7 Doomsday Scenarios You Probably Shouldn't Worry About (And 2 You Really Should)

You Shouldn't Worry About...

7. Aliens

Stephen Hawking famously said that intelligent alien life is likely to wipe us all out as soon as look at us. This is based on the precedent set by humanity itself, with our tendency for rocking up in other people's countries and killing the locals either with our nasty diseases or our big guns. It's a compelling argument that hits the sweet spot with its blend of existential angst, headline grabbing soundbites and a good dose of colonial guilt.

It does, however, rather rely on two things: Firstly, that the aliens are anything like humanity and, secondly, that they're anything like humanity in the period between the 15th and 19th centuries.

It would be naive to pretend that we, as a species, have completely grown out of our "stealing your land and killing your people" phase, but as society advances, it's becoming a less and less prominent feature. There's a good chance that, by the time a civilisation advances to the stage of seeking out other planets, killing the locals is no longer high on the agenda.

This isn't to say that a warlike alien race wouldn't drop out of the sky and obliterate us all - and I'll feel very silly if they do - there is, however, one invasion scenario often favoured by Hollywood that would definitely not happen.

This is that they would come to Earth for our resources. They would not. The Earth is made of the universe and as such, all of the materials found here on Earth can also be found in abundance in the rest of the galaxy and it makes literally zero sense to go get the miniscule amount that are defended by tiny, angry apes.