Doomsday 2012 Innovations: defenses against asteroids, cyborgs, the LHC and genetic experiments

With 2012 looming before us, we should be asking ourselves, are doomsday scenarios complete nonsense or can science validate them?

Planet X and Asteroids

Planet X is an example of the scientific misunderstanding found in ancient mythology. Planet X describes any potential new planet. Once confirmed as a planet, it receives a real name; however, somehow Planet X became synonymous with Nibiru, an ancient and mysterious mythological planet that will one day destroy Earth. According to NASA, there are no signs that Nibiru exists. Much of the evidence offered as proof of Nibiru’s existence on the Internet is actually photographic artifacts or lens flares, and not an actual planet. We should be perfectly safe.

asteroids; however, it could be a problem. Earth has been hit before and will be hit again. Mathematical models have calculated that in 2186, an 1800 foot asteroid, which could lead to mass extinctions, has a 1 in 1000 chance of hitting earth, which is really not a great chance for us. NASA is currently developing new innovative techniques to safely land on an asteroid, which may be helpful in entertaining this disaster, similar to the movie Armageddon; however, unlike the movies, scientists believe that to successfully alter the asteroid’s trajectory, the mission would have to be completed a century before impact.

The Big Bang and black holes

When the physics community starts talking about how they will try to reproduce the event that created the universe in Switzerland, people start to wonder. What effect would a miniature artificial big bang have on the world? Can a miniature black hole really form? Can a single experiment ultimately cause the destruction of the universe as we know it? Most scientists view these risks as negligible. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) simply doesn’t have enough power to reach the energy needed to be a huge risk to the world and if a black hole were possible, it would immediately dissipate and be inconsequential. The general consensus among physicists is that the LHC is completely safe; however, I would be lying if I said that we know everything about the universe. We have barely scratched the surface. Who knows what’s possible, but then again, isn’t that part of the fun? Nothing in life would ever be done without taking some calculated risks. Thanks to the LHC, we are closer to finding the Higgs boson particle, an essential key component in particle physics.

artificial intelligence

As a society, if we create a slave workforce of artificially intelligent computers, we might be asking for trouble, at least that’s the general consensus of countless science fiction movies and books. We are currently creating realistic human robots and amazing artificial neural networks. The first computer for comedians and the first computer that truly understands emotions are currently being developed. Research is also underway to develop self-healing electronics and a scientist is running a robot with neural cells. These innovations are pushing the line between humans and machines. If that line is crossed, and the differences between humans and machines are no longer cut and dry, the social rules will need to change. We cannot enslave our neighbor, nor can we mistreat our pets. An intelligent machine with self-emotions should be given the same rights.

genetic engineering

A genetically modified monster will probably not bring about our destruction. We can be monsters by ourselves. The movie Gattaca does not depict the average doomsday scenario, but shows how genetic engineering could lead to social and cultural destruction. In the film, society has genetically removed all “bad” traits from humans, from disease to personality traits. Anyone who was not genetically manipulated in the film was considered less than human and had become a lower caste of working class slaves.

This theme recalls the abhorrent and evil quest of the Third Reich to create a perfect Aryan nation during World War II, and for this reason alone, this future must be avoided at all costs. Also, in nature there is no such thing as perfection. It is a constantly evolving system. If we reached a state of perfection, as a human race we would have no need to grow or evolve. We would stagnate and eventually die. While we are a long way from the future seen in the film, the recent introduction of personal genotyping is scary. These companies, using your DNA, will determine your ancestors and tell you which diseases and medications you are most susceptible to. This could be a disaster because many of these drug-disease connections are actually based on limited scientific studies. They are not necessarily accurate. Not only can this cause people to worry unnecessarily, but if insurance companies ever get this information, they would potentially have another reason to deny health coverage to people who need it.

We are our worst enemy

Doomsday scenarios are fun. They have a touch of mystery, a bit of conspiracy, and arouse our basic emotions: fear of the unknown and fear of death. The more fantastic they are, the more exciting they become; however, a key to most Armageddon stories, modern or otherwise, not counting a random asteroid, is that our ultimate destruction comes from the choices we make. Whether due to poor foresight (not thinking about the possible consequences of scientific actions, depleting all our natural resources) or complacency (not fighting injustices), our own downfall will likely be our own fault.