[Matabiri]

Originally posted by Diogenes


You suggested I should have used the word ' deification ' instead of ' beatification '.. I attempted to explain why I didn't..


I think you missed a perfect opportunity to use "apotheosis".

[calladus]

Originally posted by Beleth
1) Make the human fertility rate a little more dependent on the nutritional health of the parents. I don't want to kill anyone off, I just want to make it so that the people who don't eat well don't make babies who don't eat well either.

Naahh

I would just give humans the same ability that rabbits have - their bodies could re-absorb a fetus if needed. I would go a step further by making this ability controllable by a deliberate act of will of the mother.

I would also move the Earth, and the rest of the solar system to a more crowded neighborhood - something where we could actually get to another star system and back within a person's lifetime.

[Beleth]

Originally posted by Graham
So because they haven't got enough to eat you want to make sure they can't have children either?That's half of it, yes. I'd also apply it to people that eat too much.

I understand your reasoning but why do you think you are entitled to make that decision on their behalf?I am making no decisions on anyone's behalf. Not that they aren't making under the current biological conditions, anyway. It is currently true that to have kids, you have to eat foods that have a certain amount of nutritional value. I would just raise that minimum value, and lower the maximum value.

[Beleth]

Originally posted by Diogenes
I wonder if this ( my comments ) is as obtuse to anyone else? Beleth? If so, I will conclude my presentation is in error.. Don't ask me, I had too much sake at lunch today.

This was supposed to be a thought experiment, not a semantics war, dangit.

[Dorian Gray]

I would make large quantities of resources present in all nations, move Antarctica into the South Pacific and tilt Canada more into the North Pacific, geographically separate Israel from the Middle East, give grains the tenacity of weeds with resistance to insects, and one more.

[sorgoth]

I would make humans 50% smaller, make light a trillion times faster (We still wouldn't go faster than light, but that'd be plenty), make respawn points, ...hell, I'd probably just create a new planet.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by sorgoth
make light a trillion times faster
Radioactive decay is directly proportional to the speed of light, I guess you want to melt the Earth... COOL!

[wayrad]

I think I wouldn't mess with anything until I figured out how it all worked. Too risky. :D

[EdipisReks]

i would change the sea levels so that R'lyeh could rise and dread Cthulhu could once again create a reign of chaos upon the earth.

[neutrino_cannon]

Originally posted by wayrad
I think I wouldn't mess with anything until I figured out how it all worked. Too risky. :D

Hey, you're God! Be reckless, be crazy. That's what "edit, undo" is for.

Better figure it out in five tries though.

[calladus]

Originally posted by neutrino_cannon
Hey, you're God! Be reckless, be crazy. That's what "edit, undo" is for.


Oh great! God as a computer geek!

"Let there be Jolt Cola and Strong Coffee!"

I guess it wouldn't be too bad as an omnipotent computer geek - instead of picking up chicks, you could just create 'em.

[plindboe]

1.Plants should be able to grow without water. That would take care of world hunger.

2.Then I'd remove some aggression from human nature.

3.After the body consist of a certain percentage of body fat, it should stop storing any more fat.

4.I'd remove the need to believe in irrational things from human nature as well.

5.No diseases. :p