The End of the World: Would it change anything?

Question

November, 2007: The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is turned on. Despite the astronomical odds against it, the LHC begins producing micro black holes at the rate of one per second. Equally unlikely, Hawking radiation turns out to be incorrect, and the micro black holes are stable. They are pulled towards the center of the earth, where they coalesce in to a larger black hole. The technicians at CERN turn the LHC off, but it's too late. The news goes out all over the world: we all have fifteen minutes to live before the black hole reaches critical mass and the earth implodes at the speed of light.

Fifteen minutes pass, and nothing happens. Twenty minutes. An hour. Finally, two hours pass, and our death sentence is revoked. For some reason that physicists don't yet understand, the black hole has evaporated.

For two hours, everyone on earth believed that they were about to die.

What effect do you think this would have on our society? On religion? On you personally?

For information on the LHC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider

Answer 1

You could not inform the entire population of America (let alone the earth) of anything in fifteen minutes. Assuming it was released to the media outlets, it would take hours for the news to spread to a large enough segment of the population to incite panic (even with Fox news putting computer generated devil graphics in clouds of smoke around the collider.)

Chances are most people would not pay attention simply because such an esoteric threat would not be perceived as real. George W. would probably wait a couple of days before even addressing the nation, by which time, according to your scenario, the danger would be gone.

But, lets assume the time-line were drawn out to days or weeks. We'd likely be looking at mass rioting and anarchy. Society would quickly devolve into an animalistic "might makes right", survival of the fittest mentality, even though every person was equally doomed. Mania would rule the day, and people would indulge in every repressed behavior they normally wouldn't even consider. There would be much death and destruction.

Whatever segment of society resisted this hedonism would likely go into denial. They'd huddle together in their homes, or crowd the churches and mosques and synagogues. They'd remain calm by refusing to accept the reality of the situation, chanting and praying to whatever god they believe in, and ironically they'd probably be the ones to emerge most unscathed.

A smaller portion (the atheists) would keep their heads about them and accept the inevitable. They'd hold their heads high, and face their remaining time with dignity and courage, knowing they lived their lives the best they could.

Among them would be the scientists, split into camps of optimists and pessimists, with the optimists trying to find a solution until the last second, and the pessimists throwing themselves off rooftop for "destroying the world."

When it was all over, like a school of frightened fish hiding in the grass, religious people would emerge, slowly at first, and then with increasing confidence, to face the stark reality of the destruction levied by their less intimidated brothers and sisters. They'd affirm each other with hugs and kisses and tears, praise their gods, and society would enter a new age of heightened theology not unlike what we saw after 9-11.

The animals would put their clothes back on and be forced to face a new kind of music, which would undoubtedly curtail the rights of the average person (ESPECIALLY the scientist and the atheist) like never before. Armed with this new ammunition, the conservative religious fundamentalists would remold society into their ideal vision of theistic perfection. Every collider in the world would be bulldozed, and a non-profit church would be erected in its place.

Personally, I would lament the failure of the scientists to *properly* destroy the earth, which would now be a lifeless place despite all the walking, talking automatons, and barring being magically transported to a desert island with Miss June and July, I'd probably mix up a Kevorkian cocktail of hemlock and Snapple Raspberry ice tea, and toast our lack of vision one final time.

Answer 2

for sure, each 3 hundred and sixty 5 days there are issues that ensue that are global replacing. evaluate each and each of the tornadoes very last 3 hundred and sixty 5 days, the earthquakes, the tsunami's. All those issues deliver ripples for the time of society and result the global. Now, in case you recommend the major climate change, or a disaster that could like wipe out an finished us of a or something? Then no. i do not trust 2012 will be any diverse than the different 3 hundred and sixty 5 days. yet might want to it ensue? certain.

Answer 3

In that situation I do not think the masses would be contacted. The government would try to hide it. With only fifteen minutes the word could not spread far anyway, what news anchor would spend his last 15 minutes on the job?

If it did happen though I think it would make people more religiously fanatic than they already are. "God has saved us!" They would shout. The governments would take advantage of the fear to put in place some bogus laws. Personally it would reaffirm in me the meaninglessness and infinitesimalness of the human race compared to the infinite cosmos.

Answer 4

I could die now. It's aiight.

I really don't think the general poulation of Earth truly cares about anything scientific. Unless of course...
they can talk through it,
cook with it,
it has a screen to watch,
it plays music,
drive it,
it cools or heats your home,
you can play with it,

in other words, gadgets are the only thing that most people want from science. They don't care about scientific discoveries. They just want to use scientific contrivances to entertain themselves, perform less labor and/or to calculate various thesis and large numbers. The layperson has no appreciation for what science has done for them. It's really sad.
Aside from all that, you know just as well as I do that the fool pool will turn the event into whatever helps them sleep at night.

Answer 5

If this information is available to the public, why are they even proceeding with the construction of whatever the Large Hadron Collider is? I would think that stopping construction of a black hole machine would be a pretty much unanimous notion. :S

Answer 6

Magnificent question and scenario. Scientific yet spiritual. Mankind becomes his most spiritual when faced with his end. I think people would think OK this is scientific so it has to be true. Get ready to die. Prayer? Maybe for some, others definitely not. When it does not happen, maybe there will be alot of new Chrisitans on planet earth. I would hope so.

Answer 7

About the same as jumping out of an airplane.. having my parachute fail.. bouncing off of a house roof onto the roof of a car, crushing it in.. and walking away a little bruised but otherwise unharmed (except for some guy saying he is going to sue me for the damages to his car)...

Edit: That is a bit smaller than the one they WERE building here in Texas.. but oh well.

Edit: except.. if they told me and nothing happened.. I probably would not believe them unless I had seen it myself.

Answer 8

Relax my friend, because you know the date, it's a for sure sign that it will not happen.
Only the Father knows when and the last time I checked, you ain't him...ha ha

Besides, I don't see the Antichrist around anywhere, 100 lb hail or sea of blood...........you know that kind of judgment stuff.

On top of all that, the world does not end, it gets remodeled so to speak.

Smiles & chuckles to you.

Answer 9

You do realize that there is no such thing as the end of this world right?! This earth was created for eternity and we will return here to live forever as God intended.
You must decide where you want to spend eternity here or the lake of fire were the devil, his angels and those who did not receive the truth that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice.
HELLO?

Answer 10

Skipping everything after "anything", I'm not sure. I put a dollar bill in a change machine once and nothing changed. A theory to explain this phenomenon?