--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth…" description: "\"There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to destroy civilization and possibly cause the ex..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg" --- # There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on… ![“There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to destroy civilization and possibly cause the extinction of the human race. But, on the bright side, Prince could re-release his hit song with the new refrain 'We're gonna party like its…” quote by Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg) > “There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to destroy civilization and possibly cause the extinction of the human race. But, on the bright side, Prince could re-release his hit song with the new refrain 'We're gonna party like its twenty-eight seventy-nine.'” [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A rare asteroid impact could end civilization, but a humorous song rewrite offers a lighthearted perspective. **In simple terms:** Asteroid risk vs. humor. Key Takeaway Balance seriousness with levity. Themes risk humor future science music Mood anxious playful Type cautionary entertaining When to use this quote - disaster planning - songwriting - public speaking - media commentary Key Concepts probability extinction cultural response Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to low‑probability existential threats? - Can humor help cope with scary predictions? A Different Perspective The probability is extremely low, and focusing on it may cause unnecessary fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asteroids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroids/) [Bright side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bright-side/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [If we built houses the way we build software, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/if-we-built-houses-the-way-we-build-software-the-first-woodpecker-to/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [There is held to be no surer test of civilization than the increase per head of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Yet alcohol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/there-is-held-to-be-no-surer-test-of-civilization-than-the-increase/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [“Politics is the application of Sufism to earthlife...To refuse to act politically is to starve your children, destroy civilization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shamcher-bryn-beorse/politics-is-the-application-of-sufism-to-earthlife-to-refuse-to-act/) Shamcher Bryn Beorse > [I have to bring to your notice a terrifying reality: with the development of nuclear weapons Man has acquired, for the first time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/i-have-to-bring-to-your-notice-a-terrifying-reality-with-the/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [“There is always a possibility that a higher civilization in the universe could visit the Earth and destroy our civilization, or on the contrary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-is-always-a-possibility-that-a-higher-civilization-in-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Music has power to create a universe or to destroy a civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-neville/music-has-power-to-create-a-universe-or-to-destroy-a-civilization/) [Katherine Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-neville/) > [The Western front is the important one in this war - the intersection between Islam and a liberal democratic tradition so mired in self-loathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-western-front-is-the-important-one-in-this-war-the-intersection/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/america-is-experiencing-an-islamist-cultural-political-offensive/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [Most estimates of the mortality risk posed by asteroid impacts put it at about the same risk as flying in a commercial airliner. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/most-estimates-of-the-mortality-risk-posed-by-asteroid-impacts-put-it/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Two teenagers on a bus.. its gonna be a party!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-simpson/two-teenagers-on-a-bus-its-gonna-be-a-party/) [Cody Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-simpson/) > [We're gonna have a party, yeah. Our own private beach party, just you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-isaacs/we-re-gonna-have-a-party-yeah-our-own-private-beach-party-just-you/) [Gregory Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-isaacs/) > [Gonna party like its the end of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinnyredballon/gonna-party-like-its-the-end-of-the-world/) Shinnyredballon > [“I'm gonna party, see how intoxicated I can get and how many rules I can flaunt. That's my motto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-bissinger/i-m-gonna-party-see-how-intoxicated-i-can-get-and-how-many-rules-i/) [H.G. Bissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-bissinger/) > [We gonna party like it's 3012 tonight I wanna show you all the finer things in life So just forget about the world, we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishak/we-gonna-party-like-it-s-3012-tonight-i-wanna-show-you-all-the-finer/) [Vishak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishak/) ## More by Nathan Myhrvold > [Some article called me the most feared man in Silicon Valley. Good Lord! Why? My teenage boys got a kick out of it: 'Dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/some-article-called-me-the-most-feared-man-in-silicon-valley-good/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Our reactor actually burns nuclear waste as fuel. So not only is it safe and powerful, it solves an important issue: It actually reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/our-reactor-actually-burns-nuclear-waste-as-fuel-so-not-only-is-it/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Food, like anything else, lives in the physical world and obeys the laws of physics. When you whisk together some oil and a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/food-like-anything-else-lives-in-the-physical-world-and-obeys-the/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [If people don't find what you are doing threatening, then it is probably not very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/if-people-don-t-find-what-you-are-doing-threatening-then-it-is/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Among modern occupations, only cult leaders and TV weathermen rival the technological visionary's ability to retain credibility despite all evidence to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/among-modern-occupations-only-cult-leaders-and-tv-weathermen-rival/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Crazy ideas sometimes work, and the technological society that we have is built on a foundation of those crazy ideas that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/crazy-ideas-sometimes-work-and-the-technological-society-that-we-have/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [An efficient government is dangerous in the hands of the wrong man. Sadly, the right sort of man never seems interested in the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/an-efficient-government-is-dangerous-in-the-hands-of-the-wrong-man/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [When we first did 'Modernist Cuisine,' I think most people in cookbook publishing would have said, 'This is insane.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/when-we-first-did-modernist-cuisine-i-think-most-people-in-cookbook/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [One of the greatest things that Apple and Jobs were very good at doing was daring to do the very different thing. It's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/one-of-the-greatest-things-that-apple-and-jobs-were-very-good-at/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [The first thing that is not obvious to people is global warming is a less-than-1% effect. It's like being shortchanged at the bank by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/the-first-thing-that-is-not-obvious-to-people-is-global-warming-is-a/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Ultimately, my Ph.D. is in mathematical physics, focusing on quantum field theory and curved space-time, and I worked with Stephen Hawking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/ultimately-my-ph-d-is-in-mathematical-physics-focusing-on-quantum/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [The way Moore's Law occurs in computing is really unprecedented in other walks of life. If the Boeing 747 obeyed Moore's Law, it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/the-way-moore-s-law-occurs-in-computing-is-really-unprecedented-in/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [If you talk about sous-vide, then you have to talk about food safety, and microbiology, and heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/if-you-talk-about-sous-vide-then-you-have-to-talk-about-food-safety/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [A person's basic humanity is not governed by how he or she came into this world, or whether somebody else happens to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/a-person-s-basic-humanity-is-not-governed-by-how-he-or-she-came-into/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) [Explore all 134 Nathan Myhrvold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) ## More Asteroids quotes > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [There is enough material in the Kuiper Belt to build anything out there. We could gobble up all the little asteroids, filtering out all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/there-is-enough-material-in-the-kuiper-belt-to-build-anything-out/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [We could not wipe ourselves out with a nuclear war. I do not want so sound too positive. It would be a catastrophe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/we-could-not-wipe-ourselves-out-with-a-nuclear-war-i-do-not-want-so/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [Most of the solar system resides beyond the orbits of the asteroids. There is more to learn there about general planetary processes than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/most-of-the-solar-system-resides-beyond-the-orbits-of-the-asteroids/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [We've actually named asteroids for other famous women in history, like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. But it's really this Malala one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/we-ve-actually-named-asteroids-for-other-famous-women-in-history-like/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Think about the strangeness of today's situation. Thirty, forty years ago, we were still debating about what the future will be: communist, fascist, capitalist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/think-about-the-strangeness-of-today-s-situation-thirty-forty-years/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I only hope that we shall not wait to adopt the program until after our astronomers have reported a new and unsuspected asteroid moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/i-only-hope-that-we-shall-not-wait-to-adopt-the-program-until-after/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [Asteroids are deep-space bodies orbiting the Sun, not the Earth, and traveling to one would mean sending humans into solar orbit for the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/asteroids-are-deep-space-bodies-orbiting-the-sun-not-the-earth-and/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [We want to build colonies on the Moon, Mars, the Moons of other planets, and even nearby asteroids. We want to make space tourism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldin/we-want-to-build-colonies-on-the-moon-mars-the-moons-of-other-planets/) [Daniel Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goldin/) > [Consider that the overwhelming majority of those 40,000 near-Earth asteroids are small enough to fit on the parking lot at the mall. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-that-the-overwhelming-majority-of-those-40-000-near-earth/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Mars could very well be a staging location for the resources of the asteroid belt. We have to learn how to get a payback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/mars-could-very-well-be-a-staging-location-for-the-resources-of-the/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [If the Chinese are the first to the asteroids or the first to Mars, good for them, as far as I'm concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-the-chinese-are-the-first-to-the-asteroids-or-the-first-to-mars/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Asteroids have hit the Earth millions of times. We can see them as shooting stars every night. When they get bigger, things get complicated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/asteroids-have-hit-the-earth-millions-of-times-we-can-see-them-as/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) [Browse all 144 Asteroids quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroids/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to destroy civilization and possibly cause the extinction of the human race. But, on the bright side, Prince could re-release his hit song with the new refrain 'We're gonna party like its twenty-eight seventy-nine.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathan Myhrvold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth-will-be-struck-on-march-16/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asteroids" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth-will-be-struck-on-march-16/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/nathan-myhrvold-3298_asteroids_there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth_2263605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a one-in-300 chance that Earth will be struck on March 16, 2880, by an asteroid large enough to…” — Nathan Myhrvold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nathan Myhrvold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is a one-in-300 chance that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth-will-be-struck-on-march-16/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/there-is-a-one-in-300-chance-that-earth-will-be-struck-on-march-16/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```