Thread: What Will End The World?

I didn't get a chance to post in the other one. I tend to take the OR option here.

Humanity will eventually die out, most likely eventually through apathy.

We have the means right now to survive almost any pandemic or disaster, be it asteroid of global wamring. True, there will not be billions left after said disasters, but there will be small pockets of humanity that will continue.

The world? Nothing short of the sun expanding will kill ALL life on the planet. Something will survive any other disaster. Hopefully, if humanity does manage to last the 15 billion or so years until that happens, we will have moved on to other planets.

I think we can safely assume we have moved to other planets in 15 billion years - if humanity still lives.

My bad about the last post

My guess is its going to be a pandemic that kills us off, like an airborn form of aids or something.

The truth is any of the above could kill us off.

Meteor:
If its big enough it will block out the sun for 10's, 100's or 1,000's of years. Humans need UV light for proper brain function, and plants need it to live. With no plants, omnivors dont eat, and if omnivors dont eat, carnivors (humans) dont eat. EVERYTNING would die except for select animals that can absorb nutrients from the ground.

In the last thread I said global warming but I doubt that now.

I would say an asteroid but then other planets like Jupiter suck the asteroids to them due to their gravity although we could still die by one.

I'm suprised that natural disasters aren't up there, like a super volcano. The last super volcano wiped out 7/8 of the planets population .

I doubt AI would take over, nuclear war would only pollute the planet and kill most of the animals on the planet but not all.

I'm going to have to go with other though.

The La Palma tsunami will be strong, but not exterminating.
http://www.exitmundi.nl/tsunami.htm

As far as an entire wipeout goes, I'm going for the sun expanding.

Global warming wouldn't destroy the planet's population.

Frankly I don't think nuclear war would get very far.

AI would not be able to exterminate the human race.

A plague is a strong possibility, but I just dont see EVERYONE dieing.

The Sun expanding... we'd be long gone by then.

For me, it has to be an asteroid. Total destruction and long term annihalation.

I will destroy the world.

Hey....... good lucid scenario

Ok, I copied and pasted my answer from the earlier thread and made a little change.


Global Warming
It's going to kill a lot of people, screw up the economy, and change our lives, but it's not going to end the world. For one thing, even if we were to kill off all humans with increased temperatures the animals would still be alive. Second, humans ARE stupid, but not stupid enough to totally kill themselves over a period of 300ish years (that's a guess, sorry if I'm totally off).

Nuclear War (lol nucular)
This is probably likely. As said before, one nation bombs another, that nation fights back, each nation gets allies, the countries not involved get attacked, and so forth. The radiation levels will definetly kill a lot of people. However, it would be really really really really difficult to kill all animals and humans, considering everybody is scattered around, and may get used to the high radiation. We'd need REALLY powerful weapons.

Plague Pandemic
No way. If it was that serious, travel would be stopped, people would be spread out, millions of dollars would be invested to finding a cure/vacines, and infected people would be quarantined. I guess the developing countries could be nearly wiped out if it was 20x worse than AIDS, but the developed countries have enough money to take action.

Artificial Intelligence
I believe that AI could be programmed to have emotions, but I don't think the world could ever be run by AI. At first, tons of people could be replaced by AI, since it's cheaper, and they'd make more money. But I'm sure that people would revolt and new laws would be put in place. Imagine AI as a president/prime minster lol.

Asteroid
....Unless it's freaking huge, no way.

The sun
I doubt it. Think of how much the earth has gone through in the past 100 years. Wars, hurricanes, climate change, earthquakes, etc. And you think it's going to last another 5 billion? Hahaha you're insane. 5. Billion. Years. Is. A. LONG. Time.

So in the end, I'll vote Nuclear War, because I think that's the only decent answer. But, I think by the time that will happen, I'm pretty sure we'll have stuff much more powerfull than nuclear weapons.

Global Warming

I voted this in the last topic, but now I can't see that destroying humanity.

Nuclear War

The leaders of the world who have access nuclear warheads know that launching nuclear weapons at other countries will cause a chain reaction (M.A.D - mutually assured destruction), nuclear weapons are only used for some countries to give empty threats to other countries, with no gains for anyone as a result. The war in Iraq comes to mind.

Artificial Intelligence (Technology)

We'd never be able to programme robots, computers, or any other machines with the ability to carry out human emotions such as greed, hate, or anger, so why would they destroy humanity if they have no real understanding of anything at all, they don't and probably won't ever think for themselves. Cyborgs would be the closest chance, but that isn't AI, it's RI (real intelligence).

Plague Pandemic

This is much more likely, but still not very likely. We've done well at stopping the spreading of diseases such as bird flu in the past, so why wouldn't this continue?

Asteriod

This wouldn't happen. The skies are constantly watched by enourmous telescopes, we'd see an asteroid coming years in advance (I think it was TweaK who said this in te last topic) and we'd have plenty of time to plan ahead.

The Sun (Expanding)

Aparantly that won't happen for about 5 billion years.

"The future of the planet is closely tied to that of the Sun. The luminosity of the Sun will continue to steadily increase, growing from the current luminosity by 10% in 1.1 billion years (1.1 Gyr) and up to 40% in 3.5 Gyr.[22] Climate models indicate that the increase in radiation reaching the Earth is likely to have dire consequences, including possible loss of the oceans.[23]

The Sun, as part of its solar lifespan, will expand to a red giant in 5 Gyr. Models predict that the Sun will expand out to about 99% of the distance to the Earth's present orbit (1 astronomical unit, or AU). However by that time the orbit of the Earth will expand to about 1.7 AUs due to mass loss by the Sun. The planet will thus escape envelopment.[22]" From Wikipedia.


Other

Example?

BTW, sorry about getting into that big flame war in the last topic. Won't happen again, promise.

Other

Example?[/b]

Marshmallow PEEPS will eventually begin marching against the US. They are currently amassing in their factories, and training the fresh troops in martial arts and techniques.

They are at an advantage. Bullets won't stop marshmallow. Our only hope is to equip every household, every baby, every hobo with a microwave gun and pray.

Their plan is to infect cabs in major cities with smallpox. Once our numbers are depleted, they will aim for the nuclear weapons, overpower us and take them. Once they go nuclear, they will set sights at other major countries, taking out the nuclear countries first, and then the other threats. They will leave third world countries unharmed, but will enslave them.

Once the world's population is enslaved and working in factories, they will then spread to the reaches of the universe like a virus, contaminating populated planets, multiplying, and moving on.


They will end us before anything natural or man-made occurs.

God help us all.

Originally Posted by Gawain

Marshmallow PEEPS will eventually begin marching against the US. They are currently amassing in their factories, and training the fresh troops in martial arts and techniques.
[/b]

OMG, this is terrible We'll have to destroy their factories first, then wait for them to expire. They'd struggle to create more marshmallows because they have no posable thumbs to oparate the machinary. We'll have to use suicide attacks, let people be engulfed by them, and eat them from the inside out?

think the underlying main issue will be over population.
Nature then ultamitly restoring normality.

OP can be attached and exaggerate almost any of todays more -- more people

define "the world"

do you mean the bit of space dust that we reside?

because if that's the case very few of your options will end the existence of matter.

do you mean the consciousness that you carry capacity for?

because if that's the case there should be way more options than are available.

i still think we, as human beings, can't behave ourselves properly, thus destroying us, and most of earths animals with our nukes...

but that's just my idea...

the second possible answer is c) (or whatever) the sun expanding... or b) an asteroid (i don't know whether i REALLY think the asteroid thing will happen)

we will probably be smart enough to find a solution to global warming, and i still can't see how computers will become concious.. so i won't choose that one...

a plague pandemic could kill most of us... but surely not ALL of us... for as far as i know, not a single species of animals on the planet has been killed by disease alone... so i don't think this'll happen to us...


nanobots would be another plausible thing (if we ever make factories as large as one molecule, that is...)

fun site with end-of-the world-scenarios (again&#33:

http://www.exitmundi.nl/exitmundi.htm

atcaully, i just saw a thing on the news where they predict taht the geysers at yellowstone could erupt anytime and could potentially eradicate North America, spewing toxic gases that will block out the sun for a VERY long time. i know its no the world, but, north america is a considerable chunk of it. scientists say it hasn't erupted for 600,000 years and its due for another anytime now.

Originally Posted by secret_neo

atcaully, i just saw a thing on the news where they predict taht the geysers at yellowstone could erupt anytime and could potentially eradicate North America, spewing toxic gases that will block out the sun for a VERY long time. i know its no the world, but, north america is a considerable chunk of it. scientists say it hasn't erupted for 600,000 years and its due for another anytime now.
[/b]

That is about a load of shit.
I think seismologist are a bit more concerned with active volcanic sites Mt Rieneeer -St Helens) and fault lines than a little geyser.

That might be the supervolcano I was telling you about. Be ware the world as we know will end

Originally Posted by Howetzer

That is about a load of shit.
I think seismologist are a bit more concerned with active volcanic sites Mt Rieneeer -St Helens) and fault lines than a little geyser.
[/b]

OMG I'M MOVING TO EUROPE RIGHT NOW!!!!!
Lol /jk

I've been thinking of something to put in other, but what if eventually aliens come to earth? Aliens have to exist, since the universe is so vast it would be ignorant to say that our planet is the only one with life. Maybe in 1 billion years aliens will blow up earth with their Death Star
Hey, in 1 billion years from now, anything is possible.

OK, anyone watching this 20/20 special about the world ending? See my reason for AI on the poll now?

No, in a worse case scenario we'd just blow them up with futuristic laser shotguns. And no, shotguns will not think for themselves

I don't think that ANY of the above options are likely to TOTALLY end the world and/or the human race in the concievable future.

But, I voted "Pandemic", because, I think that's the most likely to come CLOSEST to ending the world.

It would have to be a disease or virus with a high chance of fatality, a long incubation period, and extremely hard to detect symptoms. What would happen is that it would spread over the world, and due to the long incubation period, by the time people start dying, and quarantine is imposed, it's already LEFT the country, weeks earlier...

I'm sticking with my decision that the world doesn't have to end, and while we will inevitably face cricis far worse than we face today, we will rise up and overcome them somehow.

As a Christian, I also have my beliefs as to what will happen, but that is a topic for another day.

Oh MAN, you forgot the aliens!!! All the crop circles and ufo sightings? Our days are numbered! J/k


Seriously though.
I see a lot of people think in such simple terms as physical annihilation. I think only Seeker listed apathy, a mental thing as case for human extinction.

My idea is somewhat close to his. I think that some time in the future there may be *an idea* or some kind of knowledge that will destroy the society and civilization as we know it. There may still be humans, but the world in general would be radically different. I dont know what this killer idea will be but I may list a few to start you thinking:

a) All kinds of afterlife and divinities absolutely disproved. Think of it as a triumph of materialism and biology. IMO this will cause the civilization to fall into apathy and destroy itself.

b) An absolute proof of magic or some kind of latent supernatural abilities - can you imagine people gaining lucid powers in RL?

c) Discovery of parallel universes, dimensions or planes and the technology to travel there...

If Hillary Clinton becomes president!?

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