it's interesting about the Anasazi, what drove them to extinction?

The preferred name is Puebloan, and they did not die out, but migrated away.  Their descendants are still around today.  They were the people that built the amazing cliff dwellings throughout the American southwest, including Mesa Verde in Colorado.  I visited Mesa Verde a few years ago and it's a spectacular site:




They were clearly an advanced civilization with a very large network of communities, cliff dwellings for defense, and agricultural development of the flat mesa tops above them.  Not all of them lived in cliff dwellings, though they're certainly the most stunning and well preserved buildings that they made.

What caused the decline and abandonment of these sites?  It's still debated, but may have involved conflict and drought through the late 13th century.

I visited Mesa Verde a few years ago and it's a spectacular site:

How I envy you...

What caused the decline and abandonment of these sites?  It's still debated, but may have involved conflict and drought through the late 13th century.

Heh, conspiracy theorists would have you believe that aliens sucked them up with their ships or somesuch tripe.

Although it would be unfair and biased of us to compare this culture to that of Europeans, I wonder if they might have evolved sociologically similar to their Old World contemporaries if they had survived longer. Like their southern relatives, the Aztec, Mayan and Incas, could they have formed empires reminiscent of those in Old World Bronze Age or Iron Age? Their history and set-up very much reminds me of pre-Classical kingdoms around the Mediterranean Sea and in Eastern Europe. They seemed more advanced in things like social engineering, urbanization planning, medicine and agriculture, but lacking in advanced metallurgy.

Their cities also remind me of the Derinkuyu underground city in Turkey, dating back to 8th century BCE:

The Mayans may also have died out from a drier climate and persistent La Nina pattern that occurred back then.

And WAT, you go to the BEST places!  I want to see that site one day!

I've been heavily influenced by Asimov's Foundation series (and he was by the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire) in that I feel that any and all civilizations/societies, just like individual humans, have a limited lifespan.  Not only is it inevitable it might actually be a good thing.  The longer it exists the more it decays and becomes decadent and corrupt (we might be seeing this now).  Perhaps instead of trying to bandage a system and society that no longer works well and trying to relive our glory years, we should lay the groundwork for a new and better society to replace the old and decaying one.  Revolutions are a natural part of the cycle, but they needn't be violent.  I envision something like what occurred in the Foundation series, establish a colony with highly gifted people who would seed a new accelerated society, and when the time was right, they'd form the beginning of a new and better civilization to replace the old.  Rinse and repeat again  and again.

Rinse and repeat again  and again.

Quite right. It is the highest form of arrogance to think that any given form of human civilization will survive forever, unchanging. Entropy is the way of things, and change is inevitable.  Also, sometimes these cyclic waves of societies can be punctuated by wild cards like natural disasters.

Thank goodness for the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norwegian: Svalbard globale frøhvelv), a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the North Pole. Once humans wipe themselves from Earth the next intelligent species may be vegetarian lol!

Earth the next intelligent species may be vegetarian lol!

Hmm, let me think: Octopi (not vegetarian), Dolphins (not vegetarian)... erm.. Crows? The corvids are omnivorous - so maybe they'll like it .

Or insects, which make up 80% of life here. Well different species that is.

Rinse and repeat again  and again.

Quite right. It is the highest form of arrogance to think that any given form of human civilization will survive forever, unchanging. Entropy is the way of things, and change is inevitable.  Also, sometimes these cyclic waves of societies can be punctuated by wild cards like natural disasters.

Indeed, and instead of being resistant to change, we should learn to manage it (that includes its side effects) and use it to help people empower themselves.

Regarding other forms of intelligence- check out the intelligent microbe article I posted in the science news thread!  They may outlast us all!

As you all know, 2019 is just around the corner. No doubt some of you may also have known that the great god of sci-fi Isaac Asimov made a prediction for the world 35 years ago for The Star newspaper.  In it, he made astute observations involving the increased computerization of our modern world and even the rise of the iGeneration. But like most such predictions made by even the most learned of individuals, some details were hit-and-miss, but overall insightful. Anyway, you can read the original article written by Asimov HERE. 

Also the video made by Issac Arthur in the subject is interesting:


[youtube]-_4xkkIKW2c[/youtube]

Happy new year.

Yessss I read hundreds of his books lol.  He died too soon (was still writing at a frantic rate and about to eclipse the record for being the most prolific author, and also wrote in almost every category of the Dewey decimal system lol.)

[youtube]FOIk4amwptY[/youtube]

Oumuamua again

This link is useless if Haaretz won't allow you to read the article. There is a recent interview with Loeb by Der Spiegel Online which is interesting even though it opens up with the question "Professor Loeb, do you have a favorite alien?"  .

I'm open to the idea of 'Oumuamua being a defunct alien probe, it's neither unscientific or unreasonable. I'll entertain the theories - but we might not know for sure because it's already passed our solar-system.

Oops.  Does this work?: Oumuamua again

Can't read it or view it without an account, no thanks.