Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

[lakedaemonian]

The Doomsday Clock:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock

Would it be a good idea to see it updated and brought into the 21st century?

While I think the odds of a nuclear weapon being used in my lifetime are quite possibly higher now and the foreseeable future than at any time in my 40+ years alive I'm actually far more optomistic that it will NOT represent a "Day After" or "Threads" scenario of massive use.

I would posit that any nuclear weapons used would quite possibly be rather limited in number and location.

Would folks benefit from having an economic/financial doomsday clock?

Would that not be more relevant to most folks and possibly be a leading indicator for the nuclear doomsday clock?

Or are we already only 2 minutes to economic/financial doomsday midnight negating it's usefulness as a warning indicator?

It could so easily be rebranded digital....add in seconds....that way the rocket scientists that fiddle with it far more foten and appear to be making cogent analysis and changes without really necessarily changing anything

Like 1 minute and 17 seconds sounds more scientific than a blunt 3 minutes.

[c1ue]

Re: Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

The Doomsday Clock was the forefather to advocacy organizations like the UCS.

Nothing scientific whatsoever about it - merely a way to lend the imprimature of 'science' to a political position.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

The Doomsday Clock was the forefather to advocacy organizations like the UCS.

Nothing scientific whatsoever about it - merely a way to lend the imprimature of 'science' to a political position.

So.....what if it's fixed with an "accurate digital quartz movement" that isn't political or politicized?

Merge some indicators that can't be easily corrupted like the billion prices project at MIT for example and come up with a digital "clock" or more like "dashboard of economic doom".

Or maybe just "Dashboard of Doom".

Telling us how fast and when we are about to hit a given wall.

Might be worth trademarking...could be the new, new Big Mac Index.

[c1ue]

Re: Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

If there is some open and non-politicized series of steps which constitute the 'ticker', by all means that would be interesting.

The problem, of course, with the concept of a ticker, clock, or any such construct is the illusion that each tick, or minute is somehow inevitable - when in reality each step is a political, economic, and/or military decision.

I think you understand what I mean. If you applied a 'clock' to financial education, the implication is that over time everyone gets financially educated when in fact there is no such thing.

While I haven't looked closely into it - I'd bet money that one reason the clock was chosen for the Doomsday Clock was exactly to promote a sense of urgency even though time wasn't the urgent factor.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

If there is some open and non-politicized series of steps which constitute the 'ticker', by all means that would be interesting.

The problem, of course, with the concept of a ticker, clock, or any such construct is the illusion that each tick, or minute is somehow inevitable - when in reality each step is a political, economic, and/or military decision.

I think you understand what I mean. If you applied a 'clock' to financial education, the implication is that over time everyone gets financially educated when in fact there is no such thing.

While I haven't looked closely into it - I'd bet money that one reason the clock was chosen for the Doomsday Clock was exactly to promote a sense of urgency even though time wasn't the urgent factor.

Yeah I would agree with the clock being a not so subtle choice to promote a sense of urgency and inevitability of action isn't taken.

Even a car dashboard would be tough....maybe an Economic EKG?

The financial/economic equivalent of Blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol maybe.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Is it time to bring the Doomsday Clock into the digital age?

Waffle House Index:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...ist_smartbrief