Getting close to mid-night: Bulletin of Atomic Nuclear Scientists

So, the famous Bulletin of Atomic Scientists believes we are two minutes closer to destruction than we have been in the past. Here's how they put it:

This deteriorating state of global affairs leads the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists--in consultation with a Board of Sponsors that includes 18 Nobel laureates--to move the minute hand of the “Doomsday Clock” from seven to five minutes to midnight.

This is another example of people with a certain expertise in one area, thinking they have expertise in another area. Scientists are generally smart people, perhaps some of the smartest on the planet we call home. But being smart as a scientist does not mean one is competent in other areas.

For example, while Richard Feynman was a genius in physics, he was no politician. That is, Feynman's expertise in physics did not mean that he had any deep insight in politics. He may have insight of his own, of course, but if you want political opinion it's best to go with a politician.

What's this have to do with the time creeping closer to mid-night?

Just this: the catastrophe that the Bulletin is "predicting" is more of a political catastrophe and not a scientific one. It is a political question as to whether nuclear bombs will be detonated not a scientific one. If the world ends due to nuclear bombs that responsibility rests with our political leaders; scientists have done their part already in building the bombs.

This year, The Bulletin also cites "Global Warming" as part of the coming (five minutes away!) catastrophe. Once again, the scientists have no say in Global Warming (if it even exists and I don't believe it). The question of climate is beyond the control of any scientist. Sure, scientists study climate and have opinions but whether the world will "end" due to some climate change is beyond them.

To try to predict "the end" is to scare people into believing others who, while smart in one area, have no business in other areas.