Is human extinction inevitable and how will it all end? Will it be anthropogenic, the result of human action, or will it come from the good old-fashioned kind of extinction the earth knows too well. The Global Catastrophic Risks Survey, issued by Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, placed our extinction before 2100 at 19 percent. Host Michael Stevens says that a simple explanation, known as The Doomsday Argument, can show that simple extinction soon is more probable. He explains in this episode of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerTag Archives: Michael Stevens
Is Anything Real?
The world is real, right? But how do you know? It’s not rocket science, it’s a question about whether rocket scientists even exist in the first place. Everything you know about the world depends on and is created inside your brain. So, do we or will we ever know true reality? Or are we stuck in a world where the best we can do is be approximately true. VSauce host Michael Stevens gives us more food for thought on this perplexing scenario.
ARVE Error: need id and providerThe Science Of Randomness
Is random really random? Science has discovered that if you look long enough, randomness can and will produce predictable patterns. Says Michael Stevens of Vsauce, “Randomness is difficult to identify. It is easier to be certain something is not random, than that it is.” Science further has determined that the real answer lies in quantum mechanics. Stevens explains.
ARVE Error: need id and providerDino Talk
Vsauce host Michael Stevens welcomes world-renowned paleontologist Jack Horner and Jurassic World actor Chris Pratt to talk dinosaurs. More specifically, to dispel long-held myths, how a branch of the species exists to this day and a possible return of the Jurassic giants in the distance future.
ARVE Error: need id and providerExtraterrestrial Land Grab
While space probes make gigantic strides in gathering interstellar data, it’s only a matter of time before humans begin migrating to other extraterestrial planets and moons, including our own. So that begs the question, Who owns these planets and moons?
Believe it or not, there is an official compact addressing this very issue called the Outer Space Treaty. Says Michael Sevens of Vsauce, “One-hundred, twenty-nine nations have signed or ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which says outer space is not subject to national appropriation. It says nothing about a private individual or a company owning part of outer space.” Steven delves into the details and documents in this edition of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerThe Power Of Last Words
We are pumping broadcasts into space as an ever-expanding sphere of radio waves, says Michael Stevens. “But here’s something humbling,” he says. “Even at the speed of light, Earth’s radio sphere is puny.”
So will our radio waves ever reach our neighbors in the universe and what will they hear–Hitler’s address from the 1936 Olympics, Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech or Neil Armstrong’s epithet from the moon? Stevens addresses the power of last words and first words in this edition of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerWhat’s In A Name?
Host Michael Stevens takes an unusual and interesting look at our individual names. He explores how we get our monikers, their origin, their similarities across the planet, amazing statistical facts and a plethora of other anecdotes in this edition of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerPiercing the Clouds
When Pyramids of Giza were built, they became the tallest structures in the world at 482 feet, and they held that distinction for 4,000 years. As technology advanced, we naturally surpassed that height many times over. So how high can we build? Michael Stevens takes on the question, adding some interesting anecdotes about tall structures and their benefits in this edition of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerHuman Extinction Inevitable
The Global Catastrophic Risks Survey says there’s a 19 percent probability that humans will become extinct by the year 2100. Host Michael Stevens asks, “Are humans going to go extinct soon? Will human extinction be anthropogenic, that is the result of human action, or will it be one of the good old-fashioned kinds of extinction Earth’s history knows pretty well?” Stevens digs deeper into the questions and gets some possible solutions in this stirring edition of Vsauce.
ARVE Error: need id and providerDid the Past Really Happen?
Did the past really happen, or did it all begin last Thursday? Michael Stevens calls the theory “Last Thursdayism,” and it questions everything that’s happened on our planet. In this unusual edition of Vsauce, Stevens explores how future inhabitants of Earth will remember us.
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