We used to imagine humanity populating the universe. In Isaac Asimov's Foundation (1952), mankind has established a vast multi-planetary empire by the year 47000. “There were nearly twenty-five million inhabited planets in the Galaxy,” Asimov wrote. “The population of Trantor [the imperial capital] … was well in excess of forty billions.”

In Liu Cixin’s Three-Body Problem (2006), by contrast, we’re a cosmic rounding error, bracing ourselves for the terrifying Trisolaran invasion. As the trailer for the new Netflix series puts it: “They are coming, and there is nothing you can do to stop them.”

QOSHE - Global Population Crash Isn't Sci-Fi Anymore - Niall Ferguson
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Global Population Crash Isn't Sci-Fi Anymore

25 35
10.03.2024

We used to imagine humanity populating the universe. In Isaac Asimov's Foundation (1952), mankind has established a vast multi-planetary empire by the........

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