if the question is "is civilization about to collapse?" then an answer of "don't worry, humanity will probably survive to rebuild over the following centuries" is maybe not the most reassuring answer.

I think this video needs a title change. It doesn't answer if we're on the brink of collapse at all. It simply talks about how civilization would recover if it does collapse.

Today's fact: Ancient Greeks came up with the idea of cyclops after they found a fossil of a mammoth, and had no idea what it was.

The past couple of years has really given me this sense that the world is more unstable than just a few years ago. Maybe we aren't facing extinction, but it does feel like there is a real chance of civilization stumbling. I hope that is just a worst case scenario. But I can't help but feel a tension, a sense of fear.

Why do I see among us lol?

"We just need to actually do it." If history has proven anything it's that societies never prepare for problems until they're already collapsing from them. EDIT: Since this got so much of a response I'll add to this - society goes through cycles. The people that solve the problems are the ones that had to live with the collapse and have no choice. Sadly we're seeing the death of a golden age as the system we're in can no longer adapt to the problems we face. I like Kurzgesagt's optimism, but systems either work or they don't. Every system works until it breaks because it cannot change and ours is no different. I hope I'm wrong but if we match the pattern of history I will not be.

As an electrician I get overwhelmed with work after a simple thunderstorm.. I couldn't imagine how stressed out I would be trying to rebuild society (assuming I live through the collapse)

"Without civilization, most people would not have been born" -- that's why there were so few humans before 1991. Thank Sid Meier for saving us.

Western civilisation is, we're obsessed with materialism.

Yes, our world is heading to a collapse and humankind moving towards extinction. But hey we got bigger problems to worry about like prince Harry & Meg, Kardashiens and other celebs with their dramas.

Is modern civilization about to collapse?

“Humanity is like a teenager speeding around blind corners drunk and without a seatbelt” -Kurzgesagt

2:27

"Humanity is like a teenager, speeding around blind corners, drunk, without a seat belt." Maybe the best quote in the whole video.

I'm not worried about whether civilization can recover, I'm worried about having to recover. I'm personally not that keen on experiencing civilizational collapse, and knowing that those who make it through will rebuild doesn't really change that. The bronze age collapse is a curious bit of history to us, but to the people living through it, it might as well have been the end of the world. In relation to the bronze age collapse, I'm one of the people learning about it via unfathomable technologies 3000 years later, but in relation to whatever happens in our time, collapse or no, I'm that bronze age rando who would much rather have reliable access to food and not have to go to war.

I'm not worried about the survival of humanity, I'm worried about my civilization crumbling around me

For some reason, that bird looking with glee when it finally managed to produce a toast was heart warming.

Interesting that you guys didn't mention the Bronze Age Collapse, which is often the event that many people point to as the defining societal collapse. However, even the Bronze Age Collapse didn't entirely erase civilization, as major civilizations like Assyria, Egypt, and Babylonia were able to weather the storm and survive into classical times. I think the collapse of the Roman Empire was simplified here, because while the empire in Italy itself fell, the eastern half of the empire survived, all the way until 1453, and Italy, Spain, France, England, and North Africa were taken over by new kingdoms of Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Vandals rather than falling into total societal collapse. In fact, Italy in particular would see a resurgence under king Theodoric the Great. If anything, it was the Byzantines' invasion and reconquest of Italy that actually caused the bigger societal collapse than the fall of Rome itself.

as always I absolutely loved this video, but just personally I feel like it more answered “can civilization recover from a collapse” than “how likely is it for civilization to collapse?” Cuz honestly im worried more about the latter