In 1984 a group of Australian Aboriginal people living a traditional nomadic life were encountered in the heart of the Gibson desert in Western Australia. They had been unaware of the arrival of Europeans on the continent, let alone cars - or even clothes.

No, actually it isn't. We essentially only have two cases of species where Hunter-Gatherer lifeways can be evaluated and only one of those lead to extinction (actually, Neaderthals were likely absorbed into human population, so even that is a dubious bit of evidence for your case).

What you mean to say is that "I cannot imagine a situation where humans use hunter-gatherer lifeways could escape the destruction of the planet". Here I could observe that the limitations of the human imagination don't constitute proof that something is impossible or conversely I could do as you have done and equate my fanciful opinions to fact. I am in reminded of a Ray Bradbury story, Frost and Fire, which offers a biological adaptation which would allow a Hunter-Gatherer society to develop the scientific means to leave the planet. I don't such a line of thinking is productive however so I would point to another problem in your line of thinking.

Humans would definitely die out if they had never developed technology to leave the planet. And yes, I'm not saying humans won't die out, but without this particular technology or outside intervention, I am absolutely sure humans would die out.

It's just a simple reality that biological evolution would never lead to an adaptation that would allow a humans to travel to another planet. It's not a lack of imagination, it's just that it is an impossible absurdity, like replacing all of your atoms with jello and carrying on like nothing happened is an impossible absurdity.

The capacity to develop the technologies necessary to leave a planet are not inherent to "civilization"

Yes it is.

A Hunter-Gatherer society does open the possibility for space travel, because it opens the possibility for agriculture, which in turn opens the possibility for space travel.

We are in agreement here. A hunter gather society would only survive by changing drastically and becoming more like us. A hunter gather society that remained static would die out.

Yes, you have definitely missed the point. I am not championing a goal. I am specifically rejecting the mentality that fails to recognize the difference between "this is what I value" and "this is what is inherently more valuable".

That's nice and all, but it's not convincing me that what you value is inherently more valuable than what I value. If that's what you're getting at? Try to be more clear with your language.

I think this is terribly ironic argument for you to make. You've have boldly stated that something as dynamic and fluid as a cultural approach to living could never produce a particular outcome.... but when it comes to the static and universal laws of physics, making a claim based on empirical evidence is "speculation". I can't think of a better example of how people do not evaluate this topic objectively or scientifically.

A hunter gatherer culture that never developed space travel technology that allowed them to colonize other planets (they wouldn't because they are missing pretty much everything to do so) would die out without intervention and that's a fact.

And I'm not saying that we don't foresee an ending to the universe - I'm the one who brought it up - I'm saying that, at this point, we don't know the limits of what technology is capable of and how that relates to escaping the situation.

Ha, no. Fuel fuels, consumerism, and having children are fundamental to the system you are declaring to be superior to Hunter-Gatherer lifeways.

No, fossil fuels can be replaced by renewable energies. Having children is needed, but overpopulation is not. We don't need 7.3 billion people to continue technological advancement. Overpopulation exacerbates the current problems with consumerism and fossil fuel use - making them civilization threatening problems.

Overpopulation is more of a result of the biological urge to reproduce, poor education, lack of regulation, and letting consumerism go unchecked.

/r/TrueReddit Thread Link - bbc.com