Originally published September 2021.

The value of a creation is only that which we give it.

Millions of people across our planet fervently believe in the righteousness of their beliefs. Different gods, belief systems, what is forbidden, what allowed, what is a sin and what is an aberration – so many differences, yet such a strong power of belief. Is everyone right, is everyone wrong or is there some semblance of truth in the beliefs of all?

Throughout the course of history, the absolute certainty of a future outcome has left many penniless and worse, seen families devastated by tragedy and the global economy reach an unforeseen nadir. In most cases, if people were isolated and given a set of circumstances, they would take a measured view and base a decision on the evidence at hand. In a situation where there are outside influences, people tend to be more easily thrown off course.

There have been a number of times where different societies across different ages were convinced the end of the world was nigh. Obviously, they’ve so far been wrong, however I accept (and indeed, confidently predict) that someone will undoubtably call it correctly at some stage in the next five billion years or so. This will be more a case of scientific judgement based on the hydrogen levels of the sun rather than because an earth-born individual proclaimed it to be so.