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How to Enjoy the End of the World

Sid Smith · lecture · Watch on YouTube

Futurism & technology and societyEarth & energy (other)Climate policy, solutions & debate

What it is

A Virginia Tech presentation by Sid Smith about collapse, fossil fuels and overshoot, arguing that industrial civilization faces a decline and how one might live with that. It was later expanded into a video series.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended in collapse and energy threads as a sobering thermodynamic view of civilization, often with a warning that it is heavy.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 4 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2019, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “I recommend few videos for you. I must warn you ... it may hamper your ability to enjoy parties.”

    Recommended among videos on collapse and overshoot

    myshpa, 2023-07 · Strong recommendation · in “How, Mathematically, We’re Fucked: Exponential growth on a finite planet”

  2. “Check out this sobering talk by Dr Sid Smith”

    Sobering talk on fossil fuels and collapse

    datashaman, 2019-05 · Recommendation · in “Complex life may only exist because of millions of years of groundwork by fungi”

  3. “Good talk I watched the other day”

    Talk on collapse relevant to computing's impact

    chacha2, 2020-06 · Recommendation · in “Does computing make the world better?”

  4. “It explains the inevitablility of collapse.”

    Lecture arguing collapse is inevitable

    M95D, 2026-01 · Recommendation · in “Why Some People See Collapse Earlier”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: collapse, fossil fuels, overshoot, energy return, sustainability

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