"'Apocalypse is an old idea, which can be traced to religion, but extinction is a surprisingly modern one, resting on scientific knowledge about nature. 'When we talk about extinction, we are imagining the human species disappearing and the rest of the universe indefinitely persisting, in its vastness, without us. 'This is very different from what Christians imagine when they talk about Rapture or Judgement Day.'"
"Scientists who study the destruction of humanity talk about what they call 'existential risks' - threats that could wipe out the human species. Ever since humans learned to split the atom, one of the most pressing existential risks has been nuclear war. During the Cold War, fears of nuclear war were so high that governments around the world were seriously planning for life after the total annihilation of society."
Thousands of social media users spread viral Rapture predictions that failed to occur. Experts identify human-made existential risks as the likeliest routes to species extinction, including nuclear war, rogue artificial intelligence and engineered biological weapons. Extinction is framed as the disappearance of the human species while the universe persists, a concept grounded in scientific knowledge rather than religious apocalypse. Nuclear danger remains acute: the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight and the nine nuclear-armed countries collectively possess about 12,331 warheads. Cold War-era planning reflected past fear of total societal annihilation.
Read at Mail Online
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