THE MISANTHROPE’S CORNER

IT TAKES an optimist like yours truly to see the bright side of the Year 2000 computer glitch. For example, the language alone is heartening. The doomsayers are predicting it will be a calamity, a disaster, and a catastrophe, but so far nobody has called it a “tragedy.” The mere fact that Y2K seems to be immune to the most misused buzzword of our time makes it a consummation devoutly to be wished.

According to the worst predictions, planes and elevators will stop, dams and bridges will jam, banks will fail, the stock market will fall, the global economy will collapse, nuclear missiles will launch themselves, and the world will be destroyed, all because computers think it’s 1900.

About the Author

Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

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IT TAKES an optimist like yours truly to see the bright side of the Year 2000 computer glitch. For example, the language alone is heartening. The doomsayers are predicting it will be a calamity, a disaster, and a catastrophe, but so far nobody has called it a “tragedy.” The mere fact that Y2K seems to be immune to the most misused buzzword of our time makes it a consummation devoutly to be wished.

According to the worst predictions, planes and elevators will stop, dams and bridges will jam, banks will fail, the stock market will fall, the global economy will collapse, nuclear missiles will launch themselves, and the world will be destroyed, all because computers think it’s 1900.