The even slightly intelligent person sees all this and is left virtually hopeless in its wake. What can be done to alter the opinion of a person that believes the earth is only 10,000 years old( 60% of all Americans according to Psychology Today)? This leads to what the famous sociologist Emile Durkheim calls social anomie: suicides done in times of vast social change because the individuals aren’t able to affect any meaningful change in their lives.