Ideas worth spreading

10 ways the world could end

2,000,851 views |

Stephen Petranek |

TED2002

• February 2002

How might the human race end? Stephen Petranek lays out 10 terrible options and the science behind them. Will we be wiped out by an asteroid? Eco-collapse? How about a particle collider gone wild?

How might the human race end? Stephen Petranek lays out 10 terrible options and the science behind them. Will we be wiped out by an asteroid? Eco-collapse? How about a particle collider gone wild?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Stephen Petranek

Stephen Petranek

Technology forecaster

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Stephen Petranek untangles emerging technologies to predict which will become fixtures of our future lives -- and which could potentially save them.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.