Stephen Hawking @ Yahoo! Answers

[The Winnipeg Warrior]

Has anyone here read his latest question posed to Yahoo! Answers?

How can the human race survive the next hundred years?

"In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060704195516AAnrdOD

What are your thoughts, please.

 

[Anvil]

Here was my answer.

We will adapt. Like we have in the past. The question that should be asked, is much longer till the human race as a whole, discover our faults and follies, and ready ourselves for the next step in evolution? We've already seen the beginning of this next journey, but when will the majority come to realize just as the rest of us have.

The problem that needs to be looked at, is what will bring the climax of our civilization. The next 100 years might be just that. But it all comes back to adaption of the next phase. Will we destroy ourselves? Will we learn to combine as a whole? What is next?

To directly answer your question, we need to come together as one race, one community. One planet, combined as a whole to survive. Racial discrimination between fellow human beings needs to be completely abolished in order for us to become one. What bothers me most, is the fact that for this to happen, we would need to seek outside help, in which we have no proof, nor understanding of help outside of our planet. Is there another way? Maybe.

How. I hate to say that I've only so far answered your question with more questions. But in a way that's all there is that we can do for the time being. We must wait for the next phase, the next inevitable step to present itself in order to discover a solution.

Many points need to be looked at. WMD's. What needs to be done is we need to come together as a planet and share the technologies, rather than put these technologies against one another. Political stances. Whether left wing or right wing, we need to find a middle point. somewhere where we can all agree. Religion needs to be pulled out of all politics for this to happen. I'm not saying that Religion needs to abolished, I just believe that people must learn that religion won't save you.

I'm personally of no religion, however I was brought up a Roman Catholic. The teachings of this religion, I am very familiar of, and was once a follower. But we don't need followers in this new world. "Mankind got it all wrong by taking a good idea, and building a belief structure on it." "Its better to have ideas... you can change an idea, changing a belief is trickier."

There are so many open doors in a question like that. So many doors that need to be closed to continue down that hallway. Your question brings many answers, yet none that will be complete. I wish I were able to help more, but being only a 19 year old Canadian, its hard to help with such a small voice.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Humans will not survive the next hundred years. Even if life on the planet isn't wiped out by a run-away greenhouse effect or radiation from a nuclear war, humankind is degenerating physically and mentally at a phenomenal rate. Something may come out of humankind that has the qualities necessary to survive, but billions will die. Humans can always be relied upon to make the worst possible decisions.

 

[Anvil]

Humans will not survive the next hundred years. Even if life on the planet isn't wiped out by a run-away greenhouse effect or radiation from a nuclear war, humankind is degenerating physically and mentally at a phenomenal rate. Something may come out of humankind that has the qualities necessary to survive, but billions will die. Humans can always be relied upon to make the worst possible decisions.

We've made it this far... What makes you think we won't make it another hundred years? Because of our sudden leap in technology? I think you underestimate the human being.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Stephen Hawking himself seems to have strong doubts that humans can survive another century, so I am in esteemed company. This is a different order of crisis from any faced in the past.

 

[speed]

Good to see you back Winnipeg Warrior.

This is an interesting question. The amazing thing about humanity though, is it will change if it is forced to. One would think the New Orleans incident would have opened our eyes to Global warming, but sadly that was not the case. Still, if we are faced with a real crisis, things will change.

It's the nuclear option that would concerns me the most. It's amazing with the thousands of nuclear missles, that one of them hasnt been fired in accident. I think our current administration has really made matters only worse for countries like N. Korea and Iran, and any other country that seeks to protect itself. It would be wonderful if all countries could scrap all of their warheads, or keep a minimal well-protected amount of them.

 

[Anvil]

Like I mentioned, we should be sharing our technologies with one another, and we'd come out stronger than before.

 

[Norsemaiden]

Oswald Spengler said in "Man and Technics" that the worst thing the west could do is to share its technology with the rest of the world (as we have done even if it was mostly purchased from us) because they would use it against us. And this would be the major factor bringing about the end of our civilisation.

 

[speed]

Oswald Spengler said in "Man and Technics" that the worst thing the west could do is to share its technology with the rest of the world (as we have done even if it was mostly purchased from us) because they would use it against us. And this would be the major factor bringing about the end of our civilisation.

A wonderful point, although I dont know how we've come to discussing this subject on this thread. Not only have we shared the tech, but we have trained them how to use it; and what's worse, they're the ones that have become the experts (a stroll down any science/math graduate program would provide one all the evidence one needs).

 

[Keltoi]

I can't help but compare the belief that mankind will somehow cease to exist, to early Christian ministers who preached the end of the world was coming any day now. Of course this tragic event hasn't come to pass yet in over 1,000 years. Global warming might cause some climate disruption and raise the temperature of ocean water, but a "Day After Tommorrow" type event is pure science fiction. What happened in New Orleans was due to badly designed levees and a piss poor city mayor, not global warming. Really bad hurricanes have happened before, it wasn't some supernatural and unheard of event. The only way I see the human race dying out in the next hundred years is a global disease epidemic. Which isn't likely to occur. Most of us won't be around to know the answer in any event.

 

[The Winnipeg Warrior]

Good to see you back Winnipeg Warrior.

Thank you. My work schedule doesn't allow me much time anymore. But I particpate when I can.

 

[Anvil]

We've survived global epidemics before.

In the point that was brought up about how we sell and train others in the world to use our weapons, I must say that the US turns around and somehow pisses that country off. All this terrorism shit almost always has a reason behind it. Cause and Effect.

 

[Mikobass]

Humanity is only in it's teens, if it can survive without committing suicide (Religion and Capitalism = Evil) before reaching adulthood, it will live a very long and happy life. I'm a long term optimist...

 

[Keltoi]

Religion and Capitalism =Evil? I'm not buying into that. Although, I do agree that humanity has many. many years left of its existence.

 

[entanglement]

The only possible THREAT I can look at is an out of the blue-middle of the day 9/11-like bigger scaled nuclear attack by some organisation not in its proper senses. People are only becoming more self-centered as centuries pass by, we're only gaining intelligence with every generation as we become so. We do know the consequences of our doings, either by foresight, proper judgement or simply intution (which is caused by past experiences of a similar sort). We're on the up at everything other than maintaining what the ones in the past left for us.. the only thing we SHOULD be worried about.. be it culture or be it our planet.

Oswald Spengler said in "Man and Technics" that the worst thing the west could do is to share its technology with the rest of the world (as we have done even if it was mostly purchased from us) because they would use it against us. And this would be the major factor bringing about the end of our civilisation.

Why would the rest of the world misuse a technology? Just because they're not the part of the 'west'?
Please,please. Elaborate.

 

[Anvil]

Although people don't seem to believe it, but the "West" is starting to fall behind in advancements in technology. But then again, "The West" has never really been the leader, either.

 

[speed]

Why would the rest of the world misuse a technology? Just because they're not the part of the 'west'?
Please,please. Elaborate.

True. We (the west) like to think of ourselves as properly civilized and important (although we never really were), while the East and the rest of the world, we believe to be a bit barbaric and uncultured.

 

[speed]

Although people don't seem to believe it, but the "West" is starting to fall behind in advancements in technology. But then again, "The West" has never really been the leader, either.

The first part of your statement is only partially correct. The amount of patents and innovations being filed in the west is still exponentially greater than anywhere else--of course many of them are being filed by Indians and Chinese who know live in the West etc.

The second part of your statement is bizarre. The West has been the undisputed leader in almost every field since the 17th century. Is this changing, probably yes; but really who knows.

 

[entanglement]

The 'west' were the colonists. If there hadn't been those times, who knows 'which race' would've been the superior one right now. Its a worthless concept to begin with, actually, superiority. I like to believe that everybody's uniquely equipped, which he/she could more easily discover without the suppressions he/she faces because of that person's origin.

If colonism hadn't been there in those times, it would have been a whole different world than what we see now.

 

[speed]

The 'west' were the colonists. If there hadn't been those times, who knows 'which race' would've been the superior one right now. Its a worthless concept to begin with, actually, superiority. I like to believe that everybody's uniquely equipped, which he/she could more easily discover without the suppressions he/she faces because of that person's origin.

If colonism hadn't been there in those times, it would have been a whole different world than what we see now.

Im not disagreeing with you.

Is everyone (or culture) fully equipped? I dont think so personally. In terms of potential maybe. Would computers have been invented in the East or the Middle East with the pre-colonial culture in place? I doubt it. A number of very advanced inventions, calculus etc, were invented or known by the Romans and Greeks, but not developed due to their own cultural restrictions. Think how far ahead the Chinese once were, but due to bureacracy and cultural restrictions, became the drug addicted slaves of the british.

The point is, is that culture is far more important the development of innovations etc, than some give it credit for. It was because of this cultural phenomenom in the west (beginning with the Age of reason or the enlightenment), that essentially elimanated every single restriction against science and created our present age, and through colonialism and trade has allowed the rest of the world to catch up.