Y2k Aware does not = Millennial Madness

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Why Millennial Madness and Y2k don't necessarily go together

A favorite argument for the "optimists" group is that those who are worried (Y2k Aware) about future Y2k disruptions are suffering from "Millennial Madness."

To me, the term Millennial Madness suggests that there is a paranoia which causes a percentage of people at the dawn of a 1000 year period on a calendar to exhibit strange, delusional behavior. On it's face, this argument seems interesting.

However, what does a computer glitch have to do with Millennial Madness?

In my mind, the fact that Y2k glitches correspond to the cycle of a 1000 year period is purely coincidental. The fact of the matter is that this date change could easily have happened at the beginning of this decade when 1989 changed to 1990. For that matter, the problem with computer code could have occurred when 2009 changes to 2010. Y2k has nothing to do with Millennial Madness and everything to do with tangible, actual problems that exist today and will exist even after the new millennium begins in 2001.

I do believe that Millennial Madness does indeed exist and that Millennial Madness will, indeed, occur. Perhaps, it already is occurring. I do believe that some of what is attributed to the Y2k Aware group is true, but only for a percentage of that group.

However, to suggest that a real threat of disruptions caused by a real problem is all in the minds of a delusional percentage of the earths population is not logical.

If it were then those who remediate, those who test, those who set recovery on and work through the different contingencies to facilitate that recovery could also be given the diagnosis of suffering from Millennial Madness.

And, this doesn't take into account the CEOs, the CFOs and the CIOs of the major corporations and the Leaders and the managers of the governments and the services of the world who are signing the purchase orders and spending billions upon billions of dollars to fix a problem which, in the minds of the optimists, only resides in their delusional imaginations.

Borrowing from Andy Ray,

Y2k Aware does not = Millennial Madness

Just my two cents and I'd really love to hear what you think. Am I delusional?

Honesty is much appreciated : )

Mike

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-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 28, 1999

Answers

Since the next major problem could be the 2038 bug (32 bit UNIX systems), not relevant, for the most part.

On the other hand, do we really want to be rembered by history with the king of England in the year 1,000? (Ethelred the Unready!)

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), July 28, 1999.


DS -

You and I agree on much I think. There is no doubt that it's possible Millennial Madness could either trigger or even take advantage of Y2k problems, real or imaginary.

I'm seriously concerned about both foreign and domestic agenda pushers who decide that this may be the perfect opportunity to strike. I don't even know if Y2k would really even be necessary for this to occur but the confusion that may be caused, real or imagined, could make our respective futures interesting.

I truly view the future that will unfold as a combination of fears both real and imagined, real and imagined problems compounding those fears, real and imagined threats which add to the problems, etc.

In other words, what is real and what is imagined wont matter. It will all be happening at the same time and the level of anxiety about what is real, what is a hoax, what the impacts will be, etc. will be unlike anything in recent history.

Unlike your recent posts, it's easy for many to shrug off the thoughts as those of the sincerely concerned as simply coming from the minds of those who have bought into a hysteria. I don't find myself hysterical at all. Well, at least outside my sons room where he finds me really funny, go figure.

Al D, I'll answer you privately if you don't mind regarding my own spiritual beliefs.

MM, I'm one who believes we have to get through the first couple of years of the next decade before we can move on to 2038 : )

Thanks,

Mike

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-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 28, 1999.


'Millenial Madness' is too glibly evoked by Polly's to dis the doomers/GI's. There is certainly no direct connection between a particular computer bug and the religious hysteria associated with millenial change - especially when the computer bug would affect any other century rollover, not just a millenial one.

There is one possible weak rationale for the linking however. It is possible that there is a faint but certain underlying psychology of nervous regarding a century/millenium rollover in some people's psyche, making them slightly more sensitive to warnings from various quarters about potential (code bug induced) TEOTWAKI scenarios than they would otherwise have been.

-- Ct Vronsky (vronsky@anna.com), July 28, 1999.


Thank you Michael. We have a tendency in this culture to place labels on people and attitudes, and choose up sides. Maybe someday, we'll get to a point where information is more valued than opinion.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), July 28, 1999.

Doomers Suck -- you sure have changed yer tune lately, from offensive loudmouth to an extremely thoughtful poster. I'm not quite a doomer, but I certainly slant that way, and I think you are contributing greatly to this forum. 'Twas not always the case.

-DN-

-- Duly Noted (impressed@nowhere.com), July 28, 1999.



I will point out that recently, many government and agency types are using the term "millenial madness" to describe those that fear major Y2K-related disruptions and are stockpiling food, water and supplies (no Hoffmeister, I'm not going to take the time to find the URL's...go and search the threads for the last week to discover quite a few tidbits from the likes of Bennet, Reno and Cohen).

All you who post here (with maybe the exception of the pollies and the trolls) better wake up to the real possibility that political targets are being painted on you in exactly the same way the Jews in Nazi Germany had theirs pre-painted in 1935. If that comparison bothers you, then consider yourselves the Ken Starrs of Y2K preparedness and maybe then you'll get the drift.

We are being set-up for the fall. For political expediency and raw vengeance. Be aware that I'm sure these forums are moderated and that at some point, actions could be taken against you from simple harrassment to public examples being made of you.

Paranoia on my part? Hardly. Go and re-read the article WRITTEN by William Cohen. Read the announcement made today that they propose a new "surveillance" system to snoop on -email, banking and transactions and decide for yourself.

I see an ugly trend developing soon where those that have prepared and posted here are going to find themselves in some insidious situations in the name of "national security" or a whipped-up populace seeking revenge on those they've been led to believe have "caused" the problems.

Mark my words.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), July 28, 1999.


Well, my eyes must be averted and my ears closed, because I see or hear little evidence of a religious "Millennial Madness" in our society today. Not to say there isn't some, and it will probably increase as we approach Jan 1, but it isn't much, and -- where is it coming from?

Hindus? I don't think so.

Buddists? No.

Athiests, agnostics? No.

Jews? Not really. A faint stirring, perhaps?

Christians? Ah, there's the answer -- or is it? Those Christians, looking for the return of Jesus, can't even agree the least little bit among themselves.....you have amillennialists, post millenialists, and pre millennialists, and even within the pre-millennialist category you have pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation and pre-wrath beliefs, and I'm sure there are some who will slighted because I left them out. Of all of those, only the pre-millennialist/pre-tribulation believing Christian is looking for the imminent return of Jesus. All the other pre-millennialists believe there's unfinished business before Jesus returns. The amillennialists and post millennialists attach no significance to the calendar millennium.

In short, there really are very few Christians who could be tieing the return of Jesus to either the millennium or the rollover to the year 2000.

So, who is participating in this Millennial Madness? Where does it come from? Other than being a convenient excuse to demonize those who are concerned about the computer problem? Hmmm.

-- de (delewis@Xinetone.net), July 28, 1999.


Y2K = Large Contributing Factor

Would Millennial Madness even be a "problem" if it were not for Y2K? I think not. Sure, Jack Van Impe would still be predicting the return of Jesus "Any day now" but not many others would be worried.

Also, just how widespread is this "Madness"? I see very few signs of it beyond the demonization of the hard core "doomers" as wacky hermits wishing for doom.

But it is an excellent excuse for increased federal police powers and further erosion of individual rights, which in itself makes me mad.

Does that count?

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), July 28, 1999.


"it is an excellent excuse for increased federal police powers and further erosion of individual rights" Uncle D.

great point Unc.

Seems as though who ever needs an excuse to either put down thought or grab for power latches on to the Millennial Madness argument to further their own end.

With the recent article by Cohen and the broad powers of electronic "monitoring" I feel as if our world (the USA) is already in interesting times

Mike

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-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 28, 1999.


One of the truly COOL things about y2k is that it has *pre-empted* much religious mania that might have happened at this time.

Instead we have an "equal opportunity" TEOTW to share with everyone.

It gave _everybody_ in society the opportunity to worry about their shared computer dependence.

It gave cynics and optimists alike the chance to contemplate "two small digits" in an obscure profession known as programming.

It made non-programmers try to imagine (bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha) what goes on inside a computer program.

It made geeks try to fathom the depths of social psychology (those non-technical guts you slept through in college).

It gave us Gary North, the ultimate religious fanatic who sounds more logical than you or I on our best days, who disagrees with nearly all the other religious types, and separates y2k from any eschatological causation, yet is pegged in the press with that label anyway.

Most reporters have even given up reminding us (if they ever knew) that the century and millennium don't begin for another year after 1/1/00.

The wondrous cross-weavings of societal and sub-group beliefs, assumptions, actions and layers of denial will occupy decades of discourse as we look back on this "interesting" year.

-- jor-el (jor-el@krypton.uni), July 29, 1999.



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