by Wayne Reeves

Created on: November 02, 2008   Last Updated: November 03, 2008

Philosophical pondering on the future of mankind is usually just a positive or negative conclusion - things will improve or be destroyed through our own hand - or some great cosmic event will wipe the existence of man from time and space.

There will be a time when the reign of humans is over - Earth began without their involvement - to think it will end with them is presumptuous and arrogant at the same time. Proof enough exists that destructive genius is the capability of the human mind; on more than one occasion in history has the "world gone mad". If man doesn't destroy themselves then the universe might have other ideas.

All the wondrous achievements of evolution and man's ability to fashion a world for itself above all other life - an event in space could be the end of everything on Earth. Humans contributing to the demise of Earth is a somewhat hasty proposition - the collapse of the very fabric of space around us must surely be of more concern. We hold onto the myth that it will outlast us when it remains as much a mystery as it did to early man.

Mankind is at the right time, right place, planet Earth sits at the correct position in the solar system - close enough to the sun to sustain all types of life. No one can really say why - humans believe they have a legacy to leave behind because they exist - to what type of life thereafter nobody knows - the only carbon-based life found is on Earth, according to human perspectives.

The idea of space exploration is a mighty concept - we enable ourselves to accept the ideas through countless Sci-fi films and stories - but the universe around Earth hasn't accepted that fact yet - there are no known systems that encourage the existence of Earth-life elsewhere. A time will arrive when humans will be resigned to the fact; Earth is for life, they'll carry on in their pointless wars over resources, territories and power till the end of their days.

With nation after nation fighting over the very soul and possession of Earth, you can be assured that capitalism, materialism and greed will enable the safeguard of the planet in the near future; it could be these very selfish human traits that stop the Earth from being obliterated in a nuclear holocaust.

It may be in just a few hundred or thousand years that the end of man arrives - all its recorded history consigned to oblivion when a huge life-destroying piece of space rock comes crashing into the Earth - maybe the millions of smaller rocks from the nuclear missiles (they may just have a use) that get fired into it will do it instead (Hollywood thinks movies like "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" have all the answers). If it works then mankind can suffer the nuclear winters till its final demise as the radiation from the space fallout envelops the Earth.

A bleak assessment of mankind - hardly a passing grade on the latest dominant player in the game of life - on Earth at least. Humans will continue to revel in their own perceived intelligence, in a universe that owes them nothing, cares little for their survival or significance. Essentially we exist as a set of rogue atoms - doing something different in this corner of a galaxy, without real purpose or direction.

As a species we can continue to make it up as we go along; the answers to the future are not ours to know.

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