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October 26, 2014

In The Future, Everyone Will Be Famous To Fifteen People

Problem the first – human population is starting to stabilize,
and will probably reach a maximum at less than double its current level. But this is a function of our location here on Earth. Once we start colonizing space effectively, we can expect populations to balloon again. The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society estimates the carrying capacity of the solar system at forty trillion people; Nick Bostrom estimates the carrying capacity of the Virgo Supercluster at 10^23 human-like-digitized entities.
| Slate Star Codex

Posted by gerardvanderleun at October 26, 2014 3:27 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Choosing among Ebola, Marburg and Islam, I'd guess the total number is much less that the posted number.

Now they night find a vaccine for the viral diseases, provided they don't mutate quickly. there is only one vaccine for Islam.

Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 27, 2014 3:30 AM

Horseshit on the 40 trillion. Humans will settle elsewhere in the Solar System, but Space is such a different paradigm that the numbers will always be relatively sparse. Mars ain't Jamestown.

In addition to having to overcome the daunting physical challenges of environments that are not at all like Earth's, space settlers will not be the types to have big families. The human future in the rest of the Solar System will be more like Canada or Australia, and not China or India.

Posted by: DonRodrigo [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 27, 2014 8:49 AM

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