1. The beginning of the NHL season, and all of the hype that is involved in it has made me wonder why humans are so interested in sports. Let's take soccer for example, what is so captivating about watching humans move a ball around, and possibly have it end up in a net. The basic idea of almost all sports is quite basic, yet we have so many TV channels, newspapers, magazines, jobs, and more solely dedicated to sports. Evidently, the competitive nature of sports is what fascinates humans so much. A possible hypothesis, looking at this from an evolutionary prospective, could be that being better at sports is associated with greater fitness. Even though you might not be directly the one playing the sport, being associated with the people would in result make it appear that you have a higher fitness. For example, if someone is from Chicago and witnesses the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup, they are associated with this team and therefore would be associated with the higher fitness of the city who has the winning team. What are some of your possible hypotheses on why humans are so interested in sports?
2. We have continually talked about the carrying capacity of our society here on earth. This limit of human population is created by many factors, some of which include food supply, living space, etc. Is our civilization ready to move onto the oceans, living above and below the ocean? Do we have the technology and understanding of oceans and currents to be able to create habitats that are fully functioning on the power provided by the tides and currents of the oceans? Can this be the solution to the continued rise in water levels.
There has been continued research into the development of these habitats, as well as the development of floating farms. Will these habitats be the next change in human development, allowing for a continued increase in carrying capacity of the earth, or will they be the end of the life on earth that we know it due to increased climate change and pollution of the oceans, leading to our demise?