I did a calculation based on a steady growth rate followed by
extinction and anthropic reasoning (aka as the "doomsday argument"),
and came up with a 50% chance of population collapse by 2100. This was
based on 2005 population figures. See appendix B of my book "Theory of
Nothing". I haven't bothered publishing that study elsewhere.

Of course - the steady growth rate assumption is extreme. We know that
the population growth rate is decreasing, with the inflection point a
couple of decades ago. On current demographics, the earth's population
will peak around 2070, and then go into a bit of decline, with some
countries such as China going into reverse considerably sooner (eg I
believe 2030s is the current prediction for China to start having a
declining population).

Natural population decline due to declining fertility is much
preferable to a hard extinction extinction, of course, particular on a
century timescale. So we should live with the fact that we may not
have any grandchildren/great grandchildren whatever your stage of life
is. I'm already comfortable with that - I doubt I'll have any
grandchildren :).


On Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 03:10:45PM -0700, Gillian Densmore wrote:
> WTF, how are they coming up with these numbers? I know it sucks a whales 
> ******
> these days to make friends. Much less a GF (or BF).  But something aint adding
> up here. Did they ask both people in the relationship?
> 
> On Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 3:04 PM Steve Smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>     In a very limited and somewhat ad-hoc (latin hypercube of 10 samples of 5
>     variables) ensemble study (100,000 samples) I did with an NREL colleague 
> in
>     2019 using the World3 Model  we found a very ad-hoc observation that among
>     the various ideas of what was a "good outcome" in 2100 (like GDP/person or
>     other vernacular ideas of "quality of life") that virtually *all* of them
>     involved a sooner-rather-than-later population collapse.  
> 
>     To the extent that Modeling (in general), SD modeling more particularly 
> and
>     the World3 model in particular I wasn't very inclined to take the
>     quantitative results of any of very seriously but it was an interesting
>     (but unsurprising) qualitative result?
> 
>     For anyone interested in an interactive web implementation to dork with
>     yourself:
> 
>         https://insightmaker.com/insight/2pCL5ePy8wWgr4SN8BQ4DD/
>     The-World3-Model-Classic-World-Simulation
> 
>     FWIW I dorked around with it in honor of Jimmy Carter's recent admission 
> to
>     a hospice program... looking at what it might have meant if we'd followed
>     his lead back around 1978.   Worth noting, I (foolishly by hindsight)
>     helped run him out of town to be replaced with Ronnie Raygun ...   "drill
>     baby drill, burn baby burn!"
> 
>     And an excerpt from a recent (2020) update synopsis of the Limits to 
> Growth
>     project/idea/model/results:
> 
> 
>     [cid]
> 
>     Worth noting:  The population drops in BAU/BAU2 (Biznezz as Usual)
>     represent increased death rates rather than reduced fertility rates.
> 
>     The bigger (or smaller by another measure) question of what decisions
>     anyone of us might make (for ourselves, our progeny, our friends, whatever
>     policy-making is in our jurisdiction, in our imagination) is a much
>     trickier one based on myriad principles/values that likely few of us share
>     unless we choose a high dimension-reduction strategy (e.g. single-issue
>     conception).    My parents were overtly ZPG advocates and I have one 
> sister
>     which lead me to feel plenty "done" after 2 children myself.   Each of my 
> 2
>     have chosen to only have 1.  Many of my friends have chosen to be
>     childless.  Most of my peers who were from large sibling groups have at
>     best a replacement cohort among their children and nieces/nephews which 
> are
>     headed toward a NPG in the following generation.
> 
>     My current heuristic is that if I want my grandchildren to reproduce, I
>     need to get out of the way which means unless their other grandparents
>     don't have the grace of knocking off by the time they want to do that, 
> then
>     it is up to me... no open-ended life-extension unless I expect to leave 
> the
>     planet (hear my pain Elon?)   I don't think the World3 has been updated to
>     be a Sol model and even considering it really challenges the very 
> structure
>     /concept of the World3 SD model!  
> 
>     Most of the population growth models I've run into suggest that we might 
> be
>     on our way to(ward) ZPG with many regions going into NPG, but not until we
>     pass 10B.  I don't know that *any* of them factor in the non-linear 
> effects
>     of possible/likely runaway global warming or species collapse.
> 
>     [467px-World_population_]
> 
> 
>     On 2/22/23 11:53 AM, Santafe wrote:
> 
>         Yeah.  Bill Rees and Meghan Seibert want 90% of us to die
>         https://www.realgnd.org/people
>         (or a position paper somewhere in their writings).
> 
>         On their people page, you can see what happy ecologists they are, and 
> BIll is a friendly old grandfather with a beard.
> 
>         I shouldn’t be snotty.  I think they are actually very tortured about 
> their dictum that 90% of us should die.  And I think in some sense they are 
> committed, good people.
> 
>         But I put them up here, because somehow people collapsing under 
> decades of frustration seem to develop a misanthropy that causes them to 
> forget It’s Not All About You (and how tortured you are, being the only 
> truth-teller in a lonely world).  If you really care about the thing you say, 
> then it should eclipse your own self-importance enough that you just stay 
> focused on the task.
> 
>         I don’t know in how far their positions turn out to represent solid 
> numbers.  Maybe some part of it.  But I have said that before.
> 
>         Eric
> 
> 
> 
>             On Feb 22, 2023, at 1:06 PM, Gary Schiltz 
> <g...@naturesvisualarts.com> wrote:
> 
>             A few really do want our species to go extinct, but many believe 
> that we are already overpopulated and need to level off or reduce population. 
> I lean only slightly toward the latter.
> 
>             On Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 12:51 PM Frank Wimberly 
> <wimber...@gmail.com> wrote:
>             Agreed.  But if we don't construct any new ones and the existing 
> ones all die (they will) we will run out.  Is that a reasonable goal?
> 
>             On Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 10:20 AM glen <geprope...@gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>             We do not need more people. We have plenty of people. Please stop 
> constructing people. >8^D
> 
>             On 2/22/23 09:16, Frank Wimberly wrote:
> 
>                 I am worried however.  I have two grandsons in their 20s.  
> Each has a girlfriend.  Those young women want nothing to do with babies.  I 
> assume they have younger siblings.  I hope that as they enter their 30s their 
> attitudes will change because of the realization that they are running out of 
> time.
> 
>                 ---
>                 Frank C. Wimberly
>                 140 Calle Ojo Feliz,
>                 Santa Fe, NM 87505
> 
>                 505 670-9918
>                 Santa Fe, NM
> 
>                 On Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 10:08 AM Santafe <desm...@santafe.edu 
> <mailto:desm...@santafe.edu>> wrote:
> 
>                     I think the keyword was young.
> 
>                     You can do that if the old men are all married to young 
> women.
> 
>                      > On Feb 22, 2023, at 12:02 PM, Nicholas Thompson 
> <thompnicks...@gmail.com <mailto:thompnicks...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>                      >
>                      > Last time I checked, the average number of attached 
> males has to equal the average number of attached females, unless, of course, 
> females, feel attached to men who don’t feel attached.
>                      >
>                      > Sent from my Dumb Phone
>                      >
>                      > Begin forwarded message:
>                      >
>                      > From: The Hill <theh...@email.thehill.com 
> <mailto:theh...@email.thehill.com>>
>                      > Date: February 22, 2023 at 7:01:34 AM MST
>                      > To: nthomp...@clarku.edu <mailto:nthomp...@clarku.edu>
>                      > Subject: [EXT] News Alert: Most young men are single. 
> Most young women are not.
>                      > Reply-To: emailt...@thehill.com 
> <mailto:emailt...@thehill.com>
>                      >
>                      >
>                      > View Online
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      > Most young men are single. Most young women are not.
>                      > More than 60 percent of young men are single, nearly 
> twice the rate of unattached young women, signaling a larger breakdown in the 
> social, romantic and sexual life of the American male.
>                      >
>                      > Read the full story here.
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
>                      >
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>             --
>             ꙮ Mɥǝu ǝlǝdɥɐuʇs ɟᴉƃɥʇ' ʇɥǝ ƃɹɐss snɟɟǝɹs˙ ꙮ
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>             Frank Wimberly
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>             505 670-9918
> 
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-- 

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Principal, High Performance Coders     hpco...@hpcoders.com.au
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