Doom in 2012?

[Venusian Broon]

Originally Posted by Harpo

I'm quite looking forward to the Mass Disappointment on the morning of December 22nd. All those people suddenly realising they actually do have to buy Christmas presents, and especially the superstitious ones who have to look forward to enjoying an entire year of The Number Thirteen!!!

I doubt there will be much dissappointment - as there are no original practitioners of mesoamerican religion left really (and the Maya themselves don't think the world will end) - the date has been hi-jacked by plenty of other completely different and disparate groups, most of which if I understand them correctly, are claiming that the end will be 'spiritual' in nature. Or as I'll probably put it on the day "well, nothing has happened then".

That's different from the Christian Evangelical movements who do repeatedly put forward dates for the real end of the world. I know Harold Camping has retired from prediction duty, but one of his disciples - Brother Mike - has already notched up 4 predictions for the total physical destruction of the world (October & December 2011, March & May 2012). Seemingly he has stated that "It doesn't matter how many hypothese we come up with, as each one leads us closer and closer to the truth" ?!? (Or perhaps if I keep guessing, maybe just maybe, something really big will happen...)

I personally think he might be trying for World Record for number of failed end-time prophicies, which currently stands at 13.

[Harpo]

13, eh? That's what I said earlier!

[Gordian Knot]

13???? Christians have been predicting Armageddon practically since Christ died. This has been going on for 2,000 years and they haven't gotten it right yet!

[Vertigo]

I've never quite understoon why it seems to be accepted that we can't predict the future but hey, our ancient ancestors were real pros at it don't you know.

And I'm afraid I simply don't go for any of the dissappeared advanced ancient civilisations, for which there is absolutely no fossil or any other acheological record (other than occasional unusual (and usually underwater) rock formations that are claimed as such). It's not as if there is even a significant gap in our fossil record that could allow for such. Yes there are gaps but only so far back that they are really gaps in our primate history not our 'sapiens' history.

[Ursa major]

It also seems a shame that ancients who could forecast thousands of years in the future didn't seem... well... forewarned about the events that destroyed their great civilisation.

And it's a shame that they didn't manage to build cities above what became today's sea level. Okay, where the continental shelf is wide, and the population low, why would they? (Well apart from human nature, which has driven humans to just about everywhere even when there were very few of them.) But not everywhere has a wide continental shelf. Surely these folk can't have been so enamoured of the sea that they never built anything significant a few dozen miles inland?

Because they can't have done, if nothing of theirs has ever been excavated. We can find animals and plants from hundreds of millions years ago after goodness knows what geological changes and sea level rises. And those cities-built-on-cities-built-on-cities where the deeper you go, the less advanced the finds are. But this ancient civilisation? Not a hint of a sign. One could be forgiven for believing that it never existed....

[MeldedByThePlague]

I do recall an interesting analysis of how long the traces of our own civilisation would hang around if all of humanity just disappeared overnight. Oddly enough a lot of it would probably not last as long as older stone buildings- a typical skyscraper isn't intended to last thousands of years without maintainence and isn't designed to do so.

That said, complete disappearance without a trace would also be extremely unlikely- a civilisation like ours would leave traces for millions of years.

[Ursa major]

I was listening to Radio Four's so-so programme, The Museum of Curiosity, and one of the contributors (not Buzz Aldrin, who was a guest and the reason why I had continued listening) said that the (a) Mayan creation myth had it that humans were made from dough.

Does this mean that, if the forecast doom does happen in 2012, we're all toast...?

[billhafan]

Originally Posted by Ursa major

I was listening to Radio Four's so-so programme, The Museum of Curiosity, and one of the contributors (not Buzz Aldrin, who was a guest and the reason why I had continued listening) said that the (a) Mayan creation myth had it that humans were made from dough.

Does this mean that, if the forecast doom does happen in 2012, we're all toast...?

maybe, if we're not Brown-Bread!

[Dave]

No, that's just crackers!

[Huttman]

Originally Posted by Gordian Knot

13???? Christians have been predicting Armageddon practically since Christ died. This has been going on for 2,000 years and they haven't gotten it right yet!

There is not much mainstream Christians have gotten right in 2000 years.
I guess it's in human nature to try and figure things out, even when we're told it's fruitless to do so. One thing is fairly certain, unless radical changes are made in behaviors of the human race, some type of cataclysm that IS in our power to avoid WILL happen. We are spoiling this planet for future generations. I don't know when, but our consumption and waste with population increases will spell a global meltdown for sure. Make (or let) the power grid go down for the East or West coast for very long and looting will become uncontrollable. That will send financial markets crashing....and then....or...one big earthquake or super volcano?
Maybe it's unavoidable, but one thing I believe (it's a part of my faith, too), is that there WILL be survivors of the human race after what ever happens, happens. Even looking at it from a numbers point of view, someones gotta make it!

[Harpo]

Originally Posted by Huttman

Maybe it's unavoidable, but one thing I believe (it's a part of my faith, too), is that there WILL be survivors of the human race after what ever happens, happens. Even looking at it from a numbers point of view, someones gotta make it!

Imagine a huge discussion on a similar topic, but with dinosaurs instead of us lot, talking 65 million years ago. They would've said what you say.

"looking at it from a numbers point of view, someones gotta make it!"

Nope?

[planetocean]

I just love how everyone is talking about THE END OF THE WORLD, it makes me laugh. Well we already know the world is not ending, cause really know one really knows when the world is going to end. What ever happens we will just have to wait and see what are in the stars.

[Galacticdefender]

I am going to stand in my field with my towel and my thumb raised to the sky on December 21st, just in case

[Abernovo]

Watch out for Vogon poets, then.

But, whatever happens, DON'T PANIC!

[Huttman]

Originally Posted by planetocean

I just love how everyone is talking about THE END OF THE WORLD, it makes me laugh. Well we already know the world is not ending, cause really know one really knows when the world is going to end. What ever happens we will just have to wait and see what are in the stars.

Huh? Oh, right. We know that already- it averages out to be about 73% hydrgen, 23% helium and 2% other basic elements. Maybe a little magic, too?

And also I have it on the highest authority the world will never end