The Y2K Bug as Apocalyptic Thinking

There are two key elements to apocalyptic thinking. First, we have gotten off track some how, and, second, punishment will be doled out or things will be set right by forces beyond our control. Neither of these components holds up well under scrutiny. But, the beliefs that make up our worldview are generally unquestioned assumptions about reality that do not hold up particularly well under scrutiny. If they did hold up well under scrutiny they would be part our scientific knowledge and not part of our worldview. (Of course, belief in science is a part of our worldview that also does not hold up well under scrutiny. But, that is another argument for another day.)

The claim that we have gotten off track some how suggests that there is a track that we should be on. If there is one, it is largely one of our own construction. That is, we believe a bunch of things about how the world should be and when our behavior varies from those beliefs, we feel we have gotten off track.

Second, as discussed earlier, there is a difference between retribution and likely outcomes. If you run across a busy street there is a good chance that you make get struck by a car. To suggest that you 'deserve' to get struck by a car suggests that our moral equilibrium is being enforced by transcendental powers.

Consider the subtext of the Y2K Bug. I apologize for the dramatic wording but, I believe that it helps make the point.

1) We have gotten off track: We have sinned. We have been seduced by the idol of technology. We have given ourselves over to technology sacrificing our free will and free spirits. We rely on technology for our very being. Our worship of and reliance on technology is just modern day idolatry.

2) Things will be set right by forces beyond our control: We must pay for our sins. We will suffer. We will be punished. The coy mistress of technology will turn her back on us leaving us vulnerable to loosing all that we find holy. Banks will fail. Airplanes will fall out of the sky. Medical technology will take lives instead of saving them. As people struggle to survive, civilization may come to an end.

When the clocks ticked over to the year 2000 and nothing happened, did anyone ask - why? Did anyone try to justify their beliefs? No, because beliefs are beliefs and require no justification. Believers still believe and will point to all the effort that went into preventing the problem. Disbelievers still disbelieve and see all the spending leading up to the year 2000 as money wasted. Never the twain shall meet and it will never be resolved.