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The Lesson of
Y2K
the 'Millennium Bug'
"It has never happened before, and it will probably
never happen again.
No technical hitch has ever been so pervasive, so expensive, or so potentially
damaging as the failure of many of the world's computer systems to understand
the difference between dates in this century and the next." - The Economist
by John Ross Schroeder
Y2K
is an abbreviation for the "millennium bug." It literally means ìYear 2000.î
In brief, the Y2K computer problem is simply that, in the '60s and '70s, and even
into the '90s, when computer memory was costly, most programmers used only two digits
to designate a year when writing software, so they wrote 1968, for example, as simply
"68." But soon some computer systems will read 00 as 1900 instead of 2000; others
will simply treat 00 as a mistake - an invalid date - and produce erratic results or
just shut down.
How Y2K Will Affect Us
Since the day-to-day business, economy and military infrastructure of much of the
world is conducted through computer technology, the potential for massive technological
breakdowns is enormous.
Perhaps the biggest intrinsic difficulty is that the problem appears so trivial that
it has been hard for politicians and businessmen to take the millennium bug seriously.
The process of attitude conversion has been slow.
Yet, on a more practical level, "many time-sensitive businesses have already begun
to hit millennium problems; more will do so after the start of 1999, and of the financial
year spanning 1999, and 2000. Systems will crash, components will fail. Generally
this will cause irritation, not catastrophe" (The Economist, Sept. 19).
Of course, many Western governments and businesses around the world are earmarking
enormous amounts of money with the hope of fixing the problem before Jan. 1, 2000.
But the necessary alterations are so minutely detailed and the repair processes so
arduous that many observers are skeptical that technicians can meet the deadline - especially
since some governments and many companies are only now beginning to address the problem.
Interdependence is a major factor. As Newsweek (Atlantic edition, May 18) put it:
"While some businesses are responding aggressively to the problem, our computers
work in an incredibly complex web of interdependence, and even if a given bank or
auto manufacturer manages to stamp out all its bugs, failures by partners and suppliers
can still grind things to a halt."
Some Fundamentals
What is it about people that landed us in this problem in the first place? Clearly
the blame must be laid on the fallibility of human beings. What important lesson
should we learn from the folly of Y2K?
The book New World New Mind summarizes our enigma in this way: "Human inventiveness
has created problems because human judgment and humanity's ability to deal with the
consequences of its creations lag behind its ability to create" (1989, p. 9). In
other words, our awesome technology is fast outrunning our wisdom and ability to
control technology. We are simply unable to deal with its consequences.
Shortsightedness is a major factor in human problems. We live for the moment. The
images on our television screens vie for our too-short attention spans. We undervalue
the lessons of history. We take little thought of tomorrow and fail to understand
long-term cause and effect. As the late Carl Sagan expressed it: "We are very devoted
to the short-term and hardly ever think about the long-term" (Billions & Billions,
1997, p. 67).
Even when we grasp, in a limited way, long-term effects of our actions and decisions,
we don't appropriately follow through. Lung cancer may terrify us, but many continue
to smoke.
Our record of human folly shows that we lack both perspective and foresight. Those
who made the original decisions to conserve memory space by using only two digits
for system dating did so for reasons that were rational and sensible at the time.
Explained The Economist: "Even those who foresaw the year 2000 problem in the computer's
early days chose to ignore it, for two good reasons. First abbreviating dates made
overwhelming economic sense at the time. This is hard to imagine now that (computer)
memory seems almost limitless . . . The second reason for not worrying
about abbreviated dates was that nobody expected software to last so long" (emphasis
added).
The Perils of Taking Shortcuts
The wisest of the ancients, King Solomon of Israel, understood man's shortsightedness:
"Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the
heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). If
bad decisions and unwise actions don't yield immediate consequences, we discount
their long-term effects. In developing and implementing modern technology, we fail
to face the long-term consequences of taking easy shortcuts.
Environmental problems are another textbook example. Our shortsighted ecological
actions have filled the earth with various types of pollution. Yet the easy way of
the moment can seem so attractive to human beings. Solomon concluded: "Though a sinner
does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it
will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him" (verse 12).
Jesus Christ expressed the consequences of the principle of cause and effect in this
way: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads
to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matthew 7:13). Sooner or later,
following the easy way - the path of least resistance - catches up with us.
A Source Book with Foresight
Computer hardware and software come with handbooks to help us understand and operate
them. They are vital aids to comprehending the workings of our modern machines and
offer insight into dealing with problems.
But, of much more importance, the Bible is a handbook that helps us to understand
ourselves. Crucial parts of Scripture focus on human weaknesses and show us how to
overcome them.
The Bible focuses on long-term consequences. Its pages peer far into the future and
look back to man's earliest beginnings. God's Word enlarges our vision of life and
helps us to grasp cause and effect.
Two key chapters in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) highlight
the cause-and-effect principle. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 spell out the kinds
of behavior that bring rewards of peace and prosperity and the opposite actions that
result in a multitude of curses. Both chapters are worthy of careful study.
The 200-plus-year history of the 10-tribed House of Israel shows us the long-term
consequences of stubbornly persisting in a wrong way of life. King after king, ruler
after ruler, failed to obey the living God. Each made the same mistakes as his predecessor.
None learned from the blunders of Jeroboam, the northern kingdom's first ruler.
The people as a nation courted catastrophe by rejecting the laws of God. Finally
the Israelites' way of life ended in their enslavement to a foreign power. In concern
for their welfare, God sent several prophets who advised the nation to change course
before disaster struck.
Elijah was one such prophet. Even though he was one of the most righteous and powerful
of God's servants, the House of Israel virtually ignored his warnings and stayed
on the foolish path to destruction.
Most people rarely face the predictable negative consequences of their choices.
It is far easier to live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.
What Action is Required?
Individually, we are unlikely to prompt a national course correction among our own
people. But we can take steps to put our personal lives in order and take reasonable
precautions (See "The 2000 Bug: A Time Bomb for Chaos?").
We can face the future. We can get in harmony with God's way of life and begin reaping
the righteous fruits that emerge from living according to His laws. Gradually our
lives will begin to reflect the remarkable benefits of our new perspective and foresight.
If you would like to know more, please request our free booklets What Is Your Destiny?,
The Road to Eternal Life, How to Understand the Bible and The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Or, if you would like to talk to someone about these important spiritual matters,
the telephone numbers of many of our offices around the world. GN
© 1999-2022 United Church of God, an International Association
Related Information:
Sidebar: The 2000 Bug: A Time Bomb for Chaos?
Table of Contents that includes "The Lesson of Y2K: The 'Millennium Bug'"
Other Articles by John Ross Schroeder
Origin of article "The Lesson of Y2K: The 'Millennium Bug'"
Keywords: millennium bug computer bug Y2K bug
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