The article reflects on a long-standing human tendency to be more concerned with the end of the world when it seems unlikely. It cites the Middle Ages, when people were convinced they would witness the apocalypse, yet the actual probability was remote. Today, the concept of the end of the world has expanded, and now humans face threats not only from natural disasters like asteroid impacts but from our own actions, particularly the nuclear threat.

In the last 80 years, the potential for self-destruction through nuclear weapons has added a sense of urgency and fear regarding humanity's future. The author reminisces about their childhood when there were some international legal frameworks designed to manage nuclear proliferation and treaties between the US and the USSR aimed at mutual control. Despite these efforts, the specter of nuclear catastrophe has loomed over public consciousness, altering how society thinks about existential threats.

The article suggests that even though fears of global destruction are prominent, there remains a deep-seated reluctance in contemporary discussions to seriously contemplate the implications of these threats. In essence, the more imminent and probable the end sounds, the more society tends to avoid thinking about it, choosing instead to focus on daily complexities and distractions.