New research reveals the strongest solar event ever detected, in 12350 BC

Impact on modern electronics and grids

• Several comments argue that even extreme solar storms mostly spare ground-level electronics: particles are absorbed in the upper atmosphere; induced currents only matter over very long conductors.
• Main vulnerability is long-distance power transmission: geomagnetically induced currents can bias transformers, overheat them, and cause blackouts. Historical examples (e.g., 1989 Quebec, possibly 2003 Northeast) are cited.
• Protection exists (surge protectors, lightning design, load-shedding), but very strong events could still cause localized or regional grid outages.
• Household devices, office Ethernet runs, and short cables are generally seen as safe; hundreds of kilometers are cited as the scale where induced voltages become significant.
• Satellites are at more risk: atmospheric “puffing up” and increased drag can deorbit low satellites, and radio links can be disrupted.

Event scale, modeling, and data gaps

• Commenters note this is a Miyake event detected via a sharp radiocarbon spike in tree rings; the new work mainly re-estimates its extreme intensity.
• Some criticize the article for lacking quantitative detail on what “new worst-case scenario” practically means for today’s infrastructure.
• It’s noted that connecting ¹⁴C production to specific flare and geomagnetic parameters requires modeling with substantial uncertainties; links to the technical papers are shared.

Historical and cultural implications

• For past events like 775 AD, the main observed effect seems to have been aurora visible at unusually low latitudes; life on the ground was largely unaffected.
• People speculate whether the 12,350 BC storm influenced human migration patterns, cosmologies, or cave art (e.g., “squatting man” motifs), but this is framed as highly speculative or “baseless wild speculation.”
• A proposed link to the Neolithic Y‑chromosome bottleneck is widely questioned on timing, mechanism, and species-specificity.

Risk framing, Fermi paradox, and resilience

• Some push back on calling this the “worst-case scenario,” preferring “worst known historical case” and noting that rarer, more extreme events are possible.
• One thread ties such storms into the Fermi paradox: harsher stars might routinely wipe out electric technologies or space habitats, making tech civilizations fragile.
• Another thread worries about future loss of repair know-how; others counter that specialist knowledge, reverse engineering, and possibly advanced AI systems would preserve or recreate capabilities, assuming the grid isn’t completely destroyed.