Question of human survival: Er, I don’t know

Introducing himself to the online community as a theoretical physicist and Lucasian professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, the 64-year-old scientist posed an open question: “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?” But Prof Hawking’s frank admission that even he was stumped by the question merely opened a lengthy response. In a four-minute recorded reply, he laid out a beginner’s guide to the changing face of threats to mankind, from devastating asteroid impact and nuclear war to climate change and rampaging genetically modified viruses.
Signs of disappointment were muted yesterday, with one respondent choosing to applaud the scientist’s honesty. “It is humbling to know that this question was asked by one of the most intelligent humans on the planet … without already knowing a clear answer,” wrote Inetap. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1836051,00.html

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