Seems all I'm doing these days is bitching.

[oloriel]

Sweet Eru Almighty.

We're still living in the Middle Ages after all.

A couple of panic-mongers tell a mass of laymen all kinds of things that sound incredibly risky and deadly, and all the little laymen believe it. Whether they even understand it or not. Whether they'd believe the same oh-so-trustworthy people if they just explained what the heck they're going to do is doubtful; but if they say "the world is gonna end", everybody believes it. They might create a black hole! The earth is going to melt and disappear! Why oh why can't those evil scientists keep their fingers off things the masses don't understand? Who wants a chance to glimpse at the beginning of things? Who'd want to learn a bit more about how the world works anyway?

We all rejoice in the things that have been introduced by such evil scientists long enough ago to no longer appear threatening - telephones; penicillin; electricity; we all look down on those people who still feel afraid around technology that already feels all natural for us - computers; cell phones; tampons.
We laugh to think that not too long ago, people who knew a little more about healing herbs and anatomy ran the risk of being accused of witchcraft, and that someone actually had to go and disscover gravity, and that people once believed that our insignificant world was the center of the universe. We chortle and look down on people who even in this day and age preach creationism and reject evolution despite all the evidence.

And then the year changes from 1999 to 2000 (which, by the way, because I bet most people still didn't get it, was NOT the change from one millennium to the next - that was 2000 to 2001, something I grasped at the tender age of 9 or 10, although I regretted it because of course the massive date change is way cooler. Nor was it the millennium itself; that just means "a span of 1000 years" and doesn't happen in one single night. Nor should you say "millenium"; "enium" with only one "n" would come from "anus", not "annus", and while the latter means year, the former means ass. Your call.) - anyway. The year changes from 1999 to 2000, and someone says that all the computers will die because they won't make it, and everybody panics because of the Y2K bug (and is secretly disappointed when the lights don't even flicker New Year's Night. Admit it - like you didn't!) instead of quietly sitting down and thinking about it. (My mother panicked so much that our precious computer would die and eat all her precious data that I went, copied the operating system onto a floppy, started the computer from A: instead of C:, told the floppy!operating system that it was December 31st, 1999, 23:58 and watched it for a bit. I am proud to reassure you that after two minutes the computer cheerfully went on working, believing that it was January 1st, 2000, 0:00 and counting. My mother didn't understand a word of this, but at least she believed me when I told her the computer would survive, and that it was rather doubtful that my family of all families had the only computer smart enough to get it.)
And the Y2K panic was downright reasonable compared to the voices warning of the end of the world. Because the writing of one arbitrarily chosen era changes considerably? Please!

The world didn't end on 06/06/06 either.
Nor did it end tonight. Nor will it end in a month when the whole thing has actually gathered speed and gone beyond the warm-up phase, which just goes to show how well all those declaring today to be the end of the world know their business.

Obviously people like their witch-hunts, their folklore, their superstition. Anything new is bad; anything they don't understand is insanely dangerous, and unwanted...

Perhaps I am hopelessly idealistic, but despite proof to the contrary, I still believe that one of the things that make humans human is the pursuit of knowledge. Sometimes that means taking risks, and going where the crowds can't follow. I for my part am - I admit it - a little excited. The mere possibility of learning something new about how the world works, or how it came to being, even if I don't understand it and just have to hope someone will come and explain it in nice unscientific sentences

And perhaps I am hopelessly optimistic, but I really don't think the world can be destroyed that easily. To quote Sam Hughes: The Earth is built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you've had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily. So my first piece of advice to you, dear would-be Earth-destroyer, is: do NOT think this will be easy.

And if so, well, I don't think we need to worry about that afterwards.

Now excuse me; I have to go plant my apple-tree.

Lesson of the day: Learn not to echo any old panic-monger; especially if you don't understand half of what's going on anyway. (Lesson to myself, too. It's not like I know the next best thing about particle accelerators, black holes or the like. But I don't presume to demonise any bit of technology bigger than what my brain can grasp, at least.)
Relax.
Follow the ancient wisdom of the Icelandic: Þetta reddast. "It'll turn out well."
Or as the Colognians would have it, Ett hätt noch emmer jot jejange.

Comments

[vout.livejournal.com]

Treffen sich zwei Welten.
"Du siehst aber gar nicht gut aus, was ist denn los?"
"Ach, ich hab Menschen."
"Macht nichts, das geht schnell wieder vorbei."
---
Earth will probably outlast us. I watched this creepifying (sp?) documentation once where the last living mammals were little hamsters who were fed by spiders to be their dinner.

Oh, and I'm not sure whather tampons qualify as "tecnology" in my lexicon...

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

*snickers*

- - -
Oh, and I'm not sure whather tampons qualify as "tecnology" in my lexicon...

Fair enough, but it's still something that's (I assume) fairly natural and convenient to us, and yet there are people who are scared of using them because "they're dirty/ might take a girl's virginity/ might get lost in the body/ ...". Uh-huh.

[kazaera.livejournal.com]

I admit, I wanted the lights to flicker on New Year's Eve back then. Was very disappointed, I'd bought all that popcorn for nothing. :(

Also, I always read the "no, this is not going to create a black hole and destroy the world" stuff as "...yeah, scientifically there's no way this is possibly going to cause that but SOME PEOPLE have been reading too much science fiction...". Christ, people, if you don't understand the science don't talk about the possible side-effects.

[chili-das-schaf.livejournal.com]

*singt* Am 30. Mai ist der Weltuntergang, wir leben nicht mehr lang, wir leben nicht mehr lang.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

THANK you. On both counts.

(I was disappointed as well.)

[kazaera.livejournal.com]

Actually, thank you for the link. I think I almost died laughing. ("Gay marriage" killed me. Also, "Semantics". And, well, ALL OF IT.)

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

Everyone I've heard talking about the LHC making the world end meant it entirely tongue-in-cheek or jokingly. The media coverage here is all typical American anti-booklernin' crap -- "Har har, look at those eggheads, they're doing something expensive that'll probably make 'em all sterile."

Are they actual doomsayers over there? IF so, ye gods, you have my sympathies.

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

Linkage that says it all:

http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/

[dame_grise]

Was this brought on by the particle collider thingie?

[fileg.livejournal.com]

from this (http://www.boingboing.net/2008/09/04/lhc-will-not-destroy.html) boinboing article:

"Look, it's a 10^-19 chance, and you've got a 10^-11 chance of suddenly evaporating while shaving."

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

My mother says her favorite scriptural quote is "... and it came to pass..." because she says that it reminds her that time moves forward, and all things do eventually pass.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

There are. And there are even more people who believe it.
Thank you.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

WORD!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Precisely. It's unbelievable how a well-placed stupid idea convinces thousands of people to hold their breath and utter vague "Who knows whether we'll still be there tomorrow..." kind of things. *rolls eyes*

I mean, it's nice if some irrational panic actually gets them to think a little more about life than is usual. But it isn't a lasting effect. *sighs*

[dame_grise]

Well, we're still here. :)