tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24279830.post388435430392487593..comments2023-09-10T09:42:14.978-04:00Comments on Fears and Frets: 1Sky & 350Rionn Fears Malechemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05998730706323172918noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24279830.post-83931060266636700662008-06-23T01:53:00.000-04:002008-06-23T01:53:00.000-04:00Of course, I'm a Cold War baby. I was four when Ni...Of course, I'm a Cold War baby. I was four when <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SALT" REL="nofollow">Nixon and Brezhnev signed SALT</A>, making <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutually_assured_destruction" REL="nofollow">Mutual Assured Destruction</A> the official policy of the United States. I've always expected to die with civilization, although the threat of nuclear war seems thankfully remote.<BR/><BR/>Still, the pattern of thinking, "inexorable historical force A dooms civilization/humanity/pop culture in manner B" has always been mine. I think of myself as optimistic, but I regard any long term plans as hopelessly polly anna-ish.<BR/><BR/>All of which is to say, outreach is a problem. While I'm totally sold on the end of the world, the millennialist pronouncements of crazies through the ages have sort of innured the culture at large. We can squawk all we want and say, "This is Science! It's happening all around you now," but I don't know how successful that's going to be.qvnkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24279830.post-69183866716653797432008-06-23T01:35:00.000-04:002008-06-23T01:35:00.000-04:00Just a thought, but it isn't it interesting that e...Just a thought, but it isn't it interesting that even though there have been some pretty skeptical beliefs for a long time in the fate of civilization, and in that context, believing the world will dwindle to a few seems like a crazy belief among a long history of crazy beliefs, nonetheless there is an air of scientific defensibility to present-day doomsaying that is in some way unprecedented. <BR/><BR/>I mean we *know* that oil is running out and CO2 concentrations are higher than they've been for a bazillion years. It's rather nice not to have to appeal to Satan to get the point across.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com