[John Jorsett]

Maybe when a race reaches a level of technology in which it can construct completely realistic virtual realities to inhabit, it loses the desire to conquer physical reality. I see signs of this already. Many of the players of Everquest and such games completely lose themselves in them, to the near-exclusion of all else in their lives, and that's just with the crude technology we have right now. If civilization were sufficiently advanced that they could transfer their consciousnesses into the virtual worlds they love so much, I have no doubt that many if not most of them would do so, and effectively vanish from ours.

[balrog666]

Maybe when a race reaches a level of technology in which it can construct completely realistic virtual realities to inhabit...

Maybe when a race reaches a level of civilization beyond mere survival, it allows the rise of liberal thinking that will eventually drag it back down to the mud.

[discostu]

Too true, and it's a bad habit. To ensure survival a species MUST expand off the planet (and eventually out of the galaxy all together), eventually the planet (which ever) will no longer sustain, if nothing else the sun that the planet revolves around will either blow up or go out, any species still rock bound at that point was a complete waste of time (nudge nudge all you space exploration opposers).