Here is the really simple answer: "No one knows for sure." And now for some details....

The computer glitch known as the "Year 2000 Problem" or "Y2K" is a bit of a puzzle for most of us, and an increasing bone of contention for many. Will it be a problem? And if so, how severe will the difficulties be? Will it be little more than a minor irritation, or will it cause massive financial and social upheaval? Or something in between?

Here, we will talk a little about what this problem is, and why we should be thinking about this within our community. We will also begin to discuss the effects of panic and greed, and what we might do to prepare for Y2K. This will be a continuing monthly feature of the Concord Magazine and we welcome your questions, comments, and participation in helping our community in this area (email us).

What IS Y2K?

Y2K, or the Year 2000 Problem has been reported on a lot recently, and most people already have some idea what it is. If you don't, or want to know about it in depth, check some of the links at right.

What we would like to stress is that some who have studied this problem make the situation clear: Y2K isn't just ONE problem, it's BILLIONS of problems: billions of lines of code to check; billions of devices both large and small with embedded chips; billions of dollars needed to make the changes necessary. There is nothing simple about this problem, including a solution.

So what? Why should I care?

Well, maybe you shouldn't -- that's not for anyone to determine but you. After all, no one knows for sure what will happen. It's only hindsight will tell us for certain. Right now, we're all waiting to see what unfolds. Until then, consider just a few things and see how they stack up for you.

All forms of communication (save face-to-face speech and hand-delivered notes) now depend upon networks of computers

Most aspects of banking and the stockmarket use computers heavily

Retail businesses depend upon computers for inventory, ordering, bookkeeping and we in turn depend upon them to keep us in food, clothing, etc.

Medical instruments, automobiles, thermostats, etc. of all kinds depend upon embedded chips

We are part of a global economy: for example, instabilty in the Russian and Japanese stock markets recently sent our own markets into turmoil; what is not up-to-date elsewhere can affect us here.

There could be delays in government administration of all kinds, perhaps causing some of these necessary processes to grind to a hault

Panic and Greed: the Human Factors

No one knows which might be more injurious: the Y2K problem itself or the human reaction to it both before, during and after. Anticipatory panic is a powerful force. Remember years ago when Johnny Carson made a little joke about there being a toilet-paper shortage in his monologue one night? Within a couple of days, paniced buyers created justsuch a shortage. It is certainly quite possible that as we near the year 2000, similar buying sprees will create shortages, and possibly runs on cash as well.

So, What's Next?

In the next issues of the Concord Magazine, we will continue this theme. In the meantime, check out some of the links at right for more information. And we are making a call for interested community members to contact us and help research ways we can as individuals and a community prepare for what could come. COMPUTER SKILLS ARE NOT REQUIRED!

Each of us on the Concord Y2K Study Committee will be THRILLED if none of our preparedness efforts will be called upon come January, 2000. But should there be a problem, we would greatly regret that we hadn't made the effort.