It’s a somewhat frightening prospect that despite all our progress, all our knowledge, all that we have learned and lived through over the last 50, 60, 70, 80 years that humanity is as much on the precipice now as perhaps ever. The famed ‘Doomsday Clock’, symbol of how close we are judged to be near disaster and managed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board currently has the time of two minutes to midnight – and not because they’re massive Iron Maiden fans.
Ironically, one of my best friends is an atomic scientist – and he is a massive Maiden fan.
The current time is the smallest margin ever, jointly held with 1953; and that was when both the US and the Soviet Union were deep in the Cold War and testing rival nuclear warheads. So, what with everything else going on in world affairs, if 2018 is equivalent to that… oh boy.
That doesn’t mean if the end were truly to come we’d be to blame. Although you wouldn’t exactly be getting long odds on it being so. Instead, it could easily come from the earth itself. From a supervolcano like over at Yellowstone, given the right conditions that could devastate the Earth – and it will happen (again) at some point in the future. It’s inevitable.
Our end could also come from up in space. The great beyond. After all the dinosaurs didn’t suddenly all decide to go off and see their grandmothers at the weekend en masse. It’s also inevitable the Earth will eventually be struck by a significant meteor – Hail Marys by Bruce Willis or Robert Duvall notwithstanding. Today’s video is indeed about a meteor strike on the Earth, but its not science fiction. Nor is it one that happened millions of years ago. In fact this one occurred 110 years ago. The Science Channel is your guide as it takes you back to the 30th of June 1908 and the Tunguska event.
Life In 360° will be back at the same time this coming Friday on VRFocus, when we’ll be heading off to Scotland once again – although this time we’ll be looking at controversial conservation.
via Mint VR