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Why are humans so obsessed with 'the end of the world'? In times of yore, we predicted it using religious texts as evidence. Now we use science. I'm not saying

by blowski 10y ago

Why are humans so obsessed with 'the end of the world'? In times of yore, we predicted it using religious texts as evidence. Now we use science. I'm not saying the science is wrong, just that there's a constant thread throughout human history of worrying about it.

Cthulhu_ 10y ago
I don't mind it, as long as it's based on logic and actual possibilities instead of a supernatural event that happens on a dat coming out of books if you look at them in an adequately convoluted manner. Global nuclear warfare would've happened by now if it wasn't for both the fear of mutually assured destruction and global nuclear conventions, I think. And sheer luck. And preparing for an extinction-event sized asteroid isn't a bad idea either; the chances of it occurring in our lifetime is small, but the chances of it occurring again is 100%. The chances of people being able to detect it early enough and do something about it are actually pretty high, in part due to the fear of it happening again. Detection could still be better, of course.
- sevenless 10y ago
  > Global nuclear warfare would've happened by now if it wasn't for both the fear of mutually assured destruction and global nuclear conventions, I think. More like pure survivor bias on your part!
sevenless 10y ago
The narcissism of consciousness, basically. The end of the entire world is easier to imagine than the fact that you will inevitably die and the world will go on without you. About all theology seems to originate from the inability to accept this fact.
fallingfrog 10y ago
Well, the big-E End Of the World has never happened, but on local scales the world has ended many times. Just ask the residents of Baghdad in 1258 AD, or the Hispaniola people, or of Gaul when Julius Caesar came through.. other examples suggest themselves. The end of the world is not a remote event, it's a repeating theme in human history.

by blowski 10y ago

Cthulhu_ 10y ago

I don't mind it, as long as it's based on logic and actual possibilities instead of a supernatural event that happens on a dat coming out of books if you look at them in an adequately convoluted manner. Global nuclear warfare would've happened by now if it wasn't for both the fear of mutually assured destruction and global nuclear conventions, I think. And sheer luck. And preparing for an extinction-event sized asteroid isn't a bad idea either; the chances of it occurring in our lifetime is small, but the chances of it occurring again is 100%. The chances of people being able to detect it early enough and do something about it are actually pretty high, in part due to the fear of it happening again. Detection could still be better, of course.

sevenless 10y ago
> Global nuclear warfare would've happened by now if it wasn't for both the fear of mutually assured destruction and global nuclear conventions, I think. More like pure survivor bias on your part!

sevenless 10y ago

The narcissism of consciousness, basically. The end of the entire world is easier to imagine than the fact that you will inevitably die and the world will go on without you. About all theology seems to originate from the inability to accept this fact.

fallingfrog 10y ago

Well, the big-E End Of the World has never happened, but on local scales the world has ended many times. Just ask the residents of Baghdad in 1258 AD, or the Hispaniola people, or of Gaul when Julius Caesar came through.. other examples suggest themselves. The end of the world is not a remote event, it's a repeating theme in human history.