4 ms·
> Because of the coincidence of seemingly random cosmic events and the extreme environmental changes found around the world 42,000 years ago, we have called thi
by samizdis 6y ago
> Because of the coincidence of seemingly random cosmic events and the extreme environmental changes found around the world 42,000 years ago, we have called this period the "Adams Event"—a tribute to the great science fiction writer Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and identified "42" as the answer to life, the universe and everything. Douglas Adams really was onto something big, and the remaining mystery is how he knew?
Edited to add:
Original article in The Conversation [1], which includes at the end a 1'42" video: Paleopocalypse! - A short video on the Adams Event, narrated by Stephen Fry. [2]
[1] https://theconversation.com/earths-magnetic-field-broke-down-42-000-years-ago-and-caused-massive-sudden-climate-change-155580 https://theconversation.com/earths-magnetic-field-broke-down...
[2] https://youtu.be/Qs1dLe3GsQY https://youtu.be/Qs1dLe3GsQY
- samizdis 6y agoHmnnnn ... sceptical take on this story in Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/study-blames-earths-magnetic-field-flip-for-climate-change-extinctions/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/study-blames-earths-... > But for most of the rest of the paper, the researchers search for anything that happened at roughly 42,000 years ago and try to tie it to the mix of altered environmental conditions they think were triggered by the Adams event. ... > Other potential connections are extremely tenuous. Modern humans, despite having been in Central Asia for tens of thousands of years, seemed to show up in Europe around the time of the Adams event, and Neanderthals went extinct shortly thereafter. While it's reasonable to suspect that those latter two events are linked, it's not clear why either would be associated with the magnetic field flip and any impact it had on climate.