FEAR OF WORLD COMING TO AN END

World Coming to an End

A. Observational Fear of World Coming to an End.

In ancient times, people became afraid when widespread damage occurred by things they did not understand.  It usually dealt with things they saw, but other senses could also be involved.  Unknown dangers trigger the primitive part of the brain associated with the fight or flight response. 

Widespread means what it suggests.  For example, a single apple falling from a tree is not widespread and fails to trigger fear.   On the other hand, if all of the apples from the trees suddenly fell, this would be unusual. 

Not knowing the cause forms the second factor.  Humans did not know what caused earthquakes, floods, fire, lighting, famine, etc.  As such, their fears drifted away when they slowly acquired knowledge that explained those events.    

B. Manipulation of Fear of World Coming to an End.

This is the greatest cause of the Fear of the World Coming to an End.  Religion has been one of the largest sources of this fear, but science is beginning to overtake them.  Wikipedia listed many of the origins of these fears.  They are broken down into general categories, relevant periods, and the number of predictions.  

Table 1. List of Apocalyptic Predictions
Category Time Period No. of Predictions

Religion

1st - 10th Centuries

11 Documented

11th - 15th Centuries

5 Documented

16th Century

10 Documented

17th Century

11 Documented

18th Century

7 Documented

19th Century

17 Documented

20th Century

63 Documented

21st Century

12 Documented

Future

5 Documented

TOTAL

141

Science
1st - 10th Centuries
0 Documented
11th - 15th Centuries
2 Documented
16th Century
4 Documented
17th Century
4 Documented
18th Century
2 Documented
19th Century
0 Documented
20th Century
6 Documented
21st Century
4 Documented
Future
11 Documented

TOTAL

33
Other
1st - 15th Centuries
0 Documented
11th - 15th Centuries
0 Documented
16th Century
1 Documented
17th Century
4 Documented
18th Century
3 Documented
19th Century
0 Documented
20th Century
7 Documented
21st Century
3 Documented
Future
1 Documented

TOTAL

19

Here are a few samples of the predictions:

  1. London Astrologers (Feb 1, 1524) interpreted the alignment of planets in the constellation Pisces to mean a massive flood would wipe out the world. 
  2. On May 19, 1780, heavy smoke fell over New England, probably by a forest fire, and the Shakers believed it was Judgment Day. 
  3. In 1974, astrophysicists John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann published a book that claimed in March 1982 that the planets would align, creating a gravitational effect causing massive worldwide earthquakes. 
  4. Mathematician calculates that the world will end based on the geometry of the pyramids of Gisa on 9-23-2017.
  5. The world would end when the Mayan Calendar ended.
  6. The Large Hadron Collider would cause a black hole and destroy the earth.

All these doom and gloom predictions above and in Table 1 above DID NOT OCCUR.  It makes no sense to continue to make projections for things that will not happen.

           “In medicine, if a drug does not work, you stop using it.”  Charles Krauthammer

C. Entertainment Industry.

The Entertainment Industry capitalized on the End of the World scenarios producing movie after movie.   Films like When Worlds Collide (1951), The War of the Worlds (1953), The Time Machine (1960), Battle of the Worlds (1961), The Last Man on Earth (1964), and Planet of the Apes (1968), etc. 

Between 1950-1959 there were ten big movies; between 1960-1969, there were 26 big movies; between 1970-1979, there were 38 big movies; between 1980-1989, there were 46 big movies.  Between 2010 and 2019, there were over 100 movies.  This does not include books and television series. 

A non-stop block-buster attack on the World Coming to an End generated billions of dollars of revenue for this industry–and growing.   

D. Politicians and Media.

Manipulation by political powers uses end-of-the-world scenarios all the time.  The two current ones are Climate Change and Covid19.  

Political entities have practiced many end-of-the-world scenarios.

  • The World Wars I and II were going to end in the collapse of all democratic governments. That did not happen.
  • The Korean Conflict in the 1950s was going to end up in a thermonuclear war with China.  That did not happen.
  • The Vietnam war would have a domino effect, and the entire region would fall to communism. That did not happen. 
  • The development of the nuclear bomb was going to end the world. That did not happen.
  • In the 1970s, most experts believed the world was heading into an ice age.  The world was already in an ice age that started 2.5 million years ago, known as Quaternary Glaciation.   So many scientists were concerned with the upcoming glacier expansion that the US Climate Analysis Center was formed within NOAA.  The glacier expansion did not occur. 
  • Many of those same scientists switched positions from advocating a cold period to supporting a warm period. The warm period has not occurred as the average world temperature has increased less than 1 degree C (0.79) from 1860 to the present. 

Out of the hundreds of cataclysmic climate projections, none occurred.

E. Credibility of Politicians and Media.

It is not surprising that they take a hit on their credibility when none of their predictions come true. 

            The Gallup Poll taken in 2020 reports that the mainstream media is biased in their reporting and that 73% of the people view it as a significant problem.  More than half of the Americans believe reporters are “misrepresenting the facts,” and another 28 percent believe reporters are “making up the facts entirely.”

            The Gallup poll also showed that in 2020,   81% have confidence in the Supreme Court, 55% in Congress, 62% in the president, and 92% in the military.

            A poll by Pew Research showed that 41% of Americans think there were exaggerated or fabricated claims about the COVID19 pandemic.

If the information being broadcast tickles your emotions – then beware.  Manipulation always uses emotions.  If emotion is aroused, turn off the TV and Social Networking platform.  Take a soothing bath and listen to some of your relaxing music.  

F. Personality Types Most Affected.

The personality type most affected by The World Is Coming to an End” would be the B Type of people.  They are the most social.  The Next in line would be the D Types, followed by the A Types.   The C Type personality would be the least affected since they are more prone to rely on the actual data rather than people’s opinions.