Tip for Reading List: How to brace for end of the world

The book, End Times, also estimates the probability of these disasters occurring, along with the impact they could have.

When the human species eventually goes extinct, what kind of event will have caused it? US-based science reporter Bryan Walsh looks at a number of possible catastrophic scenarios — volcanic super-eruptions, asteroids, artificial intelligence, climate change, nuclear wars — as well as possible solutions to prevent eventualities.

End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World is a study of these possible catastrophes, including interviews of those trying to stop them from happening, such as NASA’s asteroid destroyers and disease prevention agencies around the world. The book also estimates the probability of these disasters occurring, along with the impact they could have. In its review of the book, Scientific Inquirer acknowledges Walsh’s “attempt to root out the source of humanity’s denial and ignorance” towards existential risks. “When discussing man-made climate change, End Times delves into how economic models such as the ‘social discount rate’ can explain why we ‘privilege the present over the future’. The interdisciplinary approach Walsh uses to capture the pervasive effects and influences behind existential risks never attempts to leave his readers behind; rather, Walsh’s accessible language attempts to inform the general reader of the multi-tiered nature of the issues he discusses,” the review says.

Colonisation of other planets has long been the dream of businessmen and science-fiction writers. In his book, Walsh dedicates a chapter to space and details the faith that billionaires Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Elon Musk of Tesla seem to have in space exploration and colonisation as a means for human survival. Both have invested billions in manned spaceflight, an endeavour that even NASA is not contemplating. Walsh himself calls this a “distraction”, and writes, “Space colonization may be our destiny, but it won’t keep us safe — not for the foreseeable future. The energy and money that might be spent on nascent efforts to move off planet would be better used combating existential threats that could end that future — and readying our survival, should the worst occur.”