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The Doomsday / Apocalypse Thread

Definitely, without any question, December. Maybe. Which should solve the problem of what to buy people for Chrimbo. And may we welcome back Nibiru, the "mysterious Planet X", which hasn't had much attention lately.

Doomsday groups are predicting the world could come to an end before Christmas as a mysterious 'Planet X' is heading for a collision course with Earth.

Despite the last anti-climax when Christian groups predicted the world would be 'obliterated by fire' on October 7 - doomsday groups 'Before It's News' and 'Brussell Sprout' claim the latest forecast is the real deal.

Theories of an inter-planet collision have since been shared across the internet - with an unspecified date in December said to be our last day on Earth.

A tenth planet known long ago as Nibiru - or Planet X - is said to be currently heading on a collision course towards Earth.

Conspiracy theorists have long claimed the existence of Planet X, which is said to have been covered up by governments with the knowledge that it will destroy Earth.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/apocalypse-before-christmas-doomsday-groups-6651760
 
If Planet X was going to hit in December, we'd see it by now.
Where is it?
 
Mythopoeika said:
If Planet X was going to hit in December, we'd see it by now.
Where is it?
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The standard answer is that it is either coming at us from sunward, or coming from outside the plane of the ecliptic (where we are not looking for such things).
 
kamalktk said:
The standard answer is that it is either coming at us from sunward, or coming from outside the plane of the ecliptic (where we are not looking for such things).
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Then the standard answer is bollix.

Why should a body coming in from deep space care about the ecliptic (the plane of of Earth's orbit)?

It could come in from anywhere (and we can't watch everywhere), but when it gets close enough it will be spotted. There are plenty of search programmes going on for Near Earth Asteroids and comets (most of which are not in the ecliptic), so if something BIG approaches it should be detected, in plenty of time for much weeping and wailing at our impending extinction to take place ahead of the actual event.
 
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rynner2 said:
Then the standard answer is bollix.

Why should a body coming in from deep space care about the ecliptic (the plane of of Earth's orbit)?

It could come in from anywhere (and we can't watch everywhere), but when it gets close enough it will be spotted. There are plenty of search programmes going on for Near Earth Asteroids and comets (most of which are not in the ecliptic), so if something BIG approaches it should be detected, in plenty of time for much weeping and wailing at our impending extinction to take place ahead of the actual event.
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I didn't say it wasn't bollix, just that it is the standard answer given when asked "why can't we see it". Here is one of those 'not coming in from the ecliptic so we can't see it' videos:
 
kamalktk said:
I didn't say it wasn't bollix, just that it is the standard answer given when asked "why can't we see it". Here is one of those 'not coming in from the ecliptic so we can't see it' videos:
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Yes, one of those stoopid videos that hang around the internet like a fart in a phone box. If we can't see Nibiru (or whatever it's called) how do we know anything about it at all? Where's the evidence?

If there was evidence, you can bet that professional astronomers would be all over it. But unsupported statements of impending apocalyptic disasters aren't worth the websites they're written on.
 
Tribble said:
Definitely, without any question, December. Maybe. Which should solve the problem of what to buy people for Chrimbo. And may we welcome back Nibiru, the "mysterious Planet X", which hasn't had much attention lately.

Doomsday groups are predicting the world could come to an end before Christmas as a mysterious 'Planet X' is heading for a collision course with Earth.

Despite the last anti-climax when Christian groups predicted the world would be 'obliterated by fire' on October 7 - doomsday groups 'Before It's News' and 'Brussell Sprout' claim the latest forecast is the real deal.

Theories of an inter-planet collision have since been shared across the internet - with an unspecified date in December said to be our last day on Earth.

A tenth planet known long ago as Nibiru - or Planet X - is said to be currently heading on a collision course towards Earth.

Conspiracy theorists have long claimed the existence of Planet X, which is said to have been covered up by governments with the knowledge that it will destroy Earth.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/apocalypse-before-christmas-doomsday-groups-6651760
Click to expand...

It's funny, discussion of Nibiru used to come up every ten years like clockwork, now it's more like every five years. Of course, I also remember when Doomsday was only predicted occasionally, now it's every few months.
I'm wondering at the cause for this. I mean a cause besides the pressure of the 24 hour news cycle. Some sociological reason. There must be one. Contemplating the end of the world isn't most people's idea of a good time.
 
Perhaps many people secretly yearn for the world to end?
 
Mythopoeika said:
If Planet X was going to hit in December, we'd see it by now.
Where is it?
Click to expand...
Ulalume said:
It's funny, discussion of Nibiru used to come up every ten years like clockwork, now it's more like every five years. Of course, I also remember when Doomsday was only predicted occasionally, now it's every few months.
I'm wondering at the cause for this. I mean a cause besides the pressure of the 24 hour news cycle. Some sociological reason. There must be one. Contemplating the end of the world isn't most people's idea of a good time.
Click to expand...

I'd blame the Internet and a lazy, entertainment-value-driven media. About 40% of the planet's population is online. That's over 3 billion users, many of whom are unhinged, feel betrayed by their government/society, are bored and want change and excitement, read the Daily Mail and/or don't have a huge amount to look forward to in life. When a tabloid comes along and says "Killer asteroid, just like you've seen in blockbuster disaster films, might WIPE US OUT TOMORROW" or "Fringe church predicts END OF WORLD" then that provides a bit of excitement, be it "Finally, a major societal change", a brief escapism or just "Let's all laugh at the loonies". It sells papers so they'll keep reporting on it.
 
Very soon...

In a step towards creating independent artificial intelligence comparable to Skynet from the 'Terminator' franchise, a Russian company has successfully tested software capable of undertaking decisions and carrying them out without any human intervention.
The United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (OPK), an integral part of the Rostec arms corporation, says it has developed the Unicum (Latin for 'the only one') software package that gives military or civilian robots enough artificial intelligence to perform complicated tasks completely on their own.

READ MORE: ‘Robots replacing soldiers won’t make anybody safer’

Powering a group of up to 10 robotic complexes, the Unicum artificial intelligence (AI) communicates and distributes ‘roles’ among the robots, chooses the ‘commander’ of the robotic task force and assigns combat mission to each individual machine.


https://www.rt.com/news/319082-russia-military-artificial-intelligence/
 
"The only way to win is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?"
 
Rise of the machines. *shudder*
That is the creation to destroy us all.
 
The 'Artisan Business' and the 'Rise of the Machines' topics are tied inextricably together.

As Robert Heinlein realised long ago, there will soon be two classes of product; the automatically fabricated, homogenised, perfect and cheap stuff made by robots, with few or no people employed in the process; and the artisan equivalent - expensive, handmade, slightly (or very) crappy, which at least provides employment for a few human workers. The only way these artisan workers can get enough money to consume the robot-manufactured commodities is by selling their own inferior wares. So don't knock artisans - we'll all be artisans in the long run.
 
eburacum said:
The 'Artisan Business' and the 'Rise of the Machines' topics are tied inextricably together.

As Robert Heinlein realised long ago, there will soon be two classes of product; the automatically fabricated, homogenised, perfect and cheap stuff made by robots, with few or no people employed in the process; and the artisan equivalent - expensive, handmade, slightly (or very) crappy, which at least provides employment for a few human workers. The only way these artisan workers can get enough money to consume the robot-manufactured commodities is by selling their own inferior wares. So don't knock artisans - we'll all be artisans in the long run.
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Hold on, there!
Most of the craftsman-made stuff I have ever seen or bought has been of a much better quality than that crappy robot-built stuff. And it's individual.
 
Artisan-made goods are generally of a different type to the robot-built stuff. You can't really get artisan-made televisions or refrigerators, mobile phones or I-Pads; handmade computers are largely assembled from parts designed on computers and fabricated using automation. Individually-made artisan goods are valuable because of the imperfections, which make each item unique and the best of them are infused with human inspiration.

We have a window of (at most) a few hundred years before the AIs learn how to mimic this sort of inspiration, if we're lucky. Then we're fucked (if we want to compete against them).
 
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eburacum said:
We have a window of (at most) a few hundred years before the AIs learn how to mimic this sort of inspiration, if we're lucky. Then we're fucked (if we want to compete against them).
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Or we could just merge with them. Cyborg evolution.
 
In some ways we already have. I can't quantify how many times a day I refer to Google, Wikipedia and social media every day for information; we are all much more informed and connected than ever before.
 
eburacum said:
In some ways we already have [Merged with AI]. I can't quantify how many times a day I refer to Google, Wikipedia and social media every day for information; we are all much more informed and connected than ever before.
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Avoid Google - it is evil! (Eventually this will become a meme! :twisted:)
 
eburacum said:
Artisan-made goods are generally of a different type to the robot-built stuff. You can't really get artisan-made televisions or refrigerators, mobile phones or I-Pads; handmade computers are largely assembled from parts designed on computers and fabricated using automation. Individually-made artisan goods are valuable because of the imperfections, which make each item unique and the best of them are infused with human inspiration.

We have a window of (at most) a few hundred years before the AIs learn how to mimic this sort of inspiration, if we're lucky. Then we're fucked (if we want to compete against them).
Click to expand...

Well, you can have a robot build quality good with random variance if you like ;)

My real beef is when stuff's called 'artisan' when it's really nothing more than, for example, a loaf of bread or some craft stall tat that anyone can make if they've previously made enough cash in the city to 'downshift'. I'm lucky to know some real craftsmen, cabinetmakers who's skill is awe inspiring, instrument makers who can make anything out of metal, people who can hand-make bamboo fishing rods you'd be frightened to use.

Faux craftsmen, those artisans. Pshaw I say. Damn them to the hell of nutritionists and homeopaths.
 
Aunt Bessie. God only knows how she manages to turn out millions of Yorkshire puds a year. And at her age too. What hideous tragedy drove her to that level of single-minded determinism that attempting to provide enough Yorkshire a Puddings for the entire planet was the answer?
 
jimv1 said:
Aunt Bessie. God only knows how she manages to turn out millions of Yorkshire puds a year. And at her age too. What hideous tragedy drove her to that level of single-minded determinism that attempting to provide enough Yorkshire a Puddings for the entire planet was the answer?
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I know, she works like a trojan, the poor dear. Bad news at her age - she could end up having a stroke.
 
eburacum said:
The 'Artisan Business' and the 'Rise of the Machines' topics are tied inextricably together.

As Robert Heinlein realised long ago, there will soon be two classes of product; the automatically fabricated, homogenised, perfect and cheap stuff made by robots, with few or no people employed in the process; and the artisan equivalent - expensive, handmade, slightly (or very) crappy, which at least provides employment for a few human workers. The only way these artisan workers can get enough money to consume the robot-manufactured commodities is by selling their own inferior wares. So don't knock artisans - we'll all be artisans in the long run.
Click to expand...

It's interesting that such a designation as "artisan" has cropped up in the UK.
Natural vs synthetic fibers, handicrafts, foods etc. have long been a class marker* in the States, and I assumed in UK, or at least England, as well (though not having lived there, I can't be sure.) It probably indicates a societal change of sorts - though not necessarily apocalyptic. It may be a backlash against modern technology and robot manufactured goods, spreading through the culture more widely that it had previously done. Or, perhaps it has roots in economic struggle (ie creating a home business to generate income) or it could be that more people are desiring to feel more "posh" by buying handmade goods. Maybe it's a combination of all these circumstances.

Whoever slapped the words artisan on these things might have seen the trend coming. That doesn't necessarily mean they've made good use of it, of course. I agree we could all end up artisans in the long run. Whether that's a good thing or bad, only time will tell. I suppose it depends on whether there's an apocalypse, and how apocalyptic it is, or not. :p

(*Wear a worn tweed jacket from a charity shop, and people will think you're a well-bred eccentric. Wear a polyester one and people will just assume you're poor. It might seem silly, but it's true.)
 
What I'm describing is the apocalypse - at least it is the apocalypse so far as employment as we understand it is concerned. We have already lost a lot of manufacturing jobs in this country - in due course we'll lose them all, to be replaced by different modes of work, which I believe could be much better and more human than the ones introduced during the Industrial Revolution - but it this transition is handled badly, these post-industrial jobs might turn out to be much worse.

If humans end up doing only the sort of things that robots can't do, then the biggest employers might be care homes and rehab centres.
 
eburacum said:
We have already lost a lot of manufacturing jobs in this country - in due course we'll lose them all, to be replaced by different modes of work, which I believe could be much better and more human than the ones introduced during the Industrial Revolution - but it this transition is handled badly, these post-industrial jobs might turn out to be much worse.
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I do wonder what people are doing for work in this country.
We've got a rapidly-expanding population, with more flooding in through the borders. What are they all doing? What will they all do in the future?
I've noticed quite a few places around my home town and the town where I currently live that once were places of work - small factories, small warehouses, business centres, pubs etc. - all closed down and have had housing built on them.
Where are the places of work?

I find it quite frightening.
 
The digital world employs a huge chunk of the workforce nowadays.
 
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