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Comment by wobbleblob | Hacker News Reader

Compared to the Permian-Triassic extinction event, the black death barely qualifies as a mishap, let alone the greatest catastrophe ever !

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For humans, it was the greatest catastrophe. Remember Permian-Triassic period didn't just affected one species and there were no humans during that period. You could say our ancestors were affected though.

There is the Toba catastrophe theory - basically that the huge eruption of Toba caused a reduction of the number of breeding pairs of humans down to a few thousand:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba_catastrophe_theory

Hasn't the Toba theory been discredited?

Perhaps the volcano wasn't the cause, but IIRC there's reason to think that humans display less genetic diversity than might be expected, pointing towards a bottleneck somewhere in the past.

Humans are very unusual from a genetic perspective that makes analysis of us difficult. Firstly, the population has expand hugely in a very short time so there are all sorts of founder effects. Secondly, the selection presure completely changed a few thousand years ago with the transition from hunter-gather to farming. These two factors make it really hard to use the normal genetic tools and concepts to study human evolution and draw accurate conclusions.

This is the first I have heard about Toba Catastrophe. I must suck at prehistoric history.

Well, as danieltillett points out, it seems to have been discredited but the eruption definitely did happen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Toba

Tell that to the synapsids. Tell that to the trilobites! Tell them that straight to their faces, if you can find one.

well if we stick to modern issues, world war 2 would make the black death down on the lists. the number of deaths that occurred during government caused famines in China (great leap) and Russia have estimates that are worse and I would classify them are worse than the Black Death because they were purposeful and fully avoidable.

It is one thing to have a virulent disease wipe out an ignorant people with limited communication and scientific ability to cope. It is wholly another what is done purposefully by governments to their own and others. Japan, China, and Russia, all have been guilty of incredible death tolls because of treatment of their own people and those they conquered. If anything that make the Nazi's look like amateurs but for the most part they get a pass for their past transgressions

The Black Death was followed by about 400 years of plague outbreaks in Europe. It also struck the Middle East, Africa, the Caucausus and Russia. It is bloody hard to make a total tally of how many people died by plague.

But the Black Death itself was special in that it was such a condensed and intense disaster. If you have the chance to read the eyewitness accounts, as collected by Rosemary Horrox it is quite impressive.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Death-Manchester-Medieval-Source...

I also really liked "History of the Plague in London" (http://www.amazon.com/History-Plague-London-Daniel-Defoe-ebo...)

Supernovae and GRBs are chuckling right now. ;)

Or compare to the Oxygen catastrophe [1], when cyanobacteria caused death of virtually all aerobic species.

[1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event

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