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There is a clock at the University of Chicago called the Doomsday Clock whose time perpetually lingers just shy of midnight. On this clock, midnight metaphorically represents full nuclear war bringing an end to all civilization, and the clock is meant as a gauge to constantly indicate humankind’s proximity to this horrific event.
When it was introduced in 1947, it was set for seven minutes to midnight. Since that day, its minute hand has wandered around on the upper-left quarter of the clock face, inching closer to 12:00 when the threat of nuclear war grows, and crawling away as the risk fades. It has been as close as two minutes to midnight in 1953, and as far as seventeen minutes in 1991. If its caretakers ever set it for midnight, it will probably be the last thing they ever do.
The custodians of this clock have been the men and women of the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The Bulletin is a publication which was founded in 1945 by many former Manhattan Project physicists, and over the years contributors have included Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Al Gore, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke to name but a few.
Today it stands at seven minutes to the hour. Whenever you’re curious how near humanity is to destroying itself, you can check the status on the Doomsday Clock homepage. It’s good to stay abreast of this sort of thing so you can plan your schedule around it.
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you can check the status on the Doomsday Clock homepage. It’s good to stay abreast of this sort of thing so you can plan your schedule around it.
First thing that came to my mind was that rabbit checking the time and commenting, “I’m late, I’m late” in the story Alice in Wonderland. I wonder if the custodians of this clock ever felt that way?
Arcangel said: “First thing that came to my mind was that rabbit checking the time and commenting, “I’m late, I’m late” in the story Alice in Wonderland. I wonder if the custodians of this clock ever felt that way?”
Probably during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962….
Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke, Al Gore?! One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.
I wonder what time it will be once Iran obtains nuclear capability. With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in control, I would move the clock to 11:59:30. I know that he will not have the means to launch a weapon to North America for some time, but Europe and Israel will be at his mercy, of which he has none. There is no deterrent for a people that believe being a martyr insures your way to heaven. Time is ticking.
Im still waiting for one of those “dirty” nukes to go off in down town Manhatten…im thinkin the doomsday clock will be a tad late on that one.
I went to the website and checked the current time, but it was only last changed February 27, 2002. What a letdown.
Your post reminded me of a book by Stewart Brand (Whole Earth Catalog, etc.) The Clock of the Long Now
. Brand discusses our short attention span and how this is more an information loss age than an information age.
For example, one researcher put it this way: “Digital information lasts forever…or five years, whichever comes first.” Look at how DVDs have made VHS tapes obsolete…and difficult to view as the VCRs breakdown.
Keep on posting! Your site is fantastic!
Brent
Wanderings.net
Being far from an alarmist, such things never set me on edge; yet we should all remember that every nuclear missile that was ever aimed at the US, still is.
…since I don’t live in the US, ritewing, that’s actually quite a comforting thought. :)
TKO said: “…since I don’t live in the US, ritewing, that’s actually quite a comforting thought. :)”
Doomsday Clock: “On this clock, midnight metaphorically represents full nuclear war bringing an end to all civilization, and the clock is meant as a gauge to constantly indicate humankind’s proximity to this horrific event.”
At the stroke of midnight on this clock, I don’t think it matters where anyone lives. To this point everyone that has nuclear weapons, knows that both sides will lose. What happens when a group obtains these weapons and believes that being a martyr in support of their God always wins? Tick, Tick, Tick, the world needs to wake up.
Brent says: For example, one researcher put it this way: “Digital information lasts forever…or five years, whichever comes first.” Look at how DVDs have made VHS tapes obsolete…and difficult to view as the VCRs breakdown.
That’s not that ususual; it’s just another incident of history repeating itself in the computer field. Look at
mainframe computers, and the 7 track tape drives that were originally used. When the 9 track tape drives
were introduced, it wasn’t very long before all of the 7 track drives were obsolete, despite the fact that
there were multitudes of 7 track tapes remaining. Then, when cartridge tape drives were introduced, the
9 track tape drives were removed, despite the fact that there were thousands upon thousands of 9 track
tapes still in existance (One rumor states that several government agencies have huge vaults full of 9 track
tapes, but no way to read them!).
A similar thing has happened with personal computers. 8 inch floppies were the norm in the early years of
PCs. When 5.25 inch disks and drives appeared, the 8 inch drives quickly disappeared. Then, again, when
the 3.5 inch diskettes appeared, the 5.25 inch drives quickly disappeared, despite large amounts of data
still residing on the 5.25 inch disks. Now, the 3.5 inch drives are disappearing (to be replaced by writable
CDs or USB memory keys?), yet no one even knows how many 3.5 inch diskettes still exist with valuable
data.
Dave
Exactly the point. Potentially–not potentially, there IS a lot of data, information, knowledge, and art that is lost due to the advances in technology…and then there is the enormous creation of new information/art due to the new technology. I expect the scales favor the new creations over the losses, but still…
I was listening to Thomas Friedman in an interview (he wrote The World is Flat). He sees the convergence of digital information, personal computer, and the Internet as a turning point which is leading to a “flat” world where competition, collaboration, creation, etc. becomes primarily international in scope instead of primarily local. But I’m way off topic…Perhaps in another post. Interesting points made by all.
Marius said: “Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke, Al Gore?! One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.”
aaaaaHAHAHA
-L.
Psh. Everyone knows Canada is invincible to nuclear war. Im perfectly safe for all eternity.
This might be one of the most interesting things Ive read.
I wonder how the person who puts the clock at 12 feels like when they do it.
440Fronte|htid| said: “I wonder how the person who puts the clock at 12 feels like when they do it.”
I’m guessing something along the lines of: “This is one time I wouldn’t mind seeing Ashton Kutcher come through the door to tell me I’ve been Punk’d.”
Joshua said: “I’m guessing something along the lines of: “This is one time I wouldn’t mind seeing Ashton Kutcher come through the door to tell me I’ve been Punk’d.””
That person would seriously end up with some kind of mental instabillity.
440Fronte|htid| said: “I wonder how the person who puts the clock at 12 feels like when they do it.”
Very, very toasty.
Why is it midnight? It could be mid-day instead! I think the whole idea is a bit emo.
Does anyone else think this is a massive government scare tactic? Now instead of just telling us that we are all going to die if we vote for the wrong people, they can set a clock to tell us when.
This is totally depressing. Emo indeed.
pseudosanity said: “Does anyone else think this is a massive government scare tactic? Now instead of just telling us that we are all going to die if we vote for the wrong people, they can set a clock to tell us when.”
If you would read the article you would see that the Board of Atomic Scientist sets the clock not the government
Alan Bellows said: “Probably during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962….”
the clock actaully never changed during the Cuban Missle Crisis
AKALucifer said: “Why is it midnight? It could be mid-day instead! I think the whole idea is a bit emo.”
The reason why they made it midnight and not midday is not for some emo reason its quite obvious. Its to symbolize that there is no tomorrow, that today is the last day because of nuclear war.
“Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward
Fri Jan 12, 3:12 PM ET
The keepers of the “Doomsday Clock” plan to move its hands forward next Wednesday to reflect what they call worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world.
The symbolic clock, maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, currently is set at seven minutes to midnight, with midnight marking global catastrophe.
The group did not say in which direction the hands would move. But in a news release previewing an event next Wednesday, they said the change was based on “worsening nuclear, climate threats” to the world.
“The major new step reflects growing concerns about a ‘Second Nuclear Age’ marked by grave threats, including: nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea, unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, the continuing ‘launch-ready’ status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia, escalating terrorism, and new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks,” the release reads.
The clock was last pushed forward by two minutes to seven minutes to midnight in 2002 amid concerns about the proliferation of nuclear, biological and other weapons and the threat of terrorism.
When it was created by the magazine’s staff in 1947, it was initially set at seven minutes to midnight and has moved 17 times since then.
It was as close as two minutes to midnight in 1953 following U.S. and Soviet hydrogen bomb tests, and as far away as 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 after the superpowers reached agreement on a nuclear arms reductions.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Shhhhhh…Yall don’t tell on me for shareing this now.
michigan_dude said: “the clock actually never changed during the Cuban Missle Crisis”
That seems counter-intuitive. As a youngster, the history I have learned suggests that USA/USSR tensions were never greater and we were never closer to nuclear war (aside from when the US dropped the bomb). Is this a misunderstanding on my part/revisionist history, a reflection of the lack of appreciation for the crisis at the time, or just a result of the low frequency with which they update the clock? I suppose that if I maintained the clock, I’d rather be with my family than worrying about a symbolic clock…
I feel as though this is not being taken seriously enough. I understand the doomsday clock was created for the purpose of nuclear war but I feel that issue has stepped back and the enviroment is definetly the main issue. I saw Al Gore’s movie, An unconceivable truth and it really opened my eyes. Here is a man who has been concerned about this issue all his life. I feel as though we made a HUGE mistake by not electing him as president. Here is a man that is truely concerned about our planet and what we are doing to it. That to me is the main issue that now should be and needs to be addressed before it’s too late. I think less time should be spent on issues such as Britney Spears not wearing panties or Lindsey Lohan checking into rehab (Am I the only person that thinks somethings wrong when a 20 year old is shown and talked about partying all the time. Good role model, lets make sure to keep her in the news for our youth!) and more time should be spent on giving the public information on Global Warming and what we can all do to help correct this problem before it’s too late. The US is too concerned about what other people are doing and missing the big picture. This is a serious matter and I do beleive that very soon, it will be too late to do anything about this. Just look at the weather around the world. I’m sorry but there is no mother nature that is causing all of this, we are and if we don’t work together as a planet to solve this issue it will be too late. We need to think about the future for us and our children.
Hrm, the link to the clock isn’t redirecting properly… shall we assume that the apge no longer exists because the clock is at midnight? :P
I tend to agree with the climate problems being real.The real root cause of the problem is so totally unpopular that it will never even be wispered in public.Children are priceless and precious beings, but human kind needs to understand that we need to slow down our over zellous wanting to have large families.Truth is just about every problem facing the planet and its people can trace back to too many people wanting ,wanting,and wanting.Hello —big problem—what is wanted by all is in shorter supply every time we double the world’s population. What would happen if you lived on a tiny island with several other families and limited ressources would you breed uncontrolled over time untill all your resources are gone and your stacked one on top each outher fighting over what little is left ? ? —PLANET/ISLAND what is the difference ? Think about it.If we controll procreation then the ones that are present end up getting a better chance for quality of life improvement.Children deserve that much from us at least.
“Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Carl Sagan, Wernher von Braun, Al Gore, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke”
Wait.. how did Al Gore get on that list of histories greats?! Al Gore is a doofus!
Also, ” I saw Al Gore’s movie, An unconceivable truth and it really opened my eyes. Here is a man who has been concerned about this issue all his life. ” Please laugh when you say that. Al Gore is a hypocrite. Seen his electricity bill? Seen what he drives? Al Gore is a publicity whore and that’s all he cares about. The man knows nothing about science. LOL> He actually thinks that global warming is being CAUSED by humans. HAHA! Please, someone ask him who created the global warming before the dinosaurs existed. Or, who caused the many ice ages we’ve had. The fact of the matter is, the Earth warms and cools itself. It takes millenia to do so… So, yes, global warming is certainly a problem for humans, but it is most certainly not CAUSED by humans. Sure, we’re not helping fix it… we’re speeding it up, but we’re definatly not causing it.
I totally agree. Less time needs to be spent on Britney Spears and petty religions that do more harm than good, and more on how to ensure the future of humankind.
Al Gore is a doofus!
Also, ” I saw Al Gore’s movie, An unconceivable truth and it really opened my eyes. Here is a man who has been concerned about this issue all his life. ” Please laugh when you say that. Al Gore is a hypocrite. Seen his electricity bill? Seen what he drives? Al Gore is a publicity whore and that’s all he cares about. The man knows nothing about science. LOL> He actually thinks that global warming is being CAUSED by humans. HAHA! Please, someone ask him who created the global warming before the dinosaurs existed. Or, who caused the many ice ages we’ve had. The fact of the matter is, the Earth warms and cools itself. It takes millenia to do so… So, yes, global warming is certainly a problem for humans, but it is most certainly not CAUSED by humans. Sure, we’re not helping fix it… we’re speeding it up, but we’re definatly not causing it.
Laughing (e.g. “HA”) is an emotional argument not a rational one; as is name calling such as “doofus” and “publicity whore.” It hurts your credibility, FYI.
It’s one of the trapping of our time to have impending disasters and live in complete denial of them. You’re right, climate change has happened in past. This was determined using science. That VERY SAME SCIENCE has also determined that humans are, in fact, causing climate change. This is no longer in debate, even Newt Gringrich on C-Span two nights ago conceded it is happened. The VAST majority of scientists agree it is happening. Yes, a handful say it is not. Just like a handful of academics might say the holocaust didn’t happen, that slaves were happy being slaves, and that terrorists are justified. If you accept the science of past climate change, you must accept the science of human-caused current climate change. To deny one is to deny the other.
The question is, do you love your children more than your politics? Scientists told us 50 years ago smoking was bad for you, this was true. They told us we would run out of petroleum, this is becoming true. They tell us the earth is warming, this is also becoming true. Do you love your political stance so much that you are willing to actively prevent action when you children will suffer the consequences. I love my children, and I’m taking action and supporting this issue.
OK, so, like, this Global warming issue has been well hashed out here: https://www.damninteresting.com/?p=184 . Read the comments. Both sides get their licks in.
I would disagree about the VAST majority of scientists agreeing. (And even if that were true, I believe science is one of those things not decided by voting.) Al Gore and Newt Gingrich have their own political agendas. This whole subject is so fraught with politics on both sides, I do not know what to believe.
Honestly, even more exciting is the Mayan end of world calendar, which ends on December 12, 2012. *NOTE – this is not some Nostradamus prediction the Mayan’s threw together over a peyote brunch. These guys predicted this about 2000 years ago and based it totally upon astrologic chartings. Check out the site at:
http://www.greatdreams.com/end-world.htm
Or just type in Mayan end of world in the search bar.
Here are my thoughts…. a lot of people said Gore screwed himself when me made and published An Inconceivable Truth. Personally, I think Gore is a marketing genius. What better a time to come out with a save the world/screw the government video?
So now comes Al Gore, smiling as we elect him. From 2008 to…. you guessed it – 2012.
A period of peace [Revelations 19 or 20 – depending on what Bible you own] will ensue for “1,000 years”…but the bible also suggests that time passes very quickly in heavenly enclaves. Could then 1,000 years in biblical terms equal 4 years in human terms?
Four years of peace? Is it possible? Look, I’m no Jean Dixon and I can only offer what somebody else has already speculated, but it seems pretty damn odd that all of these predications of doom [all of the original writers dead – Bible writers/Mayans] and some of them run on what…two double A Duracell?] are starting to converge into one end of time rhyme?
Globally or personally (does it matter?) – Something is coming our way.
PS – A time of peace is inevitable before the end. When you see peace, begin preparing for the end. Who knows…. perhaps this is why wars are continuously perpetuated. Bible readers and God-fearers are all afraid of what will happen if we “just all get alone”.
If the world comes to an end due to nuclear war when this clock hits midnight, why not just destroy the clock? Then we can all sleep safe at night.
I’ve seen Gore’s movie and I agree it is not good science but a big publicity stunt.
Apart from there being too many personal anecdoted and happy family pictures, he takes statistics out of context leaves out facts that don’t fit with his message etc.
That is not to say that climate change is not a problem. It is, and something should certainly be done about it. It is correct that it is getting warmer and the speed with which it is getting warmer is certainly due to anthropogenic causes.
Thinking in longer timeframes (hundreds of millions of years) earth is very cool right now. The poles have been free of ice for much of earth’s long history. So the earth will not take permanent damage from a tempereature increase of a few degrees. Sure a few species will become extinct, but that’s always been happening.
The problem is: Will we like it if the earth becomes a few degrees warmer? I recently listened to a presentation by a geologist/anthropologist. He said “Humans evolved in africa. As a race I think we’ll be fine. As a society, I don’t think so.”
Gore’s visions might be excessively apocalyptic, but I wouldn’t want to live in coastal regions when the temperatures continue to rise unchecked. I won’t go into problems for farmers, because others certainly know more about that stuff than me.
OH MY GOD! IT’S SET TO FIVE MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT!
But I digress.
They don’t seem to adjust that clock very often. It was last adjusted in 2007.
Here’s the current address:
http://www.thebulletin.org/content/doomsday-clock/timeline
Am I hallucinating or wasn’t Al Gore’s movie call “An Inconvenient Truth”?
Was’nt it a nuclear war that put an end to the pre-human civilisation on this planet? I spent some time at our military base in Algeria and when I saw Sahara desert for the first time I had a strong impression that such a place could be created by a heavy nuclear blast… Could this be true?
Firstly, there was no pre-human civilization on this planet. Archaeologists would have found at least a few traces of it by now.
And secondly, no. For more reasons than I care to list here. I’ll just give a few and maybe HiEv or the Don will provide more…
1. Any nuclear blast large enough to turn an area the size of the Sahara into a desert would also leave a crater, you could hide a small country in. Multiple small blasts don’t do much to improve the theory either.
2. You would be able to measure residual radiation with any run-of-the-mill Geiger Couunter.
3. Geologists have a pretty clear idea when and how the Sahara was formed. Nuclear Blasts have not yet shown up in those theories:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara#Climate_history
And archeologists have found traces of it. Multiple traces. Darwin’s theory has already been reconsidered.
The traces:
1)Eagypt: the scientists have made an inspection of the surfaces of stones of which the Great pyramid, the Temple of Osiris, and many other objects were built. They found traces of such technologies for instance as ultrasonic drills and diamond impregnated saw.
Moreover, they found out that such treatment class of quarzite and bazalt is not possible in modern conditions.
My good friend is now the leading archeologist of our Ministry of Defence. I paused him this question and he said that many of the discoveries had been made in the 60-s of the XX century.
2) America:
Do you know that the US strategic bomber “blackbird” and space shuttle Columbia were built according to a prototype -a golden figure of a bird found in the pre-historic burial place of American Indians. It was first exibitioned in 1956 in New York. The fact is that this figure is not a bird but a scrupulous model of a pre-historic ultrasonic plane. When they put it into the wind tunnel, they found that no existing aeroplane had such magnifiscent aerodynamic qualities.
3)Latin America
The examination of Incan cities showed that some structures were created with the use of a technology of “liquid stone” absolutely unavailable even today. The gigantic 300-ton blocks are welded together with precision of microns. By the way, how do you suppose they were transported? By magic?
If you still think that our predecessors were monkeys, I will give you more material. Even video material.
About the Sahara desert, this is no official theory, but my personal opinion. As to the radiation – I have meazured it myself -the natural radiation background is very high. The fact that the French atomic bomb was tested in this area spoils the picture a bit…
You know everytime someone claims to have that much evidence for his theories, I ask myself why he hasn’t published them and become famous yet… Some people seem to like to make their claims from obscurity. all it would take would be to publish the stuff for other archaeologists to review. As long as they don’t do that, I tend to assume they are aware that their “evidence” would not hold up to professional scrutiny.
Those scientists claim to be able to discern the exact methods of manipulation after more than 3.000 years worth of erosion? CSI would go green with envy…
Or maybe it was… You know… a bird? Evloution has created many designs that are still superior to our current technology.
Again, measurements in the range of microns after millenia of erosion? The erosion has to be several orders of magnitude more than that.
I don’t think our predecessors were monkeys. If you talk about our evolutionary predecessors, they were apes (grossly simplified) and if you talk about our cultural predecessors, I value their achievements even more highly, BECAUSE they did it without having access to modern technology.
If there had been an advanced civilization before ours, we would have found far more than a statue or two. We would have found cities, graveyards, PLASTIC (it doesn’t corrode, you know…) and much more. When your scientist friends have found that, I’ll be glad to give their opinions another review.
Exactly, Mirage. Since the middle of the XXth century official science had been trying to hush up multiple discoveries it could not explain. Because they were afraid of something I guess. And because it is always hard to admit you were wrong, hard to revise all understanding of humanity and the universe. And keeping in mind that many military secrets were involved it was best to hush up the whole business. Countries could not sacrifice their selfish interests to the benefice of the whole mankind.
In 1993 a book “Unknown History of Mankind” it is called, I suppose, was published by Michael Kremon and Richard Thompson. It reveals hundreds of “inconvenient” facts which were concealed.
Jurassic humans were 7 meters tall and by all means able to kick a dinosaur’s ass. Fossil bones were found in many parts of the World. Legends tell that before the Great flood giants lived on Earth. They were not just legends.
What exactly would they be afraid of? An extinct civilization is nothing that is exactly threatening, is it? Also archaeology is probably the one scientific discipline that is furthest from having any impact on military considerations.
Of course there have always been scientists who are too set in their ways to accept changes, but the vast majority would be positively exited by the propect of a whole new field of research.
Anyway, even if that book lists a few hundred mysterious findings, (Let’s not call them “inconvenient facts”. That’s simply misleading.) that still does not explain how a civilization could just vanish from the face of the earth without leaving as much of a trace. And I’m not talking about ambiguous statues and stuff, but the things that no civilization can go without: Refuse, dead people etc.
We have found hundreds of burial sites dating back as far as the practice of burial itself, yet you really think there was a whole civilization with a technology equal or superior to ours even earlier and NOT A SINGLE GRAVEYRD has been dicovered yet?
Our civilization produces millions of tons of refuse, much of it incompostible plastic, creating veritable mountains of junk, and this supposed earlier civilization either managed to avoid that completely or else hide it so well, that we haven’t found it yet?
Sorry, I’m not buying that.
I’m sorry. Up to now I was giving alex the benefit of the doubt.
I will stop feeding the troll now.
In I beleave it was january of 2007 the doomsday clock was set once again ahead two minutes
to read 5 minutes to midnight or in theory the DOOM of the planet. But the doomsday clock is a little slow to update and in theory inacurite
How is canada safe from Nuclear war no one is
I believe that is there is a neuclear war and is damages all of civilization it aftermath will be of that of Fallout 3 were everything is destroyed and mankind is barly making a living.
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/doomsday-clock-change-100111.html
Doomsday Clock to Change This Week
By LiveScience Staff
posted: 11 January 2010 04:48 pm ET
The minute hand of the famous Doomsday Clock is set to move this Thursday, and for the first time, anyone with Internet access can watch. Which way the hand will move and by how much have not been made public.
The event will take place at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Jan. 14 at the New York Academy of Sciences Building in New York City. While the actual clock is housed at the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences offices in Chicago, Ill., a representation of the clock will be changed at Thursday’s news conference. (You can watch the live Web feed at http://www.TurnBackTheClock.org.) …