The likelihood is that, in 100,000 years time, we shall either have reverted to wild barbarism, or else civilisation will have advanced beyond all recognition - into colonies in outer space, for instance. In either case, evolutionary extrapolations from present conditions are likely to be highly misleading.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Dawkins warns that predicting the future based on current conditions is unreliable because humanity may devolve or advance to the point of being unrecognizable.
- In plain terms
- Predictions based on today may fail because society might change drastically.
- What can you take from it?
- Be cautious about assuming current trends will continue indefinitely.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What happens to civilization next?
- Can we predict the distant future?
Another view
Some long-term trends like population growth are stable.
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