Fried Eggs » A New Theory of Biological Extinction

A new theory of mass extinction has been proposed, suggesting that many historical mass extinction events (such as the dinosaurs) were not caused by sudden disasters (such as volcanic eruptions, comet impacts, or epidemics).

The new theory suggests that the process of extinction occurs over an extremely long period of time and can be divided into four phases:

1. Pulses (e.g., intermittent comet impacts)

2. Presses (e.g., sudden large-scale volcanic eruptions)

3. Neither Pulses nor Presses

4. Both Pulses and Presses occurring simultaneously

The proportion of each phase varies, with the last phase being the most significant (with 12.8% of species disappearing every million years).

If we apply this theory to the history of human civilization, what we are currently experiencing is the "Neither Pulses nor Presses" phase...