"How many people have ever lived on Earth? That question, it seems, has a long shelf-life, according to scientists at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) in Washington, D.C., who say they often get information calls with that query."
I recall reading a sci-fi book many years ago that used the opposite premise, that the number of people currently alive outnumbered all the people who had ever lived before them.
People were then being born without minds and/or souls... It was pretty cheesy, but entertaining nevertheless.
"Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test." ~ Robert G. Ingersoll
"Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer." ~ Alexander Pope
circumspice wrote: I recall reading a sci-fi book many years ago that used the opposite premise, that the number of people currently alive outnumbered all the people who had ever lived before them.
People were then being born without minds and/or souls... It was pretty cheesy, but entertaining nevertheless.
Grrr, i can't believe that author you're talking about, whatever his name is, stole one of my best ideas! And if by many, you mean more than 38 then he even was rude enough to steal it from me before i was born.
Anyway, do you remember the title or author? If someone is going to be thinking like me i might as well read it
circumspice wrote: I recall reading a sci-fi book many years ago that used the opposite premise, that the number of people currently alive outnumbered all the people who had ever lived before them.
People were then being born without minds and/or souls... It was pretty cheesy, but entertaining nevertheless.
Grrr, i can't believe that author you're talking about, whatever his name is, stole one of my best ideas! And if by many, you mean more than 38 then he even was rude enough to steal it from me before i was born.
Anyway, do you remember the title or author? If someone is going to be thinking like me i might as well read it
I wish I could remember... I read so much, sometimes the book titles and author names quickly recede in my memory.
What I can remember of the story is that when it became apparent that ALL the newborns had no minds/souls, the present world government embarked on an ambitious time travel
scheme... Since they were able to look to the past, they would pinpoint the final moments of past large disasters such as airliner crashes, oceanliner sinkings, etc. and transport a
crew to the disaster to kidnap the soon to die passengers, leaving the mindless bodies behind so as not to arouse suspicion... Like I said, it was a cheesy but entertaining story.
I'll try to dredge up the book title or the name of author from my memory...
"Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test." ~ Robert G. Ingersoll
"Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer." ~ Alexander Pope
circumspice wrote: I recall reading a sci-fi book many years ago that used the opposite premise, that the number of people currently alive outnumbered all the people who had ever lived before them.
People were then being born without minds and/or souls... It was pretty cheesy, but entertaining nevertheless.
Grrr, i can't believe that author you're talking about, whatever his name is, stole one of my best ideas! And if by many, you mean more than 38 then he even was rude enough to steal it from me before i was born.
Anyway, do you remember the title or author? If someone is going to be thinking like me i might as well read it
I admit it... I had to cheat and search the internet for the title and the author's name... Also, I have apparently confused this sci-fi story with another... This one makes no reference to
the number of living people exceeding the number of all who have lived before them. I'm stumped, I can't remember who wrote that one. I'll keep trying to remember.
Millenium by John Varley - This one has the disaster victim kidnaping senario.
"Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test." ~ Robert G. Ingersoll
"Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, and, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer." ~ Alexander Pope
I recall reading a sci-fi book many years ago that used the opposite premise, that the number of people currently alive outnumbered all the people who had ever lived before them. 
I admit it... I had to cheat and search the internet for the title and the author's name... Also, I have apparently confused this sci-fi story with another... This one makes no reference to 