------ Forwarded Message From: "Christopher Herot" <cherot at herot.com> Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 01:33:35 -0500 To: <farber at cis.upenn.edu> Subject: FW: Top 10 ways the world may end tomorrow
At the TED conference (www.ted.com) this week there were many thought provoking sessions. One that particularly stood out was a presentation by Stephen Petranek of Discover on the 10 most likely ways the Earth could end in the near future:
10. We lose the will to survive (depression being the #1 mental illness) 9. Aliens invade Earth (most primitive civilizations do not survive outside contact) 8. Our Ecosystem collapses (e.g. we destroy the marginal tree in the rain forest or run out of fish) 7. Particle accelerator mishap - when we can make devices powerful enough to make black holes we expect them to evaporate, but we can't be sure. 6. Biotech disaster 5. Reversal of Earth's magnetic field 4. Solar flares 3. Global epidemic 2. Rogue black hole 1. Asteroid collision
Petranek pointed out that the chances of dying from an asteroid collision are 1 in 20,000 about the same as a plane crash.
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