Another incestuous hypothetical... the end of the world is near...

[The Nihilist]

Nothing about humanity is so great that I'd bang a family member. Nothing about anything is that great

 

[Joykins]

NO, sorry, I do love my brother but if we are the last 2 people on earth I am afraid that will be it for the species.

ETA: not from fear of preserving a genetic defect, because the odds of that aren't so high, but because he's my brother and ew, gross.

 

[TeddyKGB]

Not guaranteed, no, but it's highly probable. Although the extra fingers would come in handy for playing music....

The hypothetical did imply that the purpose would be to continue the human race, so it suggests that we'd need to produce enough offspring for the generations to come. The fewer children, though, the more reinforcement of all genes, positive and negative.
And less scope to cull out obvious problems before they continue through the line, a la Egypt.

I've been dealt a pretty good hand genetically- no breast cancer, Altzimers (sp?), no Parkinson's in my mother's line but my father's father had it, no tendency to bloodclots or any other genetic problem going back several generations on each side, but there could well still be some problematic recessive genes kicking around. It just seems too risky to be advisable.

All else equal, you're right. But the OP posited the direst of situations. The alternative to not reproducing with your sibling is extinction. I'm not sure your objection is sufficiently powerful.

 

[Aeris]

Same here. I'm not too bothered about keeping the human race going anyway. The planet would probably be a better place without us anyway, and you never know, give it several million years, and maybe another animal can achieve the dizzy heights humans have reached in terms of technology and stuff.

Exactly what I thought when I read the OP. Many species would probably do much better without us here, except for maybe the animals we keep as pets, but they too would probably adapt and do fine without us.

 

[stan1980]

Exactly what I thought when I read the OP. Many species would probably do much better without us here, except for maybe the animals we keep as pets, but they too would probably adapt and do fine without us.

Pets would be fine as far as their respective species goes. Most outdoor domestic cats could easily survive without us, as for dogs, humans have set them back by domesticating them, and a lot of them wouldn't survive on their own for very long, as, unlike cats, they'd struggle to find food, but the species as a whole would carry on with absolutely no problems. The strongest would survive and carry on breeding.

There would probably be a lot less extinctions without humans messing with stuff too.

 

[wanderingone]

humans would just have to die out.. besides the idea of reproducing with my father (or imaginary brothers.. ) being too icky to contemplate - I'd have to produce a number of kids... and then my kids would have to reproduce with each other... or us... and well no thanks... .

 

[cantata]

Yeah, I don't see much wrong with the end of the human race, either.

 

[DeathMagus]

Is she hot? I'd probably end up doing it. What's the worst that could happen?