The controversial theory that predicts when humans will go extinct

We might have less time than we thought (Picture: Getty Images) We’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news first? Okay. Well, humans will go extinct. And there’s a popular but controversial mathematical theory that suggests we’re closer to the end than we are the beginning. The ‘good’ news, however, is that it reckons we’ve still got roughly another 17,100 years left. Phew. The estimate comes from the so-called ‘Doomsday Argument’, a statistical idea first proposed by astrophysicist Brandon Carter back in in 1983. It doesn’t attempt to predict exactly what event will or could wipe humanity out, only when the maths suggests our species might reach its end. Get ready for some complicated maths (Picture: Getty Images) What is the Doomsday Argument? The theory is based on somethi