Then the threshold, like, what counts as civilizational devastation?

那么门槛，比如，什么算作文明破坏？

So you define that ball as one that would inevitably bring about civilizational destruction.

CA：所以你把那个球定义为一个不可避免地会带来文明破坏的球。

They created some of the most original civilizational elements for which the United States is now celebrated.

他们创造了一些最原始的文明元素，美国现在因这些元素而闻名。

Most  of the tribes had achieved a similar technological and civilizational level of development  with resembling lifestyles and cultures.

大多数部落都达到了相似的技术和文明发展水平，具有相似的生活方式和文化。

A global civilizational collapse could be an existential catastrophe: something that ruins not just the lives of everyone alive today, but all the future generations that could have come into being.

一个全球文明的崩溃有可能是个人类存亡的灾难：不止能毁掉所有今天活着的人的生活，甚至能摧毁所有原本能够出现的未来世代。

But the probable life span of civilizational consciousness as we know it, which we should really view as this very delicate thing, like a small candle in a vast darkness.

但是我们所知道的文明意识的可能寿命，我们真的应该把它看作是一件非常微妙的事情， 就像茫茫黑暗中的一根小蜡烛。

Well, I mean, I'm trying to set a good example because the birthrate on Earth is so low that we're facing civilizational collapse unless the birth rate returns to a sustainable level.

EM：嗯，我的意思是，我想树立一个好榜样，因为地球上的出生率如此之低，除非出生率恢复到可持续水平，否则我们将面临文明崩溃。