It is the end of times!

I think the answer is obvious. in 2012 the entire Mayan civilization will disappear mysteriously.

errrr... wait a sec... maybe it will mysteriously reappear???

actually, having just read that wikipedia page, I changed my mind. On December 31 of 2012, the Kyoto protocol expires. the resulting frenzy as corporations try to make up for 15 years of lost productivity due to greenhouse restrictions will poison the atmosphere overnight, rendering the world uninhabitable by January 1st.

Sad thing is, that one's almost believable...

I tried to make it through the Time Cube page, but I got stuck at 'The Physics of Santa Claus'. there are just some things that are beyond my meager mental abilities.

.
Error 2012 – The Server has encountered a Network Error. Often repeated every few minutes. A Microsoft article Q195641 suggests changing the IPX MaxPktSize from 240 to 0 within the registry.
:cool:

Well, not that smoothly. Gas leak shuts LHC for two months

Destruction of Earth delayed due to technical difficulties :rolleyes:.

saved by our own incompetence. how typically human. :)

facts people facts!

I'm graduating in '12?

I'm a little confused. You're asking for 'facts' on a 2012 apocalypse?

that settles it.....we're screwed :confused:

Tom, I immediately thought of the Talking Heads when I read that. :D

some nice thoughts on the 'zombie apocalypse'. lol

eh, all you need for the Zombie Apocalypse is a good stock of beer. fry your brain, and they lose interest.

come to think of it, that works pretty well for most apocalypses. let's all toast whatever the next big thing in evolution turns out to be. :D

We have to critically, and collectively make up a rational conclusion of what WILL HAPPEN. If the earth will scientifically stop moving...WHY? Will the government use this as a scare tactic to take away more of our rights? Think of anything else that will be happening on 2012 and let's figure it out guys!!

Well, if you're really serious about world destruction.

-Antibiotic resistant disease kills one third of the earth's population before we can find and distribute a vaccine.

-Tensions among nations rise setting the stage for WWIII, leading ultimately to a nuclear exchange.

-Continued accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few leads to social upheaval and revolution throughout the world. A new order will be the end result.

-First contact is made with an alien species... and they don't like us.

-A computer virus (or the magnetic shift) destroys all data on all computer systems worldwide. There are no paper backups. Complete worldwide chaos.

The most likely is "none of the above."

Rational? Nothing will happen, life goes on as usual.
We look back at this old post and make fun of you for getting caught up in a viral marketing gimmick.

:D

We can make some reasonably accurate predictions:

Four years from now, humans will have consumed approximately 120 Billion barrels of oil out of the estimated 1 Trillion barrels left in the world. That's more than 10% of all current reserves that will be gone in just four years! This percentage could be higher or lower, depending on who is President and how much really remains, but we can be sure that if we aren't well on our way towards using alternative energy sources in 2012, there will be massive economic repercussions.

Four years from now, many more baby boomers will be looking to retire, which means that the S.S. system will really begin to feel the strain.

Current world production of oil is ~48 million barrels per day which translates to ~17.5 billion barrels per year. That's 70 billion barrels in four years by my calculations. With ~1.1 trillion barrels of proven reserves, that gives us roughly 63 years before we run out of oil. People are way too short-sighted for a 59 year horizon to have a significant effect on the economy. The economy may be in crappy condition still in four years, but it won't be because of speculation on oil reserves or lack thereof.

There is one "fact" that I am confident of, however. In four years, there will be a new "2012" for the apocalyptic crackpot conspiracy theorists of the world to rally around: "We weren't wrong about 2012 - our calculations of the Bible Code were just off by a four years! 2016! 2016! The world will end in 2016!"

Actually.... isn't Windows7 scheduled for release in 2012 ?

weeeeeelllll... two minor points. (1) oil consumption is constantly increasing, so the real figure is probably somewhere between 70 billion and 120 billion. (2) Oil depletion problems will begin to occur long before reserves are exhausted. it's not like things are going to go along fine until the wells suddenly all run dry. once some critical point is passed, you'll see skyrocketing prices, hoarding, probably even warfare as countries and corporations try to grab hold of as much of the dwindling supply as they can. heck, you're already seeing the beginnings of that in the Iraq war, and it's likely to get much worse. I'd say 30-40 years before the violence peaks.

it's sad (and ironic) that we'll probably use up the last of the oil reserves trying to kill each other over the last of the oil reserves. but then it's sad (and ironic) that we waste so much of what the dinosaurs left to use making little plastic dinosaurs. :rolleyes: