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[–] 13 points 9 months ago (8 children)

Question, why? What's so significant about 2099?

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  • [–] 22 points 9 months ago (7 children)

    Not sure if this is sarcasm, but I'll answer just in case!

    It's referring to 1999. The Y2K scare.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    A classmate's father withdrew his life savings in gold and sat with it in his living room, to avoid loosing everything.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Did he manage to convert it back into cash and put it back in the bank without losing too much in the process?

    Aside from the value fluctuation, the conversion itself must cost a decent percent.

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  • I have absolutely no idea. The guy wasn't a close friend or anything. But you have to bare in mind that a considerable chunk of the population thought that every computer in the world was just going to stop working and all financial data was going to cease to exist. And if you consider that position, then 80% of something is worth a hell of a lot more than 100% of nothing.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (3 children)

    Ah yes, the Y2K scare, one of the more overblown social panics.

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  • [–] 19 points 9 months ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparedness_paradox

    The preparedness paradox is the proposition that if a society or individual acts effectively to mitigate a potential disaster such as a pandemic, natural disaster or other catastrophe so that it causes less harm, the avoided danger will be perceived as having been much less serious because of the limited damage actually caused. The paradox is the incorrect perception that there had been no need for careful preparation as there was little harm, although in reality the limitation of the harm was due to preparation.

    …

    Historical perspective can also contribute to the preparedness paradox. From the point of view of historians after the Year 2000 problem, the preventative action taken has been described as an "overreaction", instead of a successful effort to prepare for an upcoming problem.

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