In other words, the world as we know it is apparently ending in such a gentle way that the most basic economic, technological, and communicative infrastructures of our civilization are puttering along nicely. If you’re someone who is not predisposed to think that the world is ending, and people are flailing their arms and pointing at a society that seems to be functioning very similarly to how it always has, wouldn’t you just tune out all the doomsaying? You can’t keep ringing the bell over and over again.