The short version
Alan Weisman's nonfiction thought experiment about Earth after humans disappear.
From the HackerLinks archive
The World Without Us
Alan Weisman's nonfiction thought experiment about Earth after humans disappear.
At a glance:
First seen:2026-08-05
Last seen:2026-08-05
Times seen:1
Website:us.macmillan.com
Why it caught our attention
A commenter suggested it as directly relevant context for how quickly human landscapes can change.
Where it surfaced on Hacker News
2026-08-05
“you might be interested in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Without_Us”
forlorn_mammoth · recommendation
Direct HN comment
Amazonian civilization had estimated 3M people in 3% of forest area
Also surfaced in this discussion
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Amazonian civilization had estimated 3M people in 3% of forest area
2026-08-05