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(Some Guy)   Texas professor who wishes death on 90 percent of the Earth's population would rather be part of the 10 percent left over, so he'd really rather not get any more death threats   (startribune.com) divider line
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1267 clicks; posted to Fandom » on 05 Apr 2006 at 3:46 AM (17 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



50 Comments     (+0 »)
 
Crosshair
2006-04-05 2:24:05 AM  
I don't see anything wrong with his views. Overpopulation is a real problem in some areas and he is simply voicing one possible, though morbid, solution to the problem. It probably isn't the best solution, probably one of the worst ways actualy, but it is still a "solution" to the problem. As long as he doesn't start eating babies, I don't see anything wrong.
 
untrustworthy
2006-04-05 2:30:04 AM  
Crosshair: I don't see anything wrong with his views. Overpopulation is a real problem in some areas and he is simply voicing one possible, though morbid, solution to the problem. It probably isn't the best solution, probably one of the worst ways actualy, but it is still a "solution" to the problem. As long as he doesn't start eating babies, I don't see anything wrong.

[image from home.comcast.net too old to be available]

"Just vike muzik too mye ears."
 
log_jammin
2006-04-05 2:39:07 AM  
but it is still a "solution" to the problem.

So long as its a "final solution".
 
Tenesmus
2006-04-05 2:41:09 AM  
Even scarier is that he got a standing ovation. That says a lot about the Texas Academy of Science ( a group curiously lacking in real scientists...). I hope these asshats aren't getting my tax money for spewing this crap....but they probably are.
 
Confabulat [TotalFark]
2006-04-05 2:43:44 AM  
We could get rid of the condo developers at least. I want my beach back.
 
Denial
2006-04-05 3:00:09 AM  
Wait, so you're saying people disagree that the world is being drawn thin on resources???


Pfffft. Silly talk.

/former UT student
//hook 'em
 
StokeyBob
2006-04-05 3:04:41 AM  
What if it turns out that we need every single one of us to survive the coming days and his lame brained idea would have screwed up any chance we had of making it.
 
SpaceyCat [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2006-04-05 3:25:45 AM  
If the choice between a relatively quick death via Ebola (about a week or two) or prolonged starvation due to lack of resources, give me Ebola. And yes, I'd be right up in front of the line. I'm not planning on breeding, so my genetic material is wasted anyway...
 
Obdicut
2006-04-05 3:31:05 AM  
The Gospel of Thomas

Would you please, please quit submitting these links? You just get your ass kicked in every single one of them. Humiliatingly. It's embarassing to watch.

And, for anyone who doesn't know, his remarks are out of context, yadda yadda, he's not a 12 monkeys kind of weirdo, geez.
 
log_jammin
2006-04-05 3:56:15 AM  
Obdicut
And, for anyone who doesn't know, his remarks are out of context, yadda yadda, he's not a 12 monkeys kind of weirdo, geez.


FTFA

However, Forrest Mims, an amateur scientist, author and chairman of the Texas Academy of Science's environmental science section, told The Associated Press there was no mistaking Pianka's disdain for humans and desire for their elimination in the speech he heard.

"He wishes for it. He hopes for it. He laughs about it. He jokes about it," Mims said. "It's got to happen because we are the scourge of humanity."
 
Bhruic
2006-04-05 4:14:15 AM  
Pfft. What a wuss. I usually go for 95% removal.

Of course, I prefer the 5% who remain to be me and a whole bevy of hot women, but that's a different story.
 
RRoman
2006-04-05 4:45:32 AM  
log_jammin

Mims is a creationist who's taking Pianka's comments out of context in order to snipe at the Evil Dogmatic Establishment(tm). If people like Dembski are repeating these accusations, you know to be skeptical.
More info at the Pandas Thumb:
http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/04/forrest_mims_cr.html
 
log_jammin
2006-04-05 4:55:45 AM  
RRoman


They both sound like nuts to me.
 
Landofmiddlegirth
2006-04-05 5:14:41 AM  
Perhaps he should lead by example and off himself publically.
 
RRoman
2006-04-05 5:15:17 AM  
I never said that I think Pianka's doomsday predictions are sensible :P :)
I'm just a bit peeved at the whole affair (though to be fair I haven't really been following it). It's basically boiled down to this:
1. Scientist makes dommsday-ish prediction that we're using up the planet's resources too fast and probably going to die in a global pandemic.
2. Creationist kook lacking reading comprehension thinks he's advocating this as a good thing to do and flips out.
 
tetzy
2006-04-05 5:38:58 AM  
[image from i2.tinypic.com too old to be available]

Too public?
 
bloobeary [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2006-04-05 5:47:51 AM  
RRoman: 1. Scientist makes dommsday-ish prediction that we're using up the planet's resources too fast and probably going to die in a global pandemic.
2. Creationist kook lacking reading comprehension thinks he's advocating this as a good thing to do and flips out.

I think that bears repeating.

This guy was not calling for some kind of "final solution" - he was giving folks a warning about something bad that could, potentially happen in the future, if things keep going the way they are.
 
gwowen
2006-04-05 7:17:23 AM  
bloobeary : It also bears repeating that this story features a creationist deliberately distorting and lying about factual issues in order to promote his own agenda.

A Creationist, distorting facts to suit his own agenda? Inconceivable.

It's also worth noting that the right-wing bloggers and talk show host who ran with this, and the submitter who submitted it, are moronic ideologues who lack even the slightest ability for critical thinking and reading comprehension.
 
bikkurikun
2006-04-05 7:54:12 AM  
I dont see how anyone can disagree with him? We're a plague to this earth, worse than cockroaches. Just look around you.
 
dfenstrate
2006-04-05 8:06:53 AM  
Remember, Hippies, depopulation starts with the self!
If you think there are too many people, go out in your backyard, spread some tarping out to help with the cleanup, and make out with a twelve gauge. Set the example!
 
ArcadianRefugee
2006-04-05 8:42:41 AM  
Pfft. I've been saying this for years. I'm just not a professor so no one gives a shiat what I say.
 
thisispete
2006-04-05 8:46:20 AM  
I've already seen this episode of Spooks. The professor gets turned by MI5 and helps to bring down the terrorist group inspired by his ideas.
 
dedekind_cut
2006-04-05 8:47:52 AM  
amazingly, I dont find anything wrong with what he is saying. He is not targeting any particular group for death, IE the a-rabs or teh gheys, he is just approaching it from a demographers point of view.

There are some huge problems this world is going to face soon when it comes to food and water, and he just came out and said that the only solution we have is seeing a signifigant number of people die.

I dont agree with him, but it seems like someone has taken a reasonable statement out of context and blown it WAY out of proportion
 
joe90
2006-04-05 9:02:05 AM  
thisispete: I've already seen this episode of Spooks. The professor gets turned by MI5 and helps to bring down the terrorist group inspired by his ideas.

i knew i had seen it before...
 
Armed and Delerious
2006-04-05 9:03:39 AM  
His views intrigue me. I wonder if he has a newsletter.
 
NMuntz
2006-04-05 9:20:28 AM  
I remember when Thomas Malthus put forward this theory in 1798.

/Please allow me to introduce myself,
//I'm a man of wealth and taste.
 
wadek5
2006-04-05 9:28:06 AM  
I'm pretty sure that the overuse of antibacterial soaps and over prescribing of antibiotics will eventually be responsible for the destruction of mankind.

I hope so, anyway, if only for the irony of it.

The most developed nations and their obsession with health and cleanliness will assist nature in weeding out the weaker strains of bacteria until one of the strongest achieves the power to kill us all.
 
fenrael23
2006-04-05 9:33:33 AM  
99.99% population removal is the only way to be certain.
/amateur
 
cameroncrazy1984 [TotalFark]
2006-04-05 10:00:01 AM  
actually, joe90, I liked this better when it was called Rainbow Six and written by Tom Clancy.
 
Rev. Skarekroe
2006-04-05 10:06:17 AM  
As long as the 10% are white, I don't see what the big deal is.
 
ArcadianRefugee
2006-04-05 10:06:18 AM  
wadek5: I'm pretty sure that the overuse of antibacterial soaps

Soaps are pretty much antibacterial to start with. don't be fooled into thinking that the ones that actually advertise this fact are somehow more antibacterial.
 
RandomExcess
2006-04-05 10:14:20 AM  
Crazy Republican misinformation... AGAIN.
 
KyngNothing
2006-04-05 10:59:38 AM  
Crosshair: I don't see anything wrong with his views. Overpopulation is a real problem in some areas and he is simply voicing one possible, though morbid, solution to the problem. It probably isn't the best solution, probably one of the worst ways actualy, but it is still a "solution" to the problem. As long as he doesn't start eating babies, I don't see anything wrong.

I don't think he's putting it forward as a "solution", I think he's saying Ma Nature might "take care" of it for us if we don't
 
borist
2006-04-05 11:00:45 AM  
Rev. Skarekroe

That's a HORRIBLE thing to say!

Who's going to mow my lawn?
 
Sensei Can You See [TotalFark]
2006-04-05 11:14:17 AM  
Obdicut: The Gospel of Thomas

Would you please, please quit submitting these links?

I submitted it, so why not have a nice big steaming cup of STFU on me?
 
little big man [TotalFark]
2006-04-05 11:17:44 AM  
Someone from the U.N. said in an article a few years ago that world population really started to take off when the 3rd world nations started getting immunizations and antibiotics; essentially it wasn't that they were birthing a lot more children, but the really poor and destitute weren't dropping like flies at young ages like they used to.

Pretty sad that raising the standard of life for millions of people creates another problem in overpopulation and shortage of resources. George Carlin said it best: "The earth isn't going anywhere - we are! Pack your sh*t folks."
 
bwohlgemuth
2006-04-05 11:43:28 AM  
I dont see how anyone can disagree with him? We're a plague to this earth, worse than cockroaches. Just look around you.

Define plague? I'm sorry, we should return the earth to the "Garden Paradise" that it was back, oh, five million years ago before man arose, etc etc. Boy, things would be alot better now that the "Upper Slackjaw Sapsucker" will be able to live in peace and harmony. Except no one will know of it as an "Upper Slackjaw Sapsucker" since, oh yeah, no one would be around to name the damn thing.

Earth-first people are just as bad as Uber-christians and Radical Islam. They all would like it if the rest of us non-belivers would just go away.
 
Crocodile
2006-04-05 12:04:59 PM  
My Honors program prof. (also a Geography prof.) had a nifty little maxim that describes the repeating history of any population of animals:

Without birth control, there is death control.

There is no malice here. There is no advocacy. This is cold, brutal, scientific observation.

Germs change faster than "higher" animals, and germs are opportunists. If there are more humans than any other creature, then humans are what the germs will have as their main target.

Influenza, bubonic plague, ebola, etc etc etc...any one of them (or dozens of others) could bring a screeching halt to human over-population.

/where is your God now?
//bring on the Renaissance, part deux!!
 
Elrond Hubbard
2006-04-05 1:14:31 PM  
Agent Smith: "...you are not a mammal...they adapt...you spread and ruin your environment like only one other creature...a virus."

/Quoting 'The Matrix' may be simplistic, but it is appropriate here...
 
John_H_Rand
2006-04-05 1:16:17 PM  
Let me translate the detractor: "How dare someone say that we shouldn't breed more little soldiers for god!"
 
Toonol
2006-04-05 1:43:35 PM  
The professor seems to be making an error in reasoning:

Pianka, who has gotten vitriolic e-mails and even a death threat, said he believes the Earth would be better off if there were fewer people using up natural resources and destroying habitats.

"Better Off" is a concept that is completely meaningless, except in relation to people. Once people are removed from the picture, the Earth won't be better or worse. It will simply exist, changing over time, and then eventually go dark. Just a hunk of rock in space.

Nature... the whole ecology of Earth... is very important. But it is important solely because of the impact it has on us humans.
 
broadwayLamb [BareFark] [OhFark]
2006-04-05 1:59:47 PM  
This plan deosn't nearly go too far enough!
 
bwohlgemuth
2006-04-05 2:25:23 PM  
Agent Smith: "...you are not a mammal...they adapt...you spread and ruin your environment like only one other creature...a virus."

/Quoting 'The Matrix' may be simplistic, but it is appropriate here...

Oh please, and things were better for the Earth when we were dying off at the average age of 25 some 400+ years ago?

"Better Off" is a concept that is completely meaningless, except in relation to people. Once people are removed from the picture, the Earth won't be better or worse. It will simply exist, changing over time, and then eventually go dark. Just a hunk of rock in space.

Thank you...the importance of something originates from the eye of the beholder. Diamonds might be really nice and shiny, but only have value in a society that puts value into them. They aren;t too precious when there are other more pressing needs.

/Growing very tired of the whole "humanity is a scourge" concept.
//Think people just need to get out more and be nicer to each other.
 
Helen_Arigby
2006-04-05 2:55:58 PM  
While I agree we need a drastic population drop in order to sustainably live a comfortable (at least vaguely first-world) lifestyle, I don't see why we need genocide--human- or disease-driven--to bring it about.

Seriously. Everyone's gonna die anyway, so what's the point of controlling the outflow? What you need to control is the inflow. How? Up to you.
 
King Keepo
2006-04-05 6:37:29 PM  
HIV on it's own won't do it, but add a nice dose of SARS, H5N1 or a good flu strain and you've got a large swathe of dead people. Mostly in Africa and China though.

As for growing populations: Less bombs, more spaceships. Start terraforming Mars now.
 
Tainted1
2006-04-05 8:27:21 PM  
I've been advocating this for years. Not to save the environment though but to save humanity itself. The concetrations of stupid in the world have gotten waaaaaaay too high.
 
bwohlgemuth
2006-04-05 10:03:38 PM  
The concetrations of stupid in the world have gotten waaaaaaay too high.

Define "stupid". How smart is a programmer when he's stuck in the Seregeti with no food or water for ten days? And no survival training.
 
Tainted1
2006-04-06 8:40:20 PM  
Id' say your comment falls well into the category.
 
bwohlgemuth
2006-04-07 3:27:20 PM  
Hmm...would say the same about you as well.
 
Tainted1
2006-04-07 5:48:52 PM  
What does a programmer in the Serengeti have to do with the rise of stupidity in the world, and describe the farking moron who uses that example as comparison. Theres a big difference between stupidity and ignorance. Your programmer has no training in survival making him ignorant in that subject, but not necessarily stupid. If he however runs up to a lion and waves his cock in the cats face, that makes him stupid. The fact that you lack the basic logical comprehension to understand the basics between stupidity and ignorance makes you....stupid.
 
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