10 Ways the world could end

[Vox]

Interesting presentation and argumentation.

 

Wondering why volcanos were not in the list, due that we could not do anything to prevent them?

 

TED Blog | 10 ways the world could end: Stephen Petranek on TED.com

[Little Bang]

Out of the ten one has a 99.9999% chance of happening. Ecological collapse due to over population.

[Donk]

EXIT MUNDI, my favourite end-of-the-world site. Just call me weird ;)

[modest]

The list, in case anyone doesn't want to read the transcript or watch the video, is:

 

10. We lose the will to survive.

9. Aliens Invade Earth

8. The Ecosystem Collapses

7. Particle Accelerator Mishap

6. Biotech Disaster.

5. Reversal of the Earth’s Magnetic Field

4. Giant solar flares

3. A New Global Epidemic

2. We Meet a Rogue Black Hole

1. Big Asteroid Heads For Earth

 

Some of the things on the list like "we lose the will to survive" seem a little odd and some of them missing from the list like GRBs and other high-energy cosmic events, or a catastrophic nuclear war, seem conspicuously absent.

 

Wondering why volcanos were not in the list, due that we could not do anything to prevent them?

 

I suppose it could be considered a cause of #8: the collapse of the ecosysmem. Where lava flows are suspected of contributing to mass-extinctions (such as the Deccan Traps of India 65 million years ago) I believe it is the progressive collapse of the ecosystem which is the downfall of most species affected.

 

I personally believe that humans have become so adaptive that most sudden changes to the ecosystem, even drastic ones that might come from a supervolcano type event, would not be sufficient to cause the extinction of our species. Of course, the damage to our society and the suffering would be enormous—just not sufficient to cause extinction.

 

~modest

[noexpert]

That is a good question, why could super volcanos such as Yellowstone not account for an end of the world scenario. It seems far more likely than Aliens or a Black Hole. And as far as the adaptation to our surroundings saving us, what if it were multiple super volcanos in a short period of time? Maybe that would be enough?

[modest]

And as far as the adaptation to our surroundings saving us, what if it were multiple super volcanos in a short period of time? Maybe that would be enough?

 

I suppose it could. I'm not saying it's impossible—it just seems unlikely to me.

 

~modest

[coldcreation]

Why 10 ways? Why not 9 or 11 ways? Or even 13?

 

Maybe it has to do with the fact that there were 10 commandments.

 

It sounds like numerology to me. Kind of like the ancient Mayans doomsday prediction for 12/21/2012.

 

Oh, and the most likely (even if 1-10 are realized in the mean time), according to general consensus, was not mentioned at all: The Sun is predicted to become a red giant in approximately five billion years.

 

Little chance of anything making it through that.

 

CC