Human Extinction: What Are the Risks?

Correction to what I say at 11 mins 50 seconds: A supervolcano eruption ejects more than 1000 cubic kilometers of matter (not 1000 cubic meters). Sorry about that!

What do we know about the risks of human going extinct? In today's video I collect what we know about the frequency of natural disasters and just how they would kill us, and estimates for man-made disasters.

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00:00 Intro
00:30 What Is an Existential Risk?
02:00 Would Extinction be Bad?
04:18 Man-made Disasters
10:36 What's The Risk of Man-made Disasters?
11:35 Natural Disasters
13:38 What's the Risk of Natural Disasters?
16:55 Why Can't the LHC Produce Black Holes?
19:29 Protect Your Data with NordVPN

#science

[Nefville]

A nice break from the heavy topics, like black holes and neutron stars.

[sahebchoudhury]

I am scientifically almost illiterate and yet I almost never miss watching Sabine's videos. You are gift for people like me. Thank you.

[marope]

Sabine at 19:25 "In summary, the biggest existencial risk is our own stupidity"
Thank you, Sabine. We have already guessed that conclusion but at least now we can say it is been endorsed by a prestigious German theoretical physicist.

[maxmustermann]

A talk about human extinction is not complete without a detailed consideration of the benefits.
Thank you for this.

[MedlifeCrisis]

I can’t say I’m as optimistic as you regarding COVID being Pirates 3. No one learned their lessons, they still went to see the fourth movie and judging by how humanity reacted with a mild virus I am confident we’ll totally balls up the response to a future super plague

[michaelworkman]

Gotta hand it to Sabine, she's reassured us and warned us in ways that are very useful, well-put and simplified but not dumbed down. Happy new year Sabine and thank you again!

[itfrombit]

Never before has such a serious topic been discussed so lightheartedly. Wonderful, as always. Should the world end, I wish Sabine would comment on it all for us. Black holes and LHC? Good to see, that the universe is not so badly designed.

[chucknaussie]

Sabine, I don't usually comment but just wanted to say I appreciate your channel/commentary and it is indeed "without the gobblygook" and yet it is rigorous and disciplined and this has great appeal to the educated and curious. Another aspect I also like is your dry humor. Look forward to seeing more of your content !!

[sully]

Loved the intro, lighthearted talk about human extinction. Sabina humor fills me with joy.

[waynesloane]

Great video Sabine, the voice of reason, very informative; and with some fab humour.

[RhaniYago]

Habe den Kanal erst vor ein paar Tagen entdeckt und bin total begeistert. Jetzt weiß ich genau, wie ich die nächsten Tage und Wochen abends verbringe - alle alten Folgen ansehen. Sabine, Sie sind eine Wucht.

[ArtemisShanks]

I can always count on Sabine’s videos to amplify any existential crisis I happen to be entertaining.

[js]

“So today I want to talk about something light hearted — human extinction.”

Hahahaha!!! I love this channel and I love gallows humor. Happy New Year to you and your family Sabine!! Wish you all a happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous and Nuclear Armageddon free 2023 from Canada!!

☮️❤️🙏🇨🇦😂🍻

[ChrisJones-cpmn]

Watching average one of your videos per day. Really easy to follow along, without being condescending. Thank you!

[dennistucker]

Love this subject. I thought about this for some time. This concluded with a couple statements about survival. Survival comes down to 2 items. 1) Recognizing threats before too much damage is done. 2) Taking appropriate mitigating actions in time before too much damage is done. I agree with the categories of threats(natural caused & man-made). I estimate that most threats are man-made and mostly due to not being able to recognize the threats.

[throckmortensnivel]

Another excellent presentation from one of the best science presenters on the internet. I always look forward to your videos, Sabina, so keep them coming.

[polarpalmwv]

I enjoy the high level concepts and the dry humor! Very entertaining AND informative. :)

[MeitarAbarbabnel-jpwb]

I am a math student who relies on physics videos to complete some gaps resulting from our not-so-great educational system. After watching all the big videos out there, you're the only one I keep follow and I constantly learn new things with every video you post. Although there are some things I don't 100% agree with you on, you always educate me and present subjects very simply, no matter how complicated they are. Love you jokes, which is a whole other thing I enjoy. Thank you!

[genoesposito]

Sabine, I love your videos and how you approach these complex subjects. Keep up the fantastic work!

[kbjerke]

Just started reading your book, "Existential Physics." (It was a Christmas gift.) Fascinating read, Sabine! Happy New Year!