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INION
Page 11A • Thursday, January 28, 1999
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I t is everywhere.
On the news, on
computer screens
and even in com
mercials. It is time
fir the new millen
nium, and society is
going crazy.
1 Unfortunately, all Lisa
the hype about the FOOX
new millennium is wmmmammmm
completely unjustified.
| The “sky is falling” philosophy that
has invaded the thoughts of many Bibli
cal scholars and a variety of normally
“pinking” people is the result of a lot of
clever promotional investments (think
M&M’s candy) and an interpretation of
tiie Bible that leads people to think Je
sus is returning in a year.
I However, what these people need to
remember is, whatever your religion,
God does not work on man’s schedule.
The concept of the millennium is mere
ly a human construct to ensure order
■ut of chaos. Humans created the idea
■f keeping track of the number of pass-
ihg years, because it simplified numer
ous issues, such as crop rotation, child
Searing and everyday life. Man would
■ot have flourished without a means of
ijneasuring time.
I God, however, does not need a way
no keep track of time passing. In fact.
although the Bible says the world was
created in six days, it is unclear how
long a day is in God’s time. Therefore,
it is a little impractical to assume the
human-designed concept of the new
millennium means anything at all in
Biblical terminology.
Further, even if the coming of the
new millennium did mean something,
it would not occur until the year 2001.
The reason for this is the actual
changing of the millennium does not
really happen until the year 2001. The
reason for the misconception lies in
the fact there was no year 0.
Mankind’s dating system merely
flipped over from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D.
Therefore mathematically — add 2000
years to 1 A.D. — the change of the
millennium occurs in the year 2001.
Although this is actually a fairly sim
ple concept, companies who are mak
ing a great deal of money from the
amazing amount of promotions are un
likely to mention this fact.
In fact, there are some people who ar
gue the Y2K computer scare is merely a
frightening theory that will not actually
come to pass. These people claim com
puter companies are spreading this ru
mor as a means to ensure greater profits
when they come out with a “cure. ”
Whether or not this is true is a matter
of debate that will only be solved when
Christina
BARROWS
A bout 30 years ago,
it was decided mil
lions of dollars
should be saved by con
serving memory and
having every computer
read the date in six digits.
For example, January
28, 1999 would be read
by every computer as
01/28/99.
Most new computers are simply built
upon the older versions and, as a result, the
date continues to read this way. At the
stroke of midnight Jan. 1, 2000, many com
puters will simply read 01/01/00 and mil
lions of computers, from cash machines to
intercontinental ballistic missiles, may not
accurately read the year as 2000. Instead,
experts fear the date will be read as Janu
ary 1, 1900, causing the computers to either
fail or miscalculate. This is commonly re
ferred to as the Y2K bug.
The typical family home depends on an
enormous amount of computer power, yet
the average person knows very little about
the real impact this millennium bug could
have on America.
Billions of dollars are being spent to
solve this problem, but the real scare is the
uninformed nationwide panic that could
occur prior to the new century. The media
has a responsibility to report every implica
tion of Y2K, and more importantly, any
progress being made. In addition, the gov
ernment needs to team up with corpora
tions to find a quick solution and keep the
media updated regularly.
Ignorance could very well breed peril for
our country.
Because of an overwhelming fear of
banks going bankrupt and closing their
doors, people withdrew everything from
the banks, which helped to plunge America
into the Great Depression. With the upcom
ing excitement of a worldwide computer
crash, many people will run to the bank
thinking all of their accounts will be lost in
the new year.
This is a valid and frightening thought
and unless the media provides regular up
dates, it could become a reality if people
everywhere assume nothing is being done.
Distrust in American leaders is very
strong right now and there is a great con
cern government officials will not correct
step in and force everyone to work together
to make Y2K a priority, then citizens will
take drastic actions to save themselves.
There are hundreds of alarming Web
sites proclaiming the end of the world is
coming and what actions are needed for
personal protection.
At the Y2K Survive Website, people who
are anxious about the new year have been
encouraged to build underground shelters,
buy a years supply of food and even pur
chase generators. Several families hold
monthly “Y2K drills”, where the power is
turned off and they all run to shelter.
The Welcome to My Nightmare Website
directs its visitors to several sites that sug
gest those staying in the city to buy
firearms in an effort to protect themselves if
a riot breaks out.
In the Jan. 18 issue of Time, Mike Mc
Clure discussed his intent to withdraw extra
money from the bank, buy extra candles
and store water in preparation for the com
ing millennium.
The scary thing is McClure is in charge
of repairing the Y2K problem at Georgia’s
electric-power giant. Facts such as this do
not produce a lot of confidence for the
American public.
There is little doubt with a lot of deter
mination, the Y2K bug could become the
first successfully met challenge of the 21st
Century. But if citizens of the United
States are not made aware of new devel
opments and the government does not
help unite people in an effort to quickly
resolve the issue, then America could face
problems before any solution is ever
reached. Or even worse, a solution will
not be reached in time.
As Time pointed out, the artist formally
known as Prince might have been right all
along in his song “1999”.
“2000 zero zero, Party’s over, oops! Out
of time!”
Christina Barrows is sophomore
English major.
Do not overlook mankind’s
important yet smaller feats
Manisha
PAREKH
the computer systems start registering the
year 2000 (or 1900, which would result
in a hugely complicated mess).
Another problem associated with all
the discussion of the millennium is a
rise in hate crimes. As a recent event in
Israel shows, some people are interpret
ing the coming of the Messiah as a rea
son to attack or kill members of other
religions. They said their efforts will
bring the Messiah sooner or will guar
antee the Messiah’s coming.
For example, Israeli authorities dis
covered a plot by a group of Americans
to kill many Jewish citizens in hopes of
hastening the return of Jesus.
The Americans felt if the blood of
Jews was spilled, Jesus would return
even sooner than expected. The Ameri
cans were quickly deported back to the
United States.
The coming of the millennium
should be viewed for what it really is: a
new year with a different twist. No
more ones or nines in the writing of the
date - that is all the year 2000 repre
sents and all the meaning it should
have.
It could also be a chance to really
start working towards a better and more
unified world. After all, with all those
zero’s, it is almost as if humankind has
a^cleanslate.
T he last 2,000
years have stood
witness to a large
number of hu
mankind’s greatest ac
complishments. From
the printing press to
computers, humanity
has stumbled, walked
and succeeded in areas
few people in the
B.C.E. could have imagined.
Recently, more than 80 scholars gath
ered at the Edge (www.edge.org) in an ef
fort to pinpoint the most important inven
tion or development of the millennia.
Answers ranged from eyeglasses to erasers
to birth control pills.
While many of the suggestions are
quite provocative or puzzling, it appears
the academics, in the pursuit of trying to
appear exceedingly intuitive and intelli
gent, forgot the more important inventions
that Aggies simply could not live without.
They are the things Aggies take for grant
ed, but without them, life on this campus
would never be the same.
• Sliced bread. It is hard to believe a
group of “scholars” left this mucho im
portant discovery off their list. After all,
whenever a new product is introduced to
day, it is always compared to sliced bread.
Plus, without sliced bread, childhood (and
collegiate) peanut butter and jelly sand
wiches would have been big enough for
Godzilla to eat.
• The toilet. When Thomas Crapper put
the finishing touches on his contribution
to humanity, he probably did not realize
what a versatile object he had invented.
Besides the obvious uses, the toilet pro
vides much companionship and support to
drunken college students, is great for dis
posing of evidence and serves as a won
derful way for sending goldfish and other
small pets on to the great beyond.
• Shopping malls. Where else but a
mall can people from different walks of
life come together and be miserable? Most
males hate being dragged to malls, most
females feel miserable after coming out of
the dressing room during swimsuit season
■ this flaw by the year 2000.
jfiii i.
Y2K is serious because of its fixed and
non-negotiable deadline and the people are
aware of this fact.
.isp
If the United States takes on the attitude
liA ^ pF
of “each man for himself,” the solution will
never be reached and mass chaos will be
the outcome. If the government does not
and most teenagers cruising around are
filled with angst. However, without the
mall’s many stores, a large number of col
lege students would be without jobs; or
without a place to spend their meager for
tunes; and without a Victoria’s Secret.
What a tragedy that would be.
• Football. What would America be
like without Monday Night Football? It is
a frightening thought, isn’t it? An even
worse thought is college without football.
How would schools settle rivalries if
there were no football games? By putting
soap in campus fountains and spray
painting graffiti on the grounds? That
would be too juvenile.
What would college students do if they
could not spend their Saturdays attending
football games and getting drunk after
wards? They might actually start attending
cultural events, attend scholarly discus
sions and perhaps leave college with an
enriched experience. But that is too fright
ening to even consider.
• AggieBucks. TYue, this is a Texas
A&M-related invention, but it makes such
an impact on the economy it should not be
overlooked. Without AggieBucks, Aggies
would have a harder time buying CDs and
clothes with their parents’ money. More
students might actually watch their spend
ing because they would be spending real
money, as opposed to AggieBucks. The
whole economy of Bryan-College Station
might have been in the toilet.
• Pizza. Some may talk about the
world’s most perfect food, but college stu
dents have already discovered it. Whether
it is eaten hot or cold, for breakfast of for
dinner, pizza is the uberfood of many Ag
gies’ diets. Without it, Aggies might start
looking less like Old Roc and more like
Kate Moss.
The citizens of this millennia have a lot
to be proud of. Humanity has come a long
way in a relatively short time, but there is
still much more to be discovered. After all,
no one has figured out how to get a de
cent parking spot on campus.
Manisha Parekh is a junior psychology
and journalism major