What are your thoughts on this topic?

Many people are discussing 2012 as the end of the world due to interpretations of predictions contained in the Mayan calendar. The Mayan civilization was extremely advanced in mathematics, engineering and astronomy. They also had an incredible understanding of time and space. Various calendars were in use to track time in linear progressions within cycles. The “Great Cycle” of the “Long Count” calendar equates to 5,125.36 years. The current Great Cycle is due to be completed on the winter solstice of 2012, December 21. So, it has been interpreted that on this day, the Great Cycle ends, time ends, so the Earth must end as well. However, there are different opinions on what this end date really means.

As mentioned, some believe cataclysmic events will take place in 2012 with the ultimate destruction occurring on December 21, 2012. Others believe that the world will not end, but instead humanity will enter a new age, marked by significant changes physically and mentally.

(copied from http://www.2012endofdays.org/general/why-2012.php)

"As mentioned, some believe cataclysmic events will take place in 2012 " - yes, yo! London will host the Olympic games! That is enough to bring about the end of the world!

Haha, Anyway, when I was a kid, I was obsessed with all this shit. (Yes, I was a very morbid 8 year old!) Theories surrounding the Maya, Nostradamus' prophecies, the book of revelation, I dug it all. And it gave me nightmares for years and years and years. To be fair we've already lived through at least three (that I know of!) "end of the world" days predicted by ancient civilizations/ supposed prophets. The one that sticks out for me is the one in July 1999. Predicted by Nostradamus, and also coinciding with some prophecy on some ancient stones somewhere. Like seriously, I didn't sleep at all that week!! I was so concerned that the world really was going to end!
I had to stop reading about this shit in the end, because it was ruining my life!!! lol

ME TOO. I was always afraid that the sun was going to expand into a red giant, engulfing the Earth. Or that the Earth would suddenly decide to orbit too close to the sun and burn up (or too far and freeze). Another crazy fear of mine was the Bermuda Triangle. It fascinated me and freaked me out at the same time.

I was scared to death of the Bermuda Triangle for some reason! I think that's one reason why I'm scared of the ocean now, lol.

I'd go with the 'humanity entering a new age' bet. xD Although it kinda did that today, with the US interest rate plunging to a record low... xD

My thoughts are that you mixed up "conspiracy" and "prophecy".

Either way, anything's possible. If there was an immediate and natural danger, we would have seen it coming years ago. If anything is to happen in 2012, it'll be supernatural, and should be treated as such.

Hmmm I wonder if I could use this to get my christmas presents early

hahah. I won't have to pay off student loans!!!!

I don't much subscribe to these "end of times" things. I am looking forward to the NEO this coming year, and I'll probably get to use my step-dad's telescope to check it out, but it seems like every generation has some religious or cultural reference saying that "the end is near." I suppose the end was pretty close to being near during the Cold War (scary, scary times), but somehow humans keep managing to exist, despite our best efforts to annihilate ourselves.

There's much more realistic things happening in the future -- like 99942. Google that.

99942 eh. Looked it up just now. Man, even if it hits the moon, we're fucked. xD I wonder what any additionally additional observations will yield?

Didn't we get the same story about 2000? It always amazes me that people believe these things. If I remember correctly members of some cult actually killed themselves in 1999 in a mass suicide because they were so sure the world was about to end. How stupid.

Clearly they were dramatic morons and the world is a much better place without the silly buggers!

2000 had nothing to do with the Mayans. It had to do with Y2K and the "millenium bug" hoax. Technological crap.
Just to let you know! Haha.

Umm... I never suggested it had anything to do with the Mayans. I can't remember the details, but it was a small cult (also nothing to do with the millenium bug you're talking about).

I had a look on google... this may be the one I was thinking of... (from http://www.abhota.info/end5.htm)

On March 17, 2000, over 600 members of a Ugandan cult calling itself the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God sealed themselves into a church and were burned to death. It remains to be seen wither it was a mass suicide, or a murder by their leader.

I think it's a waste of time and other peoples worries to think about this. It will happen when it happens. There was a similar warning of the world ending that a huge civalization believed in just a few MONTHS ago. Much less the worries caused in 2000 and countless "predictions" since then. Here's a thought! Instead of wasting your time of your life calculating when the world will end, just enjoy your life until it happens. Like I said before, it will happen when it happens. No use in predicting something such as that!

My uncle actually believes this. He's trying to finish all his life goals before 12-12-2012. Ridiculous, I think.

When the Mayans made this calendar, they never specified the world would end. What's to keep us from believing the calendar wouldn't simply start over?

It scares me. I'm scared that on my birthday I will never turn a year older. YES my birthday IS december 21st.

All in all, I hope that it's a fresh start, or an "upgrade" for us. I can't bear to think of the world actually ending.

im with tracie! my birthday is 12/21....it better not end on OUR bday! lol.

Also, Einstein predicted that roughly 4 years after the honeybee population started to die the world would end.

That's actually a scientific thing -- if the honeybee population drastically died off... humans would begin to die off, from starvation, via the food chain.

How would that affect us? That sounds pretty interesting, please provide more info :)

Honeybees are directly responsible for the pollination of billions of dollars of crops each year, through "portable hives." After Hurricane Hugo in 1989, they didn't use the hives after spraying against pests, and the entire crop was ruined. Honeybees are needed for an incredibly large amount of food production, because of the way agriculture is "concentrated." Farms have pollination management companies provide hives which ensure pollination of the great majority of their crop plants, which in turn then produce fruits and grow to acceptable size for human consumption. Without this pollination, we would quickly lose much of our food supply.

Wow that's kinda scary!

Well, I don't appreciate this crap. My husband might finally be done with school then!! :-P I'd prefer to stick around awhile longer, quite frankly. :-P

I just had a math class where we discussed the Mayans, and honestly...I don't get why anyone puts any stock in what they had to say. They actually changed their mathmatical system just to make it fit in with their calendar correctly. It's just silliness. No one believes in their gods, why do we think they have such a great handle on the length of the time left in the world? :-P