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Should we also share / discuss the 2012 Mayan end of the calendar articles? Or some of the many prophecies of Nostradamus, or many other seers and beliefs that

Should we also share / discuss the 2012 Mayan end of the calendar articles? Or some of the many prophecies of Nostradamus, or many other seers and beliefs that portend an end to civilization and the world? I guess I am not sure what the point of sharing this link on HN is, except to discuss mythology. Rather like that book of fiction by Dean Koontz in 1981 describing the "corona virus" [1] To quote from the article, "A speculative anticipation of a possibility is very different than a 'prediction". Confirmation bias comes to mind too. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dean-koontz-predicted-coronavirus/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dean-koontz-predicted-coro... Edit: clarified a sentence

exolymph 6y ago
> I guess I am not sure what the point of sharing this link on HN is, except to discuss mythology. Why is this insufficient? As @dang often reminds us, Hacker News is about intellectual curiosity.
- moh_maya 6y ago
  I guess, for me, context matters (and reasonable people can disagree here! :) ) We are in the middle of a pandemic that may take years to resolve. One way (and the way I am interpreting this post, in the absence of any note from the OP) is that they believe the current events fit a pattern that's predicted / described in the Bible. That worries me, because it implies a series of beliefs that don't have a basis in reality yet continue to drive poor decision making across multiple domains affecting millions. Faith has its place, but that place is not in driving discussions or decision-making during a pandemic, except for individual / personal succour... Granted this goes against the house rules to make the most positive interpretation of intent, but., given the extant political climate, strongman leaders (globally) who challenge, abuse and distrust erudition, often hand in glove with antediluvian revisionist, communal groups, it is a challenging thing to do. :)

exolymph 6y ago

> I guess I am not sure what the point of sharing this link on HN is, except to discuss mythology. Why is this insufficient? As @dang often reminds us, Hacker News is about intellectual curiosity.

moh_maya 6y ago
I guess, for me, context matters (and reasonable people can disagree here! :) ) We are in the middle of a pandemic that may take years to resolve. One way (and the way I am interpreting this post, in the absence of any note from the OP) is that they believe the current events fit a pattern that's predicted / described in the Bible. That worries me, because it implies a series of beliefs that don't have a basis in reality yet continue to drive poor decision making across multiple domains affecting millions. Faith has its place, but that place is not in driving discussions or decision-making during a pandemic, except for individual / personal succour... Granted this goes against the house rules to make the most positive interpretation of intent, but., given the extant political climate, strongman leaders (globally) who challenge, abuse and distrust erudition, often hand in glove with antediluvian revisionist, communal groups, it is a challenging thing to do. :)