Steven Hawking: Humans must colonize space or become extinct

Earlier this week in an interview with Big Think, physicist Stephen Hawking warned that humans will face extinction if they do not find another planet to inhabit.

In the video interview posted below Hawking says, "We are entering an increasingly dangerous period in our history, there have been a number of times in the past when survival has been a question of touch and go, like the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963, and the frequency of such occasions is likely to increase in the future." Hawking also believes that if humans can maintain life for two more centuries, they will survive. (He was also very skeptical about reaching this goal)

He claims humans will have a hard time surviving another century because people "carry selfish and aggressive instincts," and deplete natural resources at an alarming rate.

He believes our only chance for longterm survival is the colonization of space. In order for such a feat to occur, humans would have to create highly advanced technologies in order to travel long distances. Scientists estimate, with the most recent technology, that it would take over 50,000 years to reach earths nearest star.

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