I think you're right. Historically apocalyptic ideas have always been popular. Neal Stephenson had a good point when he compared the Apocalypse of John to the singularity.
"I can never get past the structural similarities between the singularity prediction and the apocalypse of St. John the Divine. This is not the place to parse it out, but the key thing they have in common is the idea of a rapture, in which some chosen humans will be taken up and made one with the infinite while others will be left behind. "
http://slashdot.org/story/04/10/20/1518217/neal-stephenson-r...
If Stephenson is right, the idea of the singularity could be considered another modern apocalyptic idea.
I haven't studied it closely but I suspect similar arguments could be made about ancient sightings of gods/angels/demons vs modern encounters with aliens/UFOs.
These things are connected in that they are expressions of universal human characteristics or desires or something.
"I can never get past the structural similarities between the singularity prediction and the apocalypse of St. John the Divine. This is not the place to parse it out, but the key thing they have in common is the idea of a rapture, in which some chosen humans will be taken up and made one with the infinite while others will be left behind. " http://slashdot.org/story/04/10/20/1518217/neal-stephenson-r...
If Stephenson is right, the idea of the singularity could be considered another modern apocalyptic idea.
I haven't studied it closely but I suspect similar arguments could be made about ancient sightings of gods/angels/demons vs modern encounters with aliens/UFOs.
These things are connected in that they are expressions of universal human characteristics or desires or something.