- TORONTO (CP) -- Planes falling from the sky, massive computer and power
failures, food and water shortages -- these are the doomsday predictions
about the new millennium that have some people running for the hills.
-
- But it's all superstitious bunk, say
skeptics who are refusing to buy into the hype surrounding the early days
of the year 2000.
-
- Our medieval ancestors bought into the
dire scenarios and now -- 1,000 years later -- the panic is resurfacing
like a latent virus.
-
- "We're as credulous and as superstitious
and as awestruck as humans ever have been," said Mark Kingwell, an
associate professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto.
-
- Kingwell plans to stay around town next
New Year's and his only concession is some firewood.
-
- Philosophy professor Bob Martin fully
expects a stop at the local supermarket for groceries on Jan. 2, 2000 will
be just that -- a shop for groceries.
-
- And Martin points out that the hysteria
being felt by some -- including many across North America who are bunkering
down as though Armageddon is near -- isn't anything new.
-
- Historical records show people were terrified
in the closing days of 999. At the time, the widespread fears -- of an
anti-Christ or Armageddon -- were defined in religious terms, Martin said.
-
- Historically, doomsday predictions were
often associated with "number magic," he said. It's a phenomenon
that endures today.
-
- "Beyond the computer problem, there's
just a crazy fear about number magic as if the number of the year has any
effect on what goes on. It's an arbitrary, conventional thing," Martin
said.
-
- He thinks people are grabbing onto the
computer issue as a way of justifying this strange, "irrational, magical
fear."
-
- Both before and after the year 1000,
people expressed anxieties about the end of the world being keyed to dates,
added Kingwell.
-
- "The numbers are arbitrary but they
take on a powerful, almost mystical influence. It's the way culture works.
Arbitrary things can become powerful," Kingwell said.
-
- The number 2000 holds a mystic quality
that seduces some to believe an incomprehensible disaster is going to strike,
said Martin, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
-
- Indeed, the fact the new century actually
begins in 2001 doesn't seem to influence people since it's the number 2000
that raises irrational fears, he said.
-
- Kingwell also believes that people have
grown so dependent on technology that the prospect of something going wrong
is deeply unsettling.
-
- "Numbers are used as a scientific
tool. They kind of reveal the structure of the way the universe is. The
whole progress in modern sciences has arrived because of the mathematization
of the way the universe works," said Martin.
-
- Whether it's the modern age or the year
999, people have a superstitious awe of numbers, believing selective numbers
are good or bad.
-
- The new millennium is causing additional
fears since it happens to be creating a computer problem as well.
-
- "The mystique is all about that
zero. The mysterious number in the number system. Why do we care about
this date turning at all?" asked Kingwell.
-
- "Some people don't, but lots of
people do."
-
- Paul Hoffert also believes the millennium
issue has been largely overblown. With exception of computer problems,
the ability to predict problems in advance is simple to do from a computer
science perspective.
-
- Hoffert, a director at the CulTech Research
Centre at York University, said he wouldn't be surprised if there were
more disruptions during last year's ice storm than there will be in the
year 2000.
-
- Rather than panicking about the turn
of the century, the year 2000 provides an opportunity of recollection and
reassessment that could be enormously productive, said Kingwell.
-
- "We have to come to terms with being
21st century beings now and get on with the business of creating this future.
The fact that it's daunting makes us susceptible to all these anxieties
but also to hopes. We don't want to see it as all dark."
-
-
- Comment
-
- By Heath Stallcup 1-11-99
-
- Jeff -
-
- I've heard about all the Y2K crap I can
handle and just need to vent. All the doomsayers are choking on their
own sweat and spittle as they rattle the chains of fear and gloom and attempt
to scare the bejeezus out of the common man. It make you wonder how man
ever survived before computers. I expect there to be some foul-ups and
some delays. But how can people worry about there not being any food in
the grocery stores? PEOPLE crate, deliver and uncrate the stuff for purchase.
Where will that change? Instead of a computer generated order sheet,
someone will actually have to break out a pen and paper and WRITE IT DOWN.
And unless truckers have changed in the last few years and have clock slaved
computer chips in their brains, they will still be able to find the stores.
-
- So, we may have intermittent power outages.
When was the last time a power outage sent raving hoardes of crazies into
the streets, ready to kill their neighbors and friends for scraps of food?
Come on, people. Its not the end of the world, or the end of civilization.
-
- We might (repeat MIGHT) have some inconveniences,
but nothing earthshattering here. Our nuclear powered ballistic missile
submarines will not go nutsy and launch a nuclear strike against the Communist
state of Ohio. It will not rain bodies and aircraft parts onto your backyard
bar-b-que. The sky will not fall and people will not turn to cannabalism
to maintain their USRDA of vitamin human.
-
- If people are really concerned, tell
them to keep a couple of weeks supply of canned goods on hand. Maybe they
could fill some 2 litre pop bottles with water in case they are truly concerned.
The point is this, although computers and electronics have made our lives
easier, they havent dominated us. Most systems are designed to fail safe.
PEOPLE have the ability to override the mechanics of the machines and
get the basics in line.
-
- So what if your bank says you had a million
dollar deposit or a check for $115, 000.00 hit and you had insufficient
funds. Keep paper copies. It can be ironed out after the initial shock.
The point is, don't be stoopid. If this is really some government ploy
to initiate martial law, it won't work if the people are calm and ready
to deal with the little snafus that occur everyday. Just dont panic.
It's not worth it. It's a waste of energy.
-
- Panic will not fix anything. Be patient.
Be concerned. But don't go thinking that life as we know it will be over.
It wont. If you stop and think about it for a moment, it seems pretty
silly. Do you really think that something as simple as a computer not
knowing the proper date will cause the greatest nation in the history of
the world to suddenly collapse into the darkest of times? Puh-lease!
-
- These doomsayers have the best of both
worlds. Any thing that doesn't go perfectly smooth, they can blame on Y2K.
If nothing happens and the world continues, they can pat themselves on
the back and claim that it was because they gave the world fair warning
and stuff got fixed 'just in the nick of time'. Either way, life will
go on. People will fall in love. People will hate. People will do stoopid
things and get caught. People will lend helping hands. People will bury
the hatchet. Other people will dig it up.
-
- All the joys and trials, all the good
and the bad will continue. Depending on where you live, you may have noticable
effects due to Y2K, and you may not. Either way, its not the end of the
world. Not even close. Just enhance your calm and enjoy the centennial.
-
- Heath
|
