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Prophets of doom always with us
Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 (CDT) by Thoth
 Ever since Thomas Malthus predicted mass starvation for our species more than 200 years ago, doomsday scenarios have come and gone with regularity. The 20th century was full of them. In 1910, it was feared the arrival of Halley's comet would bathe the world in a cloud of cyanide. There were publications announcing "End of the world, May 18." An enterprising company even sold "comet pills" to ward off the poison gas.
By 1950, TV evangelist Billy Graham had his own prediction for the end of the world. "We may have another year, maybe two years. Then I believe it is going to be over," he lamented. It actually was all over in 1978, for more than 900 followers of cult leader Jim Jones. They committed suicide, apparently in the belief a nuclear Armageddon was at hand.
Of course, all these predictions, and scores more like them, had one thing in common. They were wrong.
But
forewarned, apparently, is not forearmed. Scary stories are as popular
today as they ever were. And surprisingly, the leading culprits are
scientists. Here are three doomsday scenarios making the rounds in
scholarly circles.
First, there's "The Black
Hole That Ate Planet Earth." A worried group of physicists is warning
about the massive atom smasher ready to begin operations in Geneva. The
Large Hadron Collider, as it's known, is meant to allow experiments
that would throw light on the Big Bang. But there are fears it might
actually create one.
The particle beams fired by
the machine collide with the energy of a 400-tonne train doing 180
km/h. It's theoretically possible this could create a black hole that
would swallow the planet.
An organization called the
Lifeboat Foundation is so alarmed, it's proposing an immediate program
to set up human colonies on other planets before it's too late. No word
how that would be done.
Then there's the "Guess
Who's Coming to Dinner" scenario. For several decades, scientists
employed in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI) have been
looking for intelligent life in the universe. They use radio telescopes
to listen for signals.
But so far they've come up
empty, and frustration is setting in. That's led a group of mavericks
to take matters in their own hands. They've created a beacon that
directs high energy pulses into space. The idea is that an alien
civilization will hear the signal and respond.
But more timid SETI members
are lighting their lab coats on fire in response. What if whoever hears
the message takes a dim view of it as intergalactic spam? What if they
think humans are merely snack food?
Angry letters have been
written and resignations offered. Meantime, the offending beacon
flashes away, either a testament to our curiosity, or an invitation to
a banquet at which we're the main course, depending on your point of
view.
Finally, there's the
perennial doomsday favourite, "Close Encounters With an Asteroid."
There have been several occasions in the last few years when asteroids
of the dinosaur-killing variety flew by at moderately close range.
That's unnerved
astronomers, who point out that one of these days, we might not be so
lucky. For a modest budget increase, they assure us, they can say with
precision when our last moment will come.
How that knowledge would
help isn't clear. Until the technology exists to divert an incoming
rock the size of Gibraltar, ignorance seems preferable.
In case that's less than
comforting, though, the chances of a major asteroid collision in the
next 100 years are half a million to one. And the odds of being
swallowed by a black hole or scarfed by an alien are somewhere in the
vicinity of zero.
Of course that won't stop
the doomsayers. Have you heard about those super-intelligent computers
that are poised to take over the world?
Copyright: canada.com
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