'Doomsday Clock' moves closer to midnight amid threats of climate change, nuclear war, pandemics, AI

[outlierblue@lemmy.ca]

To try and get people to do something. Anything. Nothing else is working.

[kreskin@lemmy.world]

Publishers of the doomsday clock should understand that Americans cant understand any number greater than 7. Its all just "a lot". They might as well have said "5000" seconds as 89. Those numbers look the same to me.

[melodiousfunk@slrpnk.net]

[merc@sh.itjust.works]

You say that as if the doomsday clock is working.

[merc@sh.itjust.works]

It's especially stupid as a clock whose time is continually stopped, and whose time is either adjusted forward a few seconds or backward a few seconds every few years. That metaphor just makes no sense.

Some arbitrary score out of 100 would make as little sense, but at least it wouldn't involve a strange nonsensical metaphor.

The concept they're really trying to communicate is better illustrated by the Sword of Damocles. It's a danger that's always looming that could turn into disaster at any time. But, nobody knows exactly when. If they switched to using a Sword of Damocles metaphor, they could talk about strands in the rope holding the sword getting frayed or breaking. Like, one strand represents the environment. One represents the possibility of nuclear war. One represents global health and pandemics. When something good happens, like an environmental treaty, they could talk about how that strand was being repaired.

[outlierblue@lemmy.ca]

At least they're trying.

[fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de]

Sometimes "trying" is counter productive.

[fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de]

I feel you.

There's all these problems and everyone just seems determined to make them worse rather than working on solutions. It's bonkers.

[deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz]

It is a more accurate and more versatile metaphor.

However, even the stupidest of people know what a clock is, if not how they work. "It's almost midnight" is about as much nuance as is consumable by the masses.

[merc@sh.itjust.works]

Except every year it's "It's almost midnight".

[deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz]

But it is a different "almost".

[heythisisnttheymca@lemmy.world]

Midnight does happen once a year

[heythisisnttheymca@lemmy.world]

We count one two many lots

[heythisisnttheymca@lemmy.world]

If it weren't for Stanislav Petrov, Donald Trump would never have been president get him!

[heythisisnttheymca@lemmy.world]

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[dragonfucker@lemmy.nz]

Why are Lemmy users so scared to incite violence? Come on, this platform is supposed to be full of communist revolutionaries!

[cranakis@reddthat.com]

As your other reply illustrates, Don't Look Up is a bit too on the nose for comfort.

[cranakis@reddthat.com]

Let's talk solutions then. I agree.

What problem should we tackle first?
I propose a general strike for one tactic in many different problems. Resist and disobey for others. What shall we try to solve. I am serious, btw.

[cranakis@reddthat.com]

Yeah but it's gotten hotter with Russia's saber rattling and extending their capabilities, worries about Iran, China developing first strike capabilities on the US. I am twice as worried as I was a year ago.

[fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de]

My situation is somewhat different because I'm in Australia. Presently we have a center left government, but they're quite impotent like Biden, and as a society we're sliding to the right like everywhere else.

That said, I'm particularly concerned about the rise of fascist groups. I'm seems their recruits are usually disenfranchised young men. I have no illusion about my ability (or lack thereof) to "reach" members of that segment, but I can certainly support the organisations that can, with both time and money.