Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

Dr Stephen Hawking is one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists but is perhaps best known for his 1988 best-selling book A Brief History of Time. He recently asked a question on Yahoo! Answers: How can the human race can survive the next hundred years?

It received some very interesting replies from Answers users and recently Dr Hawking picked his favourite one. But as an added bonus he also offered some insight into his own view, which you can listen to in his own voice or read.

Dr Hawking admittedly doesn’t have an answer to this question. In fact, getting people involved in discussing this subject was his sole purpose for asking all along. Using his own insight, he urges Answerers to think about more pressing matters than extinction level events like asteroid collisions.

He points out that the dangers of nuclear armament and escalation, climate change, and genetically engineered viruses are more immediate threats. Dr Hawking also realises that humankind has far better chance of survival if discussions of possible solutions spur a desire to take action.

Take a listen for yourselves and discuss it here. How can we help stop global warming? Is nuclear disarmament attainable? What are some ways that we can make global change happen? Is the colonisation of space really the answer? You’ll have to let us know what you think.
– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team