Some questions even stump Stephen Hawking

[cheerful_deviant]

Hawking seeks answers on humanity's future

NEW YORK - Some questions even stump Stephen Hawking.

The famed British astrophysicist and best-selling author has turned to Yahoo Answers, a new feature in which anyone can pose a question for fellow Internet users to try to answer. By Friday afternoon, nearly 17,000 Yahoo Inc. users had responded.

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

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I just thought this was interesting and figured I'd share.

Anyone have any thoughts on this or answers for Mr. Hawking?

 

[Stella_Omega]

He's a physicist, not a sociologist...
And, of course, the sociologists don't have any answers either.

 

[Huckleman2000]

Stephen Colbert: "Hawking is such an A-hole!"

Colbert Report

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

He's a physicist, not a sociologist...
And, of course, the sociologists don't have any answers either.

Right. Neither is he a political scientist, philosopher, nor necessarily wise regarding the good and the bad of human nature.

This blurt of Hawking's has all the weight of some Hollywood bimbo (of either sex) affecting to have uniquely compassionate and meaningful notions about world peace and the plight of the starving puppies in India.

 

[yui]

Stephen Colbert: "Hawking is such an A-hole!"

Colbert Report

Gawd, you make me laugh, Huck. You rawk.

 

[Xelebes]

How? It just does. The chaos is what this is and 100 years is only a blink of the eye. It becomes more uncertain when we talk about millenias and the sort.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Right. Neither is he a political scientist, philosopher, nor necessarily wise regarding the good and the bad of human nature.

This blurt of Hawking's has all the weight of some Hollywood bimbo (of either sex) affecting to have uniquely compassionate and meaningful notions about world peace and the plight of the starving puppies in India.

There are staving puppies in India? I thought they just wouldn't eat cows?

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

There are staving puppies in India? I thought they just wouldn't eat cows?

Yeah, I think Whoopie Goldberg went on hunger strike over it.

The Koreans and Vietnamese offered to fatten the puppies up first if the Indians shipped them over.

Stephen Hawking said they're all going to be sucked into a black hole some day anyway so it doesn't matter.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I'm sure they were thinking a similar thing two hundred years ago... or a thousand...

"The world is in chaos!!! AAaahahAAAAAA"

Blah.

 

[yui]

I'm sure they were thinking a similar thing two hundred years ago... or a thousand...

"The world is in chaos!!! AAaahahAAAAAA"

Blah.

<cough> Don't you feel that's a subjective statement, Joe?



Hi, there.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

You people are hopeless.

 

[yui]

You people are hopeless.

Do you have a point? Other than your cute little fuzzy-wuzzy beak?












Blame the beer.

 

[3113]

Hawking's question: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"
Anyone have any thoughts on this or answers for Mr. Hawking?

The answer is in chaos theory itself. Chaos theory says that systems get very chaotic than re-organize at a higher/different/new frequency (as I recall, my chaos theory is a bit rusty there).

So it'll probably get worse before it all works out. That's not to say, by the way, that it will work out WITH humanity.

We're not, after all, a long-lived species. The dinosaurs had it all over us timewise. So it's altogether possible that we won't make it. We might well go extinct and some other species, more fit to last and not make themselves extinct, will rule in our stead.

 

[Liar]

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

Liar's answer: "Um...I dunno, because we seem to have survived the last 100 years?"

Is the world in more chaos politically and socially now than a century ago? Seems to me we're not quite at the level of full armed revolutions in superpower sized nations and wealthy European powerhouses on the brink of full blown massive warfare. Just for starters....

And is it that much worse off environmentally than 40 to 50 years ago? Not entirely sure about that either.

 

[Liar]

I'm sure they were thinking a similar thing two hundred years ago... or a thousand...

"The world is in chaos!!! AAaahahAAAAAA"

Blah.

And I'm sure someone was compelled to voice a "Blah" back then too.

 

[NoJo]

A lot of people believe that humankind has the the power to shape its future. I'm not so sure about that. But I'm pretty convinced that humans will survive for a long time. What we're good at is adapting.