It is no secret that we have an over population problem here on Earth, in fact by 2050 based on the current rate of growth the expected human population on Earth will be well over 9 billion. It is also a fact that the way in which we live now is entirely unsustainable in every imaginable way, and based on what I see between our insistent need to “have” (me not excluded) and in some cases complete disregard for our planet, we are truly asking Mother Nature to grant us unimaginable devastation or worst.
I have a thought that may at first sound odd, but ponder this:
Meet “Homo Sapiens Minimus” a genetically modified homo sapiens sapiens (human) who is a 1/10th scale model of our current selves. Could we genetically modify humanity to simply reproduce smaller versions of ourselves; therefore, requiring less space, less resources and ultimately lesser of a foot print?There are definitely going to be some harsh critics of such an out-of-the-box solution to our troubles. To interject before they can begin, I have come up with solutions to the top 5 concerns:
- What will we do with all of our current houses? They will be way too big if we are 1/10th our current size.
True, modifications would need to be made to current houses, but think about it this way… all current houses could be then turned into apartment buildings; providing affordable housing for everyone. Any new houses built will obviously be much smaller, roughly the size of flats currently being built in England.
- How will I get to work? My current commute is already over an hour.
Ah yes, the commute. Well my friend, in the future when we are all 1/10th the size everyone will fly to work in [currently] miniature airplanes! You see the reason we all do not all fly to work now is simply because we are too heavy to economically transport ourselves through the air due to Earth’s gravity; moving 7KG through the air is significantly simpler.
- Won’t my pet eat me when I am small?
Depending on the type of pet you have, yes, there is a chance that your entire family may be eaten by Mr. Boots, whom you’ve loved for all these years. That is a sacrifice we as homo sapiens minimus will have to make.
- Will we not become less intelligent when our brains are 1/10th the size?
No, we will be 1/10th scale in every way, which makes this argument irrelevant. Besides, are 1/10th scale model trains less intelligent than full size trains? No, we will just be smaller and not toot as loud.
- Will homo sapiens minimus play basket ball? I love bascket ball?
As stated in concern #3, homo sapiens minimus will have to make certain sacrifices to make certain gains; unfortunately basket ball will no longer be played. Think of this as an opportunity to invent new games, ones that perhaps we don’t currently miss, only because we have not yet thought of them.
So these may not actually be the top 5 concerns of people who are concerned about miniaturization, but it did provide some comic relief none-the-less.