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KarateFace777 t1_j9jxyq9 wrote

Reply to comment by Viperise in What are in your opinion the scariest objects / occurrences in our universe? by SpaceCinema_

This is the one for me. And what scares me is that I can never find a general consensus on how bad it would affect us. I’ve heard people confidently say we would be fucked back to the pre-electricity days for years until we rebuilt the entire electric grid. And I’ve heard people confidently say “we would be without power for like a week.”

And the fact that I can’t find any concrete consensus on the matter makes me think we aren’t prepared enough for the next Carrington event. It’ll happen again, that’s a certainty. But we don’t know when.

EDIT: Well, bad news. I looked up the most recent consensus on the matter. If it happened today it would most likely lead to a years long power outage costing trillions of dollars to repair and all satellites would be toast and we would be in the Stone Age for a few years or more. Well, I wish I don’t look into that for the first time in awhile lol. Now my irrational (but justified) fear of one happening is back online.

Also, the National Academy of Sciences said that the odds of having another Carrington Event happen before 2029 is 1.9 percent….so, a one in 50 chance. But that’s just for the next 6 years…not a fan of those odds. Would be better if they said 1/1000 chance.

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The_Bald t1_j9k56mc wrote

You're toting around some big, doomer energy there my friend. The Earth could be eradicated by any random cosmic event that we lack the ability to predict. Poisoning your present with a future you cannot know is a real waste of the tiny bit of time you have here in this universe.

Next time I would advise you not give in to that urge to look into these sorts of things, not until you can accept there's no point in getting bent out of shape by the unpredictability of life. You are alive today -- if you can find some way to enjoy even a fraction of it then you have won. This isn't some toxic positivity spiel, this is a reminder to take care of and be aware of yourself.

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tuokcalbmai t1_j9kb790 wrote

It seems like you are coming from a place of compassion, but at the same time are you gatekeeping fear? That’s messed up. Existential dread is for everyone.

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The_Bald t1_j9kjuh9 wrote

>I'm not sure if this absurd thing I came up with is actually what you meant, but just in case it is, here is what I would say about it if I was right.

That aside, no, not at all. Fear is, as you say, very natural. Intentionally looking into topics you know will upset you is not. That's why I referenced doom-scrolling with 'doomer energy'. They start off their comment lamenting about how afraid of this thing they are, then come back and say "bad news everyone, it's actually really bad. This thing that might happen would ruin our lives, destroy society, and it could happen!". That's not just fear. If we're in the sport of irrationally reading into things -- I'd call that fear-mongering.

Me cautioning them against seeking out information that will upset them is not gatekeeping, it is very much me looking out for someone who does not seem to be doing too well. It is what we all have to do in the information age and the subset of social media.

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Viperise t1_j9k2t72 wrote

Yeah.. I really try not to think about it. The first time I read about it, I thought about it for months. We would be absolutely fucked, I could see society falling apart

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_catkin_ t1_j9mczfe wrote

The pandemic has shown us a taster of what it’d be like.

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