in order of importance i think you need people who can land the ship, lack of reproductive bottlenecks, people with the longest reproductive time frames, lack of genetic problems, people with proven reproductive histories, and then people with useful survival knowledge (are we assuming all technology and infrastructure has been wiped out and it's just like being the earliest humans a couple of million years ago? EDIT: the meteor should leave stuff standing somewhere on the planet and just not being used because everyone is dead but i get the feeling the question is being asked as if everything is gone and we're starting from scratch). landing the ship is obvious. lack of bottlenecks is why i think you have to take 3 men and 3 women. 1 man is out of the question and 2 men still leaves you with too much of a chance that something happens and you're back to 1 man. while pumping out kids quickly is needed so that a near term event doesn't finish us immediately, for the future of the race, we need some diversity and the ability to have a real civilization in that future. you don't want genetic problems (or miscarriages) but i still think you have to have the youngest people to give us the most kids even if they're not perfect and you can't risk the older women's age essentially being a cause of genetic problems for their kids, even if the mothers are healthy. i would put knowledge at the bottom because our earliest ancestors were pretty stupid and made it and all of these people have to be pretty smart to have been on the shuttle. and if everything is destroyed, knowing computers won't mean that much. as for the plan, getting the women pregnant with non-surviving men is a good idea to get some diversity in there at the beginning. the 3 surviving men and women would rotate having kids to get all 9 combinations out there as much as possible. men should do most of the hunting but non-pregnant women can help. and as much knowledge as possible should be written down (on whatever they have) and stored. they should also share as much of their knowledge as they can with each other as quickly as possible in case of the death of any one person. of the men, i think you have to take max, rahim, and jorge. all younger than 38, all have had children, 2 have had a lot of children, one has medical knowledge which will obviously be hugely important in a world with 6 people trying to survive, and one can pilot the ship. of the women, i think you take your chances with caroline's eyes and natasha's miscarriage and just take the 3 youngest - caroline, natasha, and adrienne. plus, natasha is from moscow and probably attractive and at 27, she's the one the men are going to have to **** the most so they need something in all this. and caroline was a co-pilot and thus can help get you back to earth. edit: i just realized that with 6 months, you could probably get quite a bit of knowledge shared so that would certainly help. and could presumably get it down in at least some sort of permanent form. if you could get it on a disk and if anyone could figure out how to get power back on earth, you could presumably use the spaceship's technology for some benefit.
Wow, I can't believe a lot of you guys are picking Max. He needs medication for both high blood pressure and allergies. He will NOT have those medications available to him on earth if everything is wiped out, and he'll become sick/unhealthy fast. The cons of Max totally outweight his pros.
You can say goodbye to different races. No matter what happens, there will be no Chinese/African/Anglo anymore. The new world will be made up of mixed races. You want to have as many babies as possible, so the youngest people are the most important. Secondly, you need to have people to to the dirty work. Give me 3 men and 3 women. These men can rotate impregnating women. In 30 months we could have 9 children with different traits and genes. The important thing is that the men make sure to keep the people alive, by either hunting for any food left if there is any, building shelter, and defending the women from dangers.
the guy is named Max and from australia. this post-apocalyptic world is going to be no problem for him. but i guess it really depends on how bad he gets without his meds. will he die in a year? will he not die but we're just taking the chance he has a heart attack at any time?
I would go with Angelo, Dimitri, Kerry, Addrienne, Natasha, Caroline Men are on the older side, but as long as the women arent too old when they are pregnant, the risk of genetic defects in the babies are low. All 3 women are relatively young and healthy. Kerry and Angelo = gardening/farming/woodworking experience...necesary when they go back down post-apocalyptic earth. Kerry is also the oldest and most life experienced, will bring stability and leadership to the group. Addrienne is a botanist and should be able to help with the farming and food aspect as well. Caroline is the co-pilot and can pilot the shuttle back to earth safely. The only con I can see with this is that Angelo and Dimitri run the chance of being infertile, but infertility only affects a small percentage of the population, and both of them are in good or excellent health. I'd take my chances. To be on the safe side, you could replace Dimitri with Rahim or one of the other men who already had a lot of children, but the reason I chose Dimitri is because him and his parents have good genes (Miss Universe and the President of Greece? cmon).
These are the people I would pick: 1. Michelle. Although she is 42 years old, she is in good health and could still have children. More importantly, she has experience as a mother and can teach the other women how to take care of children. Her knowledge of molecular biology is also vital. 2. Natasha. She is the youngest person on the space station and does not suffer from significant health problems. 3. Addrienne. She is 34 and she is a mother, so she is both young and has experience to take care of children. Being a botanist, she can help with identifying fertile land, edible plants etc. 4. Sergei. He is in good physical shape and health. 5. Rahim. Age 38, is a father of five children, in good health and the pilot. 6. Kerry. He is the oldest among the crew, but provides leadership and authority. His knowledge of gardening and wood working are important for survival. The reason I picked two older people (Kerry and Michelle) is that, in my opinion, to ensure survival there needs to be experience and a definite hierarchy to hold the community together.
Strangelove: I would not rule out the chance to preserve a nucleus of human specimens. It would be quite easy...heh, heh...(He rolls his wheelchair forward into the light) at the bottom of ah...some of our deeper mineshafts. Radioactivity would never penetrate a mine some thousands of feet deep, and in a matter of weeks, sufficient improvements in drilling space could easily be provided. President: How long would you have to stay down there? Strangelove: ...I would think that uh, possibly uh...one hundred years...It would not be difficult Mein Fuehrer! Nuclear reactors could, heh...I'm sorry, Mr. President. Nuclear reactors could provide power almost indefinitely. Greenhouses could maintain plant life. Animals could be bred and slaughtered. A quick survey would have to be made of all the available mine sites in the country, but I would guess that dwelling space for several hundred thousands of our people could easily be provided. President: Well, I, I would hate to have to decide...who stays up and...who goes down. Strangelove: Well, that would not be necessary, Mr. President. It could easily be accomplished with a computer. And a computer could be set and programmed to accept factors from youth, health, sexual fertility, intelligence, and a cross-section of necessary skills. Of course, it would be absolutely vital that our top government and military men be included to foster and impart the required principles of leadership and tradition.
Pugsly, this is a really fun exercise! The sad news is I'm not taking any doctors, so survivors will need to eat and breed as quickly as possible. Kerry: Crew Commander/Aspiring Minister/Gardener (57, male) - Leadership and food. Plus, as an aspiring minister with limited understanding of an established scripture; and with a close, loyal following after a quasi-apocalyptical event, this guy could be a new Buddha, Brigham Young, Abraham or Muhammad. Jorge: Astronomer (29, male) - This guy will have a really fun job making sundials, calendars, compasses and, I imagine, trying to predict the weather. Steven: Exercise Physiologist (41, male) - While they're still hunter-gatherers, he'll be the lead hunter. Did he just develop the exercise machines, or design and build them? If not the latter, then I'll probably replace him with Sergei, the hockey-playing payload specialist (based on their original roles as technical experts). Natasha: Computer Programmer (27, female) - I'm sorry I can't figure out what to do with her computer skills, but she's young and could probably have some kids. (Not too thrilled to have to view women in that context.) Caroline: Genetically Nearsighted Pilot (31, female) - Aside from landing the module, I assume she would be of value if they developed or discovered some mode of transportation and had to travel long distances for some reason. Youngest potential mother. Adrienne: Botanist (34, female) - She's the gatherer: avoiding poisonous plants and spotting the edible ones. This is important since they're not taking any doctors and will probably all die rather quickly. Also the youngest successful parent.
In relative order of important, I would take: 5. Addrienne -- Guaranteed fertility, and at age 34 she is still young enough to have kids. Botany knowledge should be useful. No health problems. 4. Natasha -- The youngest female (age 27) with no health problems. The miscarriage is a slight risk, but she probably has better odds of reproducing than the older females. 2. Caroline -- The near-sightedness is a worry, as is her lack of kids. However, she is young (age 31) and can pilot the ship. 13. Trader_Jorge -- The youngest male (age 29) with no major health problems. Guaranteed fertility. Intelligent. 10. Rahim -- Guaranteed fertile. No major health problems. Slightly younger than the other male options (age 38). 15. Angelo -- Max gets eliminated due to his extensive health problems. Steven, Sergei and Angelo are all very similar (around the same age, no children, no health problems) but Angelo has a better skill set (farmer). Dimitri is younger but gets eliminated because of his severe myopia. Kerry get eliminated because he is too old and is a religious nut.
Perfect managemnet exercise: recruitment, hiring, work distribution, succession planning and layoffs.
I would keep Caroline. As an experienced pilot she could guide the ship through any difficult times. She is also of a decent childbearing age, and seems to have no significant health problems. Natasha is worth keeping. At 27, she would be able to bear children to keep humanity alive and well. She would also be able to fix any technical problems the ship would experience, and eventually, re-modernize the planet. Her miscarriage is a concern, though. Addrienne should be kept due to child bearing reasons, and the fact that should could repopulate the earth with plants and herbs to eat. Max should be kept. He would be valuable in reproduction (He's obviously smart), and could be the doctor of the new population. Hiro doesn't have great value in keeping. Dimitri probably should be kept. He's young and smart, and has a good concept of spatial relationships, and probably building things ---------------------- That's only 5. For the other one, take your pick. It would be fun to do a Clutchfans version of this. Kind of like a Survivor game.
BTW, I just realized the TC cleverly made us do his homework for him. Oh well, the question itself is engaging and simulating enough to be worth doing anyhow..
Thanks for everyone's input. Some great ideas on here. After meeting with some classmates last night, these are most likely going to be the picks: 1) Natasha 2) Addrienne 3) Caroline 4) Max 5) Rahim 6) Jorge <---still up in the air, I'm starting to lean towards Kerry for that person with experience and leadership, although Angelo and his farming skills would be nice. It was concluded that 3/3 would be the best way to go because the 4th youngest female is on the borderline of fertility. If she can't have children then she would be almost completely obsolete. Right now it's coming down to Jorge/Kerry/Angelo for that last spot. Pugs
i think someone mentioned earlier but i dont think the meteor would destroy everything. you would have reminants of civilization like buildings, vehicles, tools, etc...
Nice. That's my same exact list except I had Angelo in there instead of Max. It seems like some here weren't too concerned with Max's hypertension or his allergies because they likely wouldn't kill him, at least not quickly. But my concern was him passing hypertension down to his children. Recent research supports the argument that it is hereditary. I'm not a Kerry fan considering his advanced age, higher chance at infertility (all else equal), and the likelihood that he's probably less physically capable than most of the other guys. People cite his leadership as a key factor, but I don't agree so much. We're talking about a group of very smart, experienced individuals here. I think they would be fine without him.
I really just read through a few comments, but mostly the main project. Things to consider. 1) You need a pilot 2) You need a physician.... Hard to continue reproducing without a good doctor 3) Think about where people came from. Different government styles makes it tough for people to coexist. Let's do this another way, cross out who should not be there.. it's easier. 11. Kerry. He wanted to retire. He's an astrologist for a planet with 6 survivors that will probably have to take a big regress in technology. His obbies and his post-retirement plans will almost have no effect in a planet of 6 people. 9. Hiro.... His money won't mean anything. He lived his dream and his age makes him an obvious choice to leave off the shuttle 4. Natasha.... I doubt they will have to worry about computers for awhile. She also had a miscarriage, putting her status to repopulate at risk. Not worth 1 of the 6 spots even though she's the youngest. 10. Rahim would've been one of my top picks, except hiim being in the Iranian Airforce tends to make me think that he might have an issue in the new society. He's one of the pilots, but I see better choices out there. He's also towards the end of this reproducing career. 13. Jorge.. sadly he's the youngest, but disliking exercise in a world where you're going to need to not be lazy... not a good combination. His deep space background also servers no purpose after the landing. 8. Max ... he won' survive his allergies if a meteor destroyed Earth.... Who to keep: We need to pilot back. 6. Alexandra, 51 years old.... but can serve as pilot and navigator. She's a veteran and can put them back safely. Her mother's a US Senator, meaning she does have exposure to creating a government and restarting a new society. She might not have too many years to live, but she's in excellent health and can be good in creating a good environment. Obviously, we have to worry about reproducing.. continuing life Females obviously more important in this aspect as pregnancy will be a risk without the attention of a lot of medical attention 2. Caoline - never had children before. The near-sightedness bothers me but I believe she's a must. Democratic society background and a co-pilot. Serves both purposes 5. Addrienne 34, and seems to know a lot about plants. It might come useful and she's at an age where she could still help repopulate. It will definitely be necessary as she's also one of the younger ones 14. Dimitri - son of a president helps create a society. He's young enough and in good health. The contact lense thing is an issue, but hopefully he can find a way around it. 15. Angelo. He grew all the food he ate. That sounds like a good recipe to start. Being 43, he's at the edge of his reproducing days, but he seems to be in good health and his limp is not something that could get passed on if he has children 3. Sumiyo She's older, but she seems to be one of the better medical people out there. It'll be needed, especially if they plan to repopulate. Her father died of a heart attack 6 years older than she is now, but females are less likely to go out that way, and 6 years is plenty of years to help with newborn babies and to pass on the necessary medical knowledge. THAT LEAVES.. Michelle... if she wasn't 42, she would be the best choice as twins prove that she could be fertile. Breast cancer survivors, however, tend to have medical issue sin the future based on all the side effects of their daily medications. Sergei is 44, but he really doesn't server a great purpose, and he's probably too old to help raise children Steven is 41, which is one of the issue. The idea that we have no information on his biological parents makes it a risk that I'm not willing to take. Of the 6 people, they have a similar government and I believe they could coexist
