The Doomsday Clock Shockingly Warns Us: We’re Nearing Destruction in 100 Seconds!
Are we nearing the final apocalypse?
Yes. There’s a clock that sets its time according to the good and bad happenings in the contemporary world. If it reaches midnight 12:00 sharp, the world has ended already. Horrendously, there’s only 100 seconds time for the apocalypse!
Relax… Not exactly 100 seconds, but a closer time, which we could again readjust by creating peace and harmony. Here’s what you need to know about the Doomsday clock.
What’s the Mysterious Clock exactly?
The Doomsday Clock was created by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. It is a non-profit group founded by Albert Einstein and students at the University of Chicago in 1945.
Their first intent of its creation was to represent the level of mishaps and caution the world about how close it is to a possible apocalypse. So, humans would have something to alarm them when they’re moving closer towards destruction.
Things Contributing to Their Definition of Apocalypse:
The clock first ticked in 1947. The only thing they first considered to alter the clock hands was the threat posed by Nuclear weapons, which the scientists perceived to be the greatest threat of that time.
Since 2000s, the clock-setters were also factoring the risk of vulnerable climatic changes, and possibly-disruptive technologies like AI robots as well.
Why Only a Clock Was chosen?
They could even have chosen some water level for the caution, but boldly a clock was chosen. The reason is two-fold:
- A midnight’s time scares people to hell, so should the apocalypse warning as well.
- A nuclear explosion follows a countdown, and that’s done by a clock.
Who Are the Time-setters?
The clock hands are set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and security board who consider suggestions and opinions from its board of sponsors, which includes 13 Nobel laureates.
Since 1947 till now, the clock hands are changed totally 24 times.
History — When Clock Time is changed:
Some Important Timeline Points:
If you’re using Medium app, Press on any cell to view the reason for the time change.
Full History in a Graph:
The Safest and the Most Desperate Times It Ever showed:
Before the clock has first ticked, it was originally set at 7 minutes to midnight based on the contemporary happenings then.
The safest time ever recorded was at the end of the Cold war in 1991. The time was then set at 17 minutes to midnight. The calls for eliminating Nuclear weapons moved the clock backwards.
Now the clock moved from 2 minutes, to 1 min 40 secs (100 seconds), being the closest to ‘midnight’ ever, indicating the present to be the most gloomy time, and needs utmost attention. And if ignored, there would be an unprecedented existential threat to the entire humanity.
Reasons for the Lowest Time Gap to Midnight now:
The clock ticking forward last year was due to the threats of nuclear weapons and global warming. It was left unchanged this year as well due to fatal impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, and our unpreparedness for that.
The factors include the increase of conspiracy plans by the leaders themselves, and the modernisation of nuclear warheads by the US and Russia, and North Korea, China, India, Pakistan pursuing nuclear weapons from other countries.
Now the bulletin (once again) urges all the world leaders to eliminate the threat posed by nuclear weapons for better days.
But Why Didn’t the Clock Hands Move Last Year for the Pandemic?
Last year, many assumed that the clock would creep closer to ‘midnight’ due to the pandemic. But the bulletin scientists claimed the pandemic to be an unpredicted tragedy, but not a permanent threat that could wipe out the whole mankind.
They stressed that the nuclear wars, and climatic changes pose a larger threat to humanity in a long term. However, they warned that the pandemic must be taken as an important wake-up call.
Unfortunately, this year, they had to include the virus in their factor list, due to lakhs of people it’s killing, and lesser effectiveness of present vaccines.
Yet, a Twinkle of Hope:
There’s always hope for everything. The quantity may differ.
The Bulletin appreciates the new president Joe Biden for his priority concern to combat disruptive climatic changes. Biden signals green to the Paris agreement on climate change and to extension of New START Arms Control agreement with Russia for the next five years.
The world leaders are finding ways to reduce lethal Carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Electric vehicles are gaining traction today, which in no way depend to fossil fuels, and also have lesser rules on roads.
Final Note:
Be the change you want to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi
It’s absurd that we switch on TV everyday, curse the leaders and public for their doings and unhesitantly do the same things again. The only thing that’s in your control is You only. So let’s not wait for the change, let’s be the change. And the world inspires.
We need not rely on any instrument to measure the level of mishaps if we live in harmony with each other.
More related stories from me:
