As the amount technology available continued to spread at an almost exponential rate, the size of computers, which once took up an entire room, and their price were reduced down to more manageable sizes. As a result, computers become a commonplace piece of equipment found in many workplaces and family living rooms. However, as the year 2000 drew near, people began to fear that drastic changes would occur in their lives because of a simple bug called the Year 2000, or simply, Y2K. People’s fears were put to rest when the dates of all computers switched from 31 December 1999 to 1 January 2000 causing little to no problem whatsoever. The perceived threat of Y2K pushed people to do outlandish things, became a wake-up call to society’s complete
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For the nonbelievers of Y2K, they saw as to what magnitude some people were willing to go to prevent the ramifications of Y2K and capitalized on it. People were so blinded by their fear of the Y2K bug that they were willing to spend “billions of dollars for a simple… computer flaw” even to the extent of selling off their own homes and businesses (McCoy). The entire phenomenon of Y2K was built on more lies than truth, so much so that certain people were driven by fear to the point that they did not bother to fact check any of the claims made, possibly saving them billions of dollars. In the end, after all the work done by information system technicians, what could have been a devastating computer flaw turned out to be nothing more than an over-exaggeration. When the smoke cleared, the actual events that transpired on 1 January 2000 were frivolous and the “fear associated with the turn of the millennium subsided” (Rothman). The Y2K doomsday believers were left speechless when the entrance into the new millennium was observed with no major event related to Y2K occurring. Pundits who taunted the drastic effects of Y2K were left red-faced when “all the preparations had been for overkill” in the grand scheme of things Mitchell). This shows, no matter how doomsdayers of Y2K may have …show more content…
Had the United States and Russia decided not to work through the Y2K bug together, there could have been drastic consequences, far worse than those of Y2K. The United States and Russia, two countries usually on opposing sides of social, political, and economic policy, dropped their bickering to guard against the possibility of “Y2K triggering a nuclear-missile launch” even though their diplomacy had no effect, whatsoever, on the events that transpired (McCoy). Although their communications did not change the events of Y2K, it allowed two countries on opposing sides of almost every policy a chance to work through towards a common goal. Additionally, when people communicate, misunderstandings can be resolved in a quick and easy manner. People believed what they read on the internet that even a “small assumption made long ago” still triggered a fear in people’s heart (Mitchell). In this instance, had people chosen to talk with one another, they might have realized that the Y2K incident was nothing more than an assumption.
In the end, the Y2K incident was an over-exaggerated event in history that caused people to open their eyes and see the extreme measures they were taking to protect their computers, alerted dangers of relying so heavily on technology, and became a vital event in history because it was a reminder
For the nonbelievers of Y2K, they saw as to what magnitude some people were willing to go to prevent the ramifications of Y2K and capitalized on it. People were so blinded by their fear of the Y2K bug that they were willing to spend “billions of dollars for a simple… computer flaw” even to the extent of selling off their own homes and businesses (McCoy). The entire phenomenon of Y2K was built on more lies than truth, so much so that certain people were driven by fear to the point that they did not bother to fact check any of the claims made, possibly saving them billions of dollars. In the end, after all the work done by information system technicians, what could have been a devastating computer flaw turned out to be nothing more than an over-exaggeration. When the smoke cleared, the actual events that transpired on 1 January 2000 were frivolous and the “fear associated with the turn of the millennium subsided” (Rothman). The Y2K doomsday believers were left speechless when the entrance into the new millennium was observed with no major event related to Y2K occurring. Pundits who taunted the drastic effects of Y2K were left red-faced when “all the preparations had been for overkill” in the grand scheme of things Mitchell). This shows, no matter how doomsdayers of Y2K may have …show more content…
Had the United States and Russia decided not to work through the Y2K bug together, there could have been drastic consequences, far worse than those of Y2K. The United States and Russia, two countries usually on opposing sides of social, political, and economic policy, dropped their bickering to guard against the possibility of “Y2K triggering a nuclear-missile launch” even though their diplomacy had no effect, whatsoever, on the events that transpired (McCoy). Although their communications did not change the events of Y2K, it allowed two countries on opposing sides of almost every policy a chance to work through towards a common goal. Additionally, when people communicate, misunderstandings can be resolved in a quick and easy manner. People believed what they read on the internet that even a “small assumption made long ago” still triggered a fear in people’s heart (Mitchell). In this instance, had people chosen to talk with one another, they might have realized that the Y2K incident was nothing more than an assumption.
In the end, the Y2K incident was an over-exaggerated event in history that caused people to open their eyes and see the extreme measures they were taking to protect their computers, alerted dangers of relying so heavily on technology, and became a vital event in history because it was a reminder