The Event that Caused the Most Damage to Humanity?

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove


As opposed to humans remaining nomads, and there fore remaing leopard chow as there is ample evidence thereof in South Africa. Would you be happier if your daily exercise routine included being chased by large carnivors?

As oppossed to being shot down by a sniper, and not even seeing it coming.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Would you be happier if your daily exercise routine included being chased by large carnivors?

That still is the case for many people, the only difference is that the predators wear suits these days.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Damn. AnnC got my usual answer first.

It's the Toba eruption, by miles.

[Demerzel]

Originally posted by DuncanK

As oppossed to being shot down by a sniper, and not even seeing it coming.

Not many countries in the world have inhabitants who have to worry about that kind of thing.

[Sava]

Would you be happier if your daily exercise routine included being chased by large carnivors?

Yes... I feel much of humanity's arrogance is present because we're effectively the most dominant life form on the planet. The environment of the past in which only the strongest humans survived has quickly given way to the present world where human evolution has stagnated because we don't have any competition.

There are a ton of dumbass people in the world that wouldn't survive in that kind of world. It's good for the evolution of the human race.

[Lord Merciless]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger




They didn't do much damage in terms of destruction of either knowledge or human life.

Really?

What about the fact that Northern China was depopulated by at least 2/3 during their invasions? What about the fact they massaced entire cities of Zhong Du, Kai Feng, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Baghdad, and many more?

Later, due their mismanagement during the Yuan Dynasty, another 20 millions or so Chinese found their deaths. Maybe you should know that Jin and Song had together well over 100 million inhabitants, but at the end of Zhong Yuanzhang's reign in 1393(already 25 years into the recovery), the entire China had only 60 million people.

At same time, Tamerlane was running amok in Persia and Northern India, culminating with his massacre of India in 1399 and errecting a SKULL PYRAMID of about 80,000 people.

[Lord Merciless]

Originally posted by Sava
The invention of agriculture. This caused human populations to grow far beyond the somewhat stable level they had been at for thousands of years. With agriculture, human beings have been able to sustain populations of 6 billion and rising. More people = more bad sh1t.

Sure, let me kill you to get started. I'll be glad to remove a filth like yourself from this planet.

[Static Universe]

Originally posted by DuncanK

As oppossed to being shot down by a sniper, and not even seeing it coming.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Lord Merciless


Sure, let me kill you to get started. I'll be glad to remove a filth like yourself from this planet.

Over the line...

[Chemical Ollie]

I agree to those who suggested the destruction of the Great Library. That was the start of the dark ages, when people went back to believing the world is flat. (Also see my signature)

But the world wars were the worst events in recent time.

[uh Clem]

The population loss after the Toba eruption is only part of the story. Consider the loss of diversity to the gene pool.

It turned us all into Freepers.

[JCG]

Death, obviously.

The creation of firearms/weaponry/warfare

The Rise and Fall of Imperialism
Soviet Communism
Nazism
The Atomic Bomb
Ultra-Nationalism

[Odin]

The Toba eruption has made the human race less diverse than a SINGLE group of chimps are!

[Kramerman]

Originally posted by Oerdin
The fall of Rome sent humanity back by 500 years.

I agree. The resulting dark age was catasrophic to human development and progression. The destruction of teh Great Libraby is another very dark event.

[Demerzel]

It's almost tragic that some of the simple things the Roma's invented took another 1000 - 1500 years to be reinvented. Does make you wonder what might have been done with the extra time without the dark ages. Saying that though, the "dark ages" weren't that dark - a lot of science was done in the era according to recent historians.

Plus the Roman Empire wasn't exactly somewhere you'd have liked to have lived in, far far less personal freedoms than a modern society and the lions were always pleased to see you if you were naughty.