If you’re calculating a moving average of temperature over the past five minutes, in order to control coolant flow, for example, and when the year goes from 99 to 00 you get a moving average of 99 years and 5 minutes instead, then things could get pretty fouled up.
It was not a con job by any stretch of the imagination.
There’s some people who simply like to stick their heads in the sand and reassure us that because they know next to nothing about something, that the rest of us shouldn’t pay attention. Think of it as the “Wizard of Oz” populace (”Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”)
They’re the same people, who like the kid I knew that almost lost a finger (and if allowed to progress, hand or even life), say, “Well, I haven’t had to deal with it yet, so it’s not important,” or “It couldn’t possibly _____.” You don’t have to be paranoid in order to learn life’s lessons. But you don’t have to be willfully ignorant to get past challenges either. It’s a natural human reaction: ignore anything that would require you to work, prepare, or sacrifice for later. It’s easier to live in the moment, and ignore anything that challenges that lifestyle. Especially if it’s something outside of your experience. It’s name (as you may already know) is the normalcy bias.
Like people who spent all their money and got deeply into debt for 5-10 years and are flabbergated by the housing market, and cannot unwind out of it, there are also people who understood the situation and came out unscathed, or even made money. Just remember, a house is an asset that always increases in value, and can be used as a personal atm. Oh, wait a second...Nevermind, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
Oh, so federal and state governments building bunkers and buying up everything from toilet paper to copy paper had something to do with coolant flow controllers?