Why Didn’t Thanos Just Double The Resources?

Thanos needs no introduction. We all watch the Avengers movies where his plan was to wipe out half of the universe’s lives. 

He believes that overpopulation is a problem. Resources are finite. This begs a question from the fans. Why didn’t Thanos just double the resources instead?

But what if we told you that it would be more catastrophic?

The problem starts as soon as we’re trying to define ‘resource’. Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. 

By that definition… food, livestock, fuel, and minerals… Let’s double them all. 

With a snap of a finger, all of the food will be doubled. The amounts of food in the markets will be doubled. Your food in the fridge will be doubled. The food in the stores will be overflowing to the aisles. That may sound good but keep in mind that we are doubling the resources here, not its quality. Which means, they all still share the same expiration dates. And that begs the question, what’s the point of doubling the food if we still need to consume it in a limited amount of time?

That doesn’t sound that bad. But how about the livestock? All of the chickens, cows, lambs, and sheep in the farm will be doubled. That means, in order to sustain them, we also need twice the amount of space, nourishment, and grooming effort.

How about the plants? Paddy, fruits, and vegetables. Not only do we need twice the amount of space to plant them, but we also need lots of nitrogen in the soil. Keep in mind that we cannot harvest the same crop on the same soil over and over again as the soil will eventually lose its nitrogen in it.

How about the resources that aren’t in our control? The fish in the ocean will be doubled. The trees in the forest will be doubled. The minerals in the ground will be doubled. We also need to keep in mind that we are only doubling our resources that are beneficial to us. And that means the amount of predatory species that doesn’t benefit us will remain. Not only that food chain will be disturbed and will cause an ecological disaster but, these species that we consume would need to live in a crammed habitat. If that happened, would they survive?

As you can probably tell by now, the more resources we make, the more space we need to sustain them. Space itself is a resource, right? So, why don’t we do just that? Just double the area of land and the oceans. Everyone and everything will have enough space to sustain the resources we just created out of thin air.

However, by doing so, that also means that we would make the Earth twice as big. Which means, the force of gravity will be twice as strong. And here comes the catastrophic part.

You will weigh twice as much. It would be tiring for you to even walk. And the babies? Their soft bones are now forced to sustain twice their weight. 

Infrastructures are forced to sustain twice the amount of their original weight. Buildings, towers, bridges, and even trees from all around the world might crack and collapse, killing billions. If that’s bad enough, the Earth’s inner crust will be hotter as there are more unstable elements. Which means, there will be more volcanic activities. 

Oh, and the Earth gravity would pull the Moon closer. As that happens, Earth’s gravity will tear the Moon apart, causing it to be smashed into pieces and orbiting Earth. The good news is Earth will have a beautiful ring like Saturn. The bad news is we would not be alive to witness it because most of the Moon debris will fall on Earth, killing everyone. 

We are not trying to justify Thanos’ genocidal act here, but we’re just letting you know that doubling the resources is a much worse plan than decimating half of the population. 

He’s not right but the alternative provided by the fans aren’t good either

Not being able to comprehend “Interstellar” the first time watching it? Worry not. We gotchu. Click here for our explanation of the movie “Interstellar”.

About the Author

Muzhameer Putra

Author

Student by day, writer by night. If it's cinematic, I'll get it right. I'm a big fan of superheroes, cinemas, science, and history. But most of all, I just love good stories.

Visit Website View All Posts