That’s the Great Filter concept. Certain stages on the evolutionary path may lead to extinction, and only the smartest species are able to pass
What if it is the accumulation of filters that no one can pass?
we evolved as intelligent and successful and passed many tests of natural selection, so far
we’ve survived nuclear weapons, so far
we’ve survived plague/biological warfare, so far
were still approaching climate catastrophe, so far
we’ve survived evolution + nuclear war + plague/biological + early climate change, so far
People get wrapped up in speculation about which stage may be the great filter, but it’s not as if they end. They just keep adding up. We need to keep passing all the filters we already pass plus all the filters yet to come
That’s a very good addition. The old filters are still there and any one of them could still come back and bite us. However, when better technology becomes available, the older filters become less and less of a problem. Let’s take the bioweapons as an example. At the moment, we can develop cures and vaccines, but that technology has its limits. Perhaps one day our biotech is advanced enough that stopping a bioweapon from harming the citizens is as trivial as updating some software and changing a few passwords. Likewise, the climate catastrophe becomes less and less of an issue if the species is no longer bound to a single planet, but can also thrive in space.
What if it is the accumulation of filters that no one can pass?
People get wrapped up in speculation about which stage may be the great filter, but it’s not as if they end. They just keep adding up. We need to keep passing all the filters we already pass plus all the filters yet to come
That’s a very good addition. The old filters are still there and any one of them could still come back and bite us. However, when better technology becomes available, the older filters become less and less of a problem. Let’s take the bioweapons as an example. At the moment, we can develop cures and vaccines, but that technology has its limits. Perhaps one day our biotech is advanced enough that stopping a bioweapon from harming the citizens is as trivial as updating some software and changing a few passwords. Likewise, the climate catastrophe becomes less and less of an issue if the species is no longer bound to a single planet, but can also thrive in space.