I haven't been watching the star-gazing thing on the BBC but my dad has. One point discussed in the programme, as pointed out by dad, was the likelihood of the planet getting hit by a meteor/asteroid. Come on, it's all about calendars. The blinkered human calendar is all we consider, in general. The question actually translates as, 'will the earth be destroyed by a rock from outer-space in my lifetime?' Extremely unlikely is the answer, but if the original question is re-asked, i.e. what is the probability of the Earth being hit by a massive chunk of extra-terrestrial rock? I would say 1:1, it's going to happen!! Likewise; the likelihood that a catastrophic natural disaster is going to devastate the planet and decimate (or worse) the populace is the same, i.e. certain. I realised some time ago that the important factor here is what calendar you are considering, human, geological or astronomical. Simples *eek*
Also, this 2012 Mayan calendar nonsense. Let's face it, a race planning ahead may have lost interest after a date they knew they would probably never see, coupled with this running out of space on a complicated, carved rock calendar means the a replay, with the Mayan Project managers and risk assessors is probably more trouble than it's worth.
The distillation of all of this wisdom is clear; as an individual I have no power over the stars, tsunamis, volcanoes or prophecies so my best bet and only realistic approach is to open another bottle of wine, help as many people as I can and try to be a good person, or similar.
No comments:
Post a Comment