Retiring the Doomsday Clock from Extinction's Nuclear Abyss:

This bonus page pays homage to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its world renowned Doomsday Clock. According to its website, "The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies."

At its inception in the 1940's, the Doomsday Clock was devised in response to the threat to humanity posed by the creation of nuclear weapons. The Doomsday Clock was meant to symbolize the threat of human extinction posed by global nuclear warfare. Nowadays, as of 2023, the purpose of the Doomsday Clock has expanded. The Doomsday Clock has now come to symbolize not only the threat to human existence posed by nuclear weapons but also to symbolize other kinds of contemporary threats to human existence such as those posed by global warming, climate change, global pandemics, and cyberspace security. At some future date, perhaps the Doomsday Clock also will take into account other, as yet, unforeseen adverse threats to human existence emanating from new developments in science and technology such as artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, quantum mechanics, and nanobot technologies.

The graphics at the top and bottom of this bonus page offer two ways (among many) to view of the Doomsday Clock. In the top graphic, reaching the 24th hour (in green) is equivalent to the clock counting or ticking to the final seconds of the final minute of the 24th hour of the day. In the top graphic, if the green area touches the dotted line at hour 24:00, it means doomsday has been reached. It would mean game over or extinction of the human species. Viewed another way, on the right side of the top graphic, if the red line touches the point with 0.00 seconds remaining in the day, it means doomsday has been reached.

As of 2023, the Doomsday Clock stood at 90 seconds (or 1.5 minutes) before hour 24:00, which is its perilously closest point to doomsday. At its safest point, in 1991, the Doomsday Clock stood at 17 minutes (or 1,020 seconds) before hour 24:00. According to Wikipedia.com, in 1991, "The United States and Soviet Union sign the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), and the Soviet Union dissolves on December 26. This is the farthest from midnight the Clock has been since its inception." The dissolution of the Soviet Union was hailed as a Golden Era in East-West relations with the prospects of nuclear disarmament on the horizon and movement away from the Arc of Insanity. Was the Arc of Sanity [Golden Rule] finally to be realized with the dissolution of the Soviet Union? As seen in the bottom graphic, since 2010, the Doomsday Clock has trended closer and closer to hour 24:00 or 0.00 seconds remaining on the clock, which is not a good thing for prospective human survival.

The main 2023 Winner page honored the leaders of four nations with nuclear bombs. These four leaders possess the power to set the pace for ridding Earth of its nuclear armaments once and for all. Also, on the main 2023 Winner page, the slide show presentation pays homage to ICAN and its important quest to rid the world of nuclear weapons. According to its website, "The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organisations in one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons."

Imagine that a handful of world leaders hold the fate of the entire world in their hands given the reality of their nuclear arsenals. It is a deadly serious responsibility and a very heavy burden for them to bear. The stakes for life on Earth cannot get any higher. Humans are depending on them to use sound and responsible judgment in their global leadership roles.

How is it possible that only a couple of humans—namely, two world leaders—would have the authority to blow up the world with nuclear bombs and kill 8 billion people in the process (and perhaps kill all other living things, too)? It should not be possible. It makes absolutely zero sense that several humans can blow up the world and kill everyone on Earth in the process simply because they want to lay claim to yet another piece of dirt. As Charlie Brown would put it, "Good Grief!", or as is often said in USA slang language, "Give me a break!".

It is at once mind-boggling, shocking, terrifying, and crazy to think that several humans can kill every single human on Earth over something so petty, inconsequential, and foolish as their hurt feelings or their bruised egos. It is at once mind-boggling, shocking, terrifying, and crazy to think that the hurt feelings or bruised egos of one or two world leaders could trigger an end to the miracle of life on Earth or an end of the world. It is akin to them having God-like—or, more accurately, Satan-like— authority to be in a position to decide the fate of the entire world. This notion of humans dropping nuclear bombs on one another is sheer lunacy, but such is the folly of men.

The Clock Keeps Ticking in the Wrong Direction:

The following widgets serve as reminders that the clock is ticking. Sometimes it seems that humans are too smart for their own good. The cows, flowers, birds, and other living species seem to exist just fine without the presence of guns and bombs. Only humans seem fixated with guns, bombs, fighting, killing one another, and blowing up the world. On the A Little Knowledge page of this website, I mentioned that the ingenuity of human is not to be underestimated. I mentioned that Albert Einstein, through his E=mc² formulation, revealed to humans that a small amount of matter could be converted into a gigantic amount of energy—on par with the energy of the Sun. Albert Einstein's formulation ultimately led to the development of nuclear bombs.

I also mentioned how Sir Isaac Newton's gravitational formulation informed humans that a strong enough unbalanced force could be applied to, say, the planets to cause them to break free from the Sun's gravitational hold. My point here is this: Could it be that artificial intelligence might one day reveal to humans the means by which to apply a strong enough unbalanced force to cause, say, the Moon to leave its orbit of Earth or to cause, say, the Earth to leave its orbit of the Sun? At some future point in time, perhaps these are the kinds of unforeseen developments that the Doomsday Clock might need to take into account in its estimations of human doom.

Towards A New Human Mindset Which Includes Reaching for the Stars:

This armaments race translates into irrational human behavior. Instead of arming themselves to death and extinction, the nations of Earth should be disarming themselves to life and survival. With the existence of weapons of mass destruction, there always exists the possibility that those weapons could lead to human extinction. With no weapons of mass destruction, the prospects for human extinction are markedly reduced because the use of nuclear armaments as a venue for human extinction would have been banished from Earth.

The bad news is that humankind is running out of time to turn back the doomsday clock. The good news is that it is not too late for humankind to turn back the doomsday clock. For, in the words of Minnie Riperton, in certain respects as of 2023, the state of the human condition is a "strange affair." Perhaps, Stevie Wonder put it best when he encouraged humans to "Look Around."

In 1981, Marvin Gaye released the sound recording titled In Our Lifetime?. Perhaps more than any other image, the album cover for In Our Lifetime?—as designed by Neil Breeden—most succinctly captures the nuclear conundrum that present-day humans find themselves entangled. The album cover captures the Doomsday precipice that humankind has reached at the dawn of the 21st century. The album cover symbolizes the urgent choices that contemporary humans must make. The human species possesses the collective intelligence to choose its destiny. Will humans choose good over evil? Will humans choose peace over war? Will humans choose Heaven on Earth over Hell? It remains for humans to choose. Truly wise humans would choose Heaven on Earth for the living to enjoy each day. By virtue of the complex artificial world that the human species has erected within the confines of the natural world, the human species has placed itself in the unenviable position of being the Earth's steward. As Earth's steward, humans must prudently care for its land, water, and air. Humans must ensure the preservation of other life forms with which humans share the Earth, both inanimate life forms (such as grass and trees) and animate life forms (such as birds, animals, insects, worms, and fishes).

The time has arrived for humans to make the bold move of retiring the Doomsday Clock. Instead of preoccupying themselves with maintaining stockpiles of nuclear bombs or despoiling and destroying planet Earth, the time has arrived for humans to preoccupy themselves with loftier pursuits such as colonizing Mars and traveling to the exoplanets.

Truly, hope is not lost for humankind. As noted elsewhere, it is never too late for humankind to make a U Turn (Joe Sample). It is never too late for humankind to pick up the pieces from a bad situation and peacefully Turn It Into Something Good (Earth, Wind & Fire). It is never too late for humankind to choose Heaven on Earth for the living to enjoy each day.

The bottom-line is this: Humankind has wasted a lot of money, effort, time, and resources on nothing other than humans preparing to slaughter one another. It is neither a smart move nor a wise move.

Looking Ahead to a New Day and for Many Years of Life to Follow:

So, "Knock it off and cut it out." Perhaps Rodney King put it best when he asked, "Can we all get along?" Can there be everlasting peace on Earth and goodwill between humans? Can humans learn to cherish Mother Earth?

The Never-Ending Quest and the Ever-Enduring Hope That Love Will Find A Way to Overcome An Orgy of Human-on-Human Murder All Across Planet Earth Every Single Day (24 hours per day/7 days per week/365 days per year):

Through the universal language of music, I wish to close this rather grim and apocalyptic bonus page about death, destruction, and human extinction on a more positive, optimistic, upbeat, and hopeful note about the prospects for human survival and prosperity. To those ends, I now present to you Abramasi, Electro Esthetica, and the rest of the artistic gang to close out this bonus page. Apparently, based on their behavior, far too many humans did not get the memo when Moses declared that murder is wrong [vis-à-vis thou shalt not kill]. Apparently, based on their behavior, far too many humans did not get the memo when it was declared that all humans are equally human [vis-à-vis the golden rule]. Seemingly insurmountable barriers arise in human relations because there are some humans who walk around Earth and feel themselves to be too different or too superior for them to treat other humans as equally human. It is an ego thing at work.

{Wrong + Wrong} ≠ Right
{Wrong + Right} ≠ Right
{Right + Right} = Right

The problem with war is this: Over the millennia, humans have normalized and have come to accept the act of war between countries as a matter of course. The truth of the matter is this: country-on-country war and human-on-human killing are very abnormal human activities. Living in peace is normal.