End of the world prediction doesn’t add up
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
Those words, by the group R.E.M., came to mind when I read a
story this week that the president of a radio company believes that
the Rapture will take place this Saturday and the world will end
shortly thereafter.
He has determined this by some complicated mathematical formula
that apparently adds up to May 21, 2011 being the end of our time
on Earth.
End of the world prediction doesn’t add up
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
Those words, by the group R.E.M., came to mind when I read a story this week that the president of a radio company believes that the Rapture will take place this Saturday and the world will end shortly thereafter.
He has determined this by some complicated mathematical formula that apparently adds up to May 21, 2011 being the end of our time on Earth.
If that is the case, thanks for reading my final column. It’s been fun.
Of course, I hope the world doesn’t end this weekend, because I have some plans that the planet’s demise would cut into. Plus, we just bought a couple gallons of milk and I’d hate to see them go to waste.
On the other hand, if the world ends this weekend, we don’t have to worry about paying for the long-delayed air-conditioning repair one of our cars needs.
These doomsday predictions pop up from time to time, often bolstered by media curiosity and aided by the loonyness of the prognosticator. Any person who relies on math to figure out when the world will end could easily get their numbers crossed up.
Why would a mathematical formula determine the end of times anyway? Math is really hard and it’s really easy to make calculation mistakes, particularly using Biblical references that have been translated from another language.
I couldn’t understand algebra with a teacher walking me through a problem on the overhead projector, so I’m not confident that this radio guy has his figures straight. My guess is that the world will continue beyond Saturday.
And if I’m wrong, at least I got to enjoy a Giants’ World Series championship before it all ended.
I don’t mean to demean the doomsday prognosticators, as perhaps one of them will be right with their guess and the world will end on the day their calculator told them. I’d just prefer not to get worked up about the possible last day of planet Earth only to find out the guy had his decimal point wrong.
If the world is going to end, I think I’d rather find out about it by surprise. I don’t want to worry about it the night before, because I’m really grumpy after a restless sleep.
If I thought the world was going to end tomorrow, I’d probably go out to dinner with my family and friends and live it up among loved ones one last time. I wouldn’t worry about heartburn or ordering something that was too expensive. I’d buy appetizers and dessert with no regard for the final bill. I’d give the waitperson the best tip ever.
It would be a great time, until I woke up the next morning to realize that the end-of-the-world prediction was wrong and my credit card dinner charge was already accruing interest as my stomach turned from eating too many fried artichokes, steak and a hot fudge sundae.
So despite what the media might report, I’m going to live as if the world will continue beyond Saturday. I’m going to order reasonable meals if I go out to eat and I’ll try not get too excited if the Giants are in first place in May, because it’s a long season. I’m going to start planning next week’s stories and washing my dirty clothes because I expect to wear them again.
The doomsday prediction does have some benefit, I guess. It’s a reminder not to take each day for granted because we never really know when the Earth’s time – or our time on it – will come to an end. So even though that radio guy’s math is probably wrong, he might have at least gotten some people to appreciate their loved ones a bit more and be thankful for whatever time we are given. I’m also thankful that I’ll never have to take another math class – all those numbers are confusing.
Adam Breen teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter for The Pinnacle. He is former editor of the Free Lance. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] (unless the world ends).
