What would the world without humans look like? Researchers have come up with an answer and even a map:
.
Of course, the value of such a planet would be nil.
The World Without Humans
Opinions, art, debate
Opinions, art, debate
What would the world without humans look like? Researchers have come up with an answer and even a map:
.
Of course, the value of such a planet would be nil.
Clarissa's Blog 
Why not? What’s value, here?
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Value can only be created by humans because it’s an entirely human concept. Non-human nature does not have the capacity to evaluate.
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Exactly. Which is why your description of the post-human world in terms of ‘value’ doesn’t make sense to me.
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Right, but it’s not like that world actually exists. We’re still here, and so can evaluate it, a bit like we can for historic events that we haven’t been part of or possible futures that haven’t yet come. It’s a bit of counterfactual fantasy with a purpose of imagining what human activity did to other forms of life we care about (probably why the article talks about mammal and not tapeworm or barnacle biodiversity), presumably so that we’d change what we’re doing.
So your original comment can be read as “other mammals have no value”, which’d be interesting, or a “silly scientists, don’t they know they wouldn’t even exist in the scenario they describe?” jolly fun-pokery. Which, okay? They probably do know.
I hope, anyway.
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Cole Porter said it best:
Times have changed
And we’ve often rewound the clock
Since the Puritans got a shock
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
If today
Any shock they should try to stem
‘Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking.
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
Good authors too who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose.
Anything goes.
If driving fast cars you like,
If low bars you like,
If old hymns you like,
If bare limbs you like,
If Mae West you like,
Or me undressed you like,
Why, nobody will oppose.
When ev”ry night the set that”s smart is in-
Truding at nudist parties in
Studios.
Anything goes.
When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her)
Can get Russian reds to “yes” her,
Then I suppose
Anything goes.
When Rockefeller still can hoard enough money to let Max Gordon
Produce his shows,
Anything goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good’s bad today,
And black’s white today,
And day’s night today,
And that gent today
You gave a cent today
Once had several chateaux.
When folks who still can ride in jitneys
Find out Vanderbilts and Whitneys
Lack baby clothes,
Anything goes.
When Sam Goldwyn can with great conviction
Instruct Anna Sten in diction,
Then Anna shows
Anything goes.
When you hear that Lady Mendl standing up
Now turns a handspring landing up-
On her toes,
Anything goes.
Just think of those shocks you’ve got
And those knocks you’ve got
And those blues you’ve got
From that news you’ve got
And those pains you’ve got
(If any brains you’ve got)
From those little radios.
So Missus R., with all her trimmings,
Can broadcast a bed from Simmons
‘Cause Franklin knows
Anything goes.
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I visited Planet Meat and I couldn’t even buy this lousy T-shirt because there wasn’t anyone sentient living on the planet to sell me one … 🙂
When I think of the value of a Planet Meat with no humans on it, I think of H Beam Piper’s “A Planet for Texans” and realise that sufficiently advanced humans would land on it and improve it.
It’d no longer be Planet Meat — it’d be the Sustainable Farm to Plate Planet. 🙂
So about this mythical planet without humans that has Huge Mountains of Ambulatory Meat on it … how soon can we land on it?
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