MIT In 1973 Predicted The World Would End In 2040, Some Of Its Predictions Has Come True

Anita - Jan 01, 2019

According to a model developed by MIT, the Earth could end up its existence by 2020, which is based on the analysis of the impacts of human activities on the Earth.

We have been in the technology golden age since the early 1970s. We succeeded in getting about computing, exploring space, and human life expectancy from the first stage.

However, some were afraid that it could only exist in a short time.

World3, a mathematical model, was developed by the MIT’s scientist team in 1973. It was considered the descendant of World1, which used to be studied by Jay W Forrester, a mathematician. World3 was designed to stimulate what impacts industrial growth, population, limited natural resources, and food production would have on the Earth life. Then, it estimated that the end date of the Earth is in 2040.

‘The Limits to Growth’, their study, has been one of the best-selling books about environment ever. The book focused on discussing the most Erath-influential factors including agricultural production, population increase, industrial output, pollution generation, and non-renewable resource decrease.

This old research is mentioned again in the press. A news agency in Australia re-aired the original story of this study, which first appeared decades ago. Accordingly, some study’s predictions are similar to what happens now. For example, pollution is forecasted to become more serious, which could threaten human beings; and human life quality would reach a peak before going down.

However, the study was also too pessimistic in some aspects. First, World3 hasn't been run for the last 14 years. Another one is that the study used to make many broad assumptions involving some factors that could not explain the reason for others.

All in all, if human beings still increase their population, pollute the environment and take advantage of the natural resources of the Earth in the way against sustainable development, we will kill ourselves. It is not likely to be 2040, or even 2050, however, the model got right when points out the fact that the human activities have really impacted in the long term.

Like the pollution problem, scientists have the same opinion that human beings are living at the age of pollution boom. Not only do we need to stop doing wrong, but we also have to carry out an effective solution to overcome the damage that we have caused before it becomes too late for us. We might just come to an end of proving the model wrong by changing the date up by just a few years.