From: John Calvin (mercurial@disinfo.net)
Date: Thu Feb 03 2000 - 22:10:49 MST
>Here's a great doomsday link.
>
>http://members.home.net/criskity/end1.htm
>
>Fundamentally yours,
>
>Rick Strongitharm
>
Thanks for the link, that was entertaining.
I don't believe that there will ever be an end to the Apocalypse scenario, at least not until the universe actually dies a whimpering heat death :)
Did everyone notice that after Y2K turned out to be such a non-event that various public officials and Media sources suddenly began to worry about security risks generated by lots of foreign nationals fixing the bugs? Lets not forget other scares about rampant disease (a story on CNN)potential super-volcanos, the 5-5-2000 prediction, global warming, the list goes on and on and on.
Apocalypse scenarios have apparently been with us for nearly our entire recorded history and possibly longer, and there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe that they will stop any time soon. It appears that the Apocalypse scenario in general points the way to some very interesting psycho-social phenomena.
We have all probably met individuals who seem to thrive on crisis, and who, if there is not a current crisis in their lives will (subconciously) work to create one. Why not portions of society that do the same.
We also have seen that popular media recognizes the salability(sp?) of crisis and mayhem. Disaster sells. An issue we have now that probably didn't occur in previous history is the sheer number of Scenarios for people to buy into.
Crisis also sells for polititians, the one who can talk a good game about averting the upcoming disaster gets elected. So on our political fronts it pays to hype crisis.
On a more subtle level it may well be that with the sheer inertia of social change many may feel that it would be easier to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, and this would have potential of becoming subconcious desire culminating in Apocalypse fantasies.
And finally (as in, all that I can think of at the moment , not all there is to say on the subject)it would appear to be a fairly good survival trait to constantly be on the alert for danger. With our ability for abstract thought we can be alert for danger down the road as well as danger in our immediate environment. The problem arises when we are unable to seperate immenent danger from potential danger.
Any thoughts?
John Calvin
mercurial@disinfo.net
Surely Singularity is the Apocalypse, for while it will probably not end the world, it will certainly end the world as we know it.
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