Coffee Shop no. 10 - Just a Thought... (Part II)

3. Do you think the apocalypse is nearing? If yes or no, why?

What do you think?

...There is no way to be absolutely sure. According to the Bible, the antichrist will return and enslave humanity, and bring the human civilization to the point of collapse. The world during World War 2 thought for sure that Adolf Hitler was the antichrist (he certainly acted like one) and many predictions surfaced that the world was going to end when he took over Europe and eventually most of the globe. But Hitler didn't manage to do that, and all...the predictions were proven false. But concerning the 2012 apocalypse theory, the world will end in "fire". Many people relate this to another war, "World War Three" (spurred by a massive terrorist attack by the Taliban), which is a lot more likely than the second theory, which is that a super massive black hole (that scientists call ULX) will envelop our solar system and end all life on Earth. Another theory which is a little less likely than World War Three and a lot more probable than destruction by ULX is Yellowstone volcano erupting. Yellowstone is one of the largest volcanoes on the planet, and its underground magma chambers span across several states including North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Washington state. If it actually erupts...electrical lines will go out, electrical relay between cities may be permanently disabled, and many systems such down, including electricity. According to some...Mount Vesuvius on the other side of the world will erupt [as well] and destroy other surrounding cities...These eruptions will prove equally destructive as a terrorist attack if they happen to occur. Also, rising sea levels (the accumulating results of global warming) will prove incredibly devastating and possibly apocalyptic. Venice, New York, and Shanghai will be [some] of the first cities destoyed if there was a drastic increase in sea level during a tidal wave or flash flood caused by an earthquake. With the loss of major cities in flash floods and tsunamis the world will definitely be thrown into disarray. But there is no way to predict the exact year such events will happen. It may be thirty, forty, or even fifty years before the world will begin to have catastrophic weather events. The 2012 apocalypse, in my opinion, just doesn't have enough proof... ~Severus

...I am completely against the 2012 theory, but I do belive that the apocalypse is nearing. Yellowstone is a big threat to man kind, as it is over due to blow its top. A magnetar burst can also disrupt our lives as it would disable all electrical devices or any thing where electicity runs. But many believe that there [are/were three anti-christ]s, first Napolean, then Hitler, and lastly.. Obama? Well that is if Nostradamus was right...But there is nothing to worry about. All the Christians will resurrect into Heaven. [Then,] America, EU, China, and Russia will got to war in Israel, and all die and fill a valley with blood and at the very last second, Jesus will come down to Earth with a sword and a scroll with God's word. It will be so powerful evil will die...[Then there will be] no death, tears, and evil...Yellowstone [may also] affect the whole word, and lay inches of ash all the way to Maine, US. [It will then] put the world into a catostrofic deep freeze. -Environmentalist

Believe it or not I am not against the 2012 theory. Yes it seems ridiculous but there is scientific backup to this theory. Sunspot cycles occur every 11 years, the last one in 2001. The next is due in 2012. You all may be wondering who cares about sunspot cycles? Well scientists have noticed a "solar silence" in the sunspot occurrence. Since sunspot cycles have almost always occurred every 11 years scientist believe that a massive solar eruption is due in 2012. Yes it is true that sunspot cycles are very hard to predict, but that doesn't disprove a thing about the apocalypse. If its not in 2012 it'll come soon maybe 2011 or 2013. ~Project Z

Well, the 2012 theory is largely based simply on the fact that the Mayan Long Count Calendar ended in that year, and that the Mayan Long Count Calendar has proved to be largely accurate. The thinking is, "its been accurate all these centuries, perhaps it will accurately tell the end of the earth." However, the "evidence" put forth is mostly from theorists who try to conjure up relevant facts to support their theory. It is not because we see "evidence" that the 2012 theory has emerged. It is because the 2012 theory has come up, and people in support of it are conjuring "evidence" to support their views.

Also, I have an major objection to the 2012 theory. This theory would infer that we know when the world will end. Many conjecture it to be on December 21, 2012. This, however, is a huge mistake. It is clearly stated in many historical texts, for example in the Bible it states "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). Thus, I present forth my oppositions to the 2012 theory. ~Pomomarine

The Mayan apocalypse theory actually states that " There will be a new beginning.", that doesn't necessarily mean that the world will "end", it simply means that something else (whatever that something is) will begin. 2012 according to the Mayans, may just mean some sort of "big change", not the apocalypse. ~Severus

[The] Mayans had a cycle. [Changes?] occured at a certain pattern. Supposedly this will be the "last" [change?] to the end of the world. Of course i don't believe [in] Mayan predictions. But I do believe that something may devastate us, maybe not exactly 2012, maybe 2011 or 2013...[Also,] our magnetic poles are scheduled to switch, north goes to south and south to north. All will happen is our compases will point the wrong way. But for the poles to change, a lot of energy is needed and before this happens, the poles will be springing up all over the globe! I also believe that this may be causing the recent increased amount of earthquakes. For the poles to change, a large amount of energy needs to be created in the earth's core causing eventually for the convection currents to spin faster and the plates to "bump" into each other more often. It probably wont be the apocalypse in 2012, but something will happen -Environmentalist

I agree with you, the poles are switching. But is that really something we need to worry about? Yes magnetic north pole is shifting quite a bit every year. Although this is true it will take a long time (human terms) for them to switch. But in geologic time the switch is almost instant. This will prove a problem in the future but the switch is centuries into the future, we would of gotten colonized many other planets by then. ~Project Z

I think the pole switch will affect weather patterns, but also the ozone hole in the north pole will be more prone to solar storms during the "switch", and that could pose a real threat because radiation will flow past the weakening exosphere and ionosphere of the Earth, thus affecting the entire planet's climate. If the poles were to switch, it would be incredibly devastating. ~Severus

I agree with [Severus'] original statement--that the Mayan apocalypse theory actually states that "There will be a new beginning" and not actually an apocalyptic event. Perhaps some natural events will happen to initiate this "new beginning", but almost certainly is NOT the apocalypse. Many of you brought up the concept of a geomagnetic reversal, where the poles will switch places and cause a number of devastating and apocalyptic events. I do have some objections to these theories...The first and foremost is that how do we know the a geomagnetic reversal is "scheduled to happen"? First of all, geomagnetic reversals are not on a schedule. Some conspirators state that sudden geomagnetic reversals are natural events to Earth and occur with "clock-like regularity" and one is scheduled to come in 2012. This statement can be proved to be proved...false [with the below] chart showing geomagnetic polarity during the late Cenozoic area. The dark areas show when the polarity matched the current conditions, the white shows when the poles were reversed.



As we can clearly see from the visual, the periods of reversal are absolutely NOT regular or scheduled. They reveal no evidence of any pattern from which we can draw the conclusion that we are "due" for another reversal in 2012. The second point I have to object on is that the "doomsday reversal" will cause worldwide destruction, and is supported by paleo-magnetic evidence. First off, the "evidence" spoken of here is almost always tiny clues that are of almost no relation to the world's end. How do they become "evidence" for doomsday then? What happens is conspirators take the clues and put them all together along with other things they claim to have "deciphered" from ancient sources, then mix it all up with a bunch of speculations with no backing whatsoever, and present it and call it evidence. At first, all of it sounds VERY convincing. In fact, most people you tell this to on the street will probably nod their heads miserably and believe every single word you say...It would be a huge mistake to call this "evidence". It is simply many sources put together, "deciphered" and mixed with the author's bias. Clearly, this is not evidence.

Second, conspirators theorize that a geomagnetic reversal will cause the world to end and civilization and human life as we know it will be annihilated. Number one, who would believe that the entire human race will be roasted alive by solar winds, flares, and storms...[who says] that we'll be wiped out by galactical alignment or blackhole coincidences? Let's see why total planetary annhilation of the human race is a thought to be thrown out the window through scientific and historic terms...As seen in the previous visual, geomagnetic reversals have occured numerous times throughout the ages. Now, look at us today. Has the Earth disappeared and been destroyed after so many geomagnetic reversals? Absolutely not! We are all alive and well and the Earth has clearly survived through many many geomagnetic reversals already. Why would one speculated to occur in 2012 be anything to worry about?

Also, early species including the supposed "ancestor" of the human species...Homo erectus survived a geomagnetic reversal apparently at ease. Not to mention, other early species survived numerous ice ages, geomagnetic reversals and other large scale global events.

With all the above being said, I would have to conclude that 2012 geomagnetic reversal doomsday is definitely unlikely. [Even if it did,] a geomagnetic reversal will not cause the end of the world and the human race. ~Pomomarine

Sources:

http://survive2012.com/index.php/geryl-pole-shift.html
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/10/03/2012-no-geomagnetic-reversal/
http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Geomagnetic_polarity_late_Cenozoic.svg/285px-Geomagnetic_polarity_late_Cenozoic.svg.png

I think the 2012 "disaster" will not happen. People have based their ideas on the Mayan Long Count calender. Does it really say that a disaster will happen? No. Plus, just because it is usually a very "correct" calender doesn't mean that it is correct all the time. It was created by humans and we make mistakes. ~ZobyBlueberry

I disagree...This may seem strange to you, but many scientists today believe that a magnetic polar switch would be catastrophic. There is a direct relationship between water and magnetism. So when enormous changes occur in the magnetic fields, the water would move as well. I'm not talking about a few kilometers, I'm talking hundreds or possibly thousands of kilometers further inland or the opposite. This is a seriously major problem. The second major problem is that when magnetic poles switch the iron within the insides of the earth will change as well. This is not good at all. This means that hot spots would move. Tectonic plates would be disrupted. Let me ask you this: how would the modern world respond to that? The third point; today the magnetic fields of earth provide a shelter form solar radiation. If the poles where to all of a sudden switch that means for a while solar radiation would be more concentrated with ultra-violet light. This wouldn't be very bad, but still an increase of just 10% of the radiation levels in the sun's rays would do heavy damage. Also, many animals today have a magnetic sense so when a enormous switch occurred in the magnetic field the animals would face a problem too. The only reason Homo erectus survived the switch was because they didn't build electromagnetic generators. They didn't build big cities with ports. They didn't have compasses. They didn't do all those stuff that will be affected by the magnetic fields. ~Project Z

A new virus may be another very real factor which may lead to the fall of the human race. Many great civilizations which seemed infallible such as the Roman Empire and 16th Century England were devastated (and in the case of the Romans, completely annihilated) by plague. The Black Death ruined England's infrastructure and worsened political feuds, throwing the country into a century long "Dark Age". In conclusion, I'd like to state that the apocalypse in my opinion will not be the result of one major catastrophic change, but several catastrophes occurring at once (plague, climate change, and pole switch being a few of the inevitable doomsday factors). ~Severus

I am assuming that by apocalypse you mean end of world. Of course the world will end. 6 billion years until the sun expands to a red giant, then a supernova occurs even later than that. But on a more short term scale, the 2012 will probably not happen. If it does, than it is of coincidence. Anywho, natural disasters will most likely not destroy the human species. Anywho, Nuclear Holocaust.... I don't think will happen, as more countries are uniting. A plague would kill many but be easily countered. There will always be people living unless something such as a meteor impacts earth; even so such event is unlikely.

A magnetic pole reversal is a very interesting concept. As I read, animals that use magnetic field to direct their migration would die likely. But I believe that this is of no concern. A solar cycle has been known to wipe out sattelites and communications. I not do think that Dec 21 2012 is the day, though, as it is four days before Christmas. (This is an abstract religious fact that nothing to end human happens within Dec. I can use religion to defend my arguments, so I am going to make a religion up...... or I could stick with Dhruvism.) I am still open to have my brain changed on this subject. ~186000mps

NOTE: Dhruvism is a made-up religion. It was made as a joke by "Dhruv", a friend of 186000 mps.

~Environmentalist