Poll: Do You Think The End Is Upon Us? (12/21/12)

[DudeistBelieve]

Oh I've been through these doomsday predictions a handful of times now. I'll admit it, being the cautious and paranoid person I am I always somehow manage to find a level of truth in them that scare me.

I'm not an idiot. I imagine the chances of something actually happening are less than 10%, but it's still odd and I'll treat it with the same wide berth I give to anything that's weird.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I will end the world. I will destroy it with communist robots!

 

[RJ 17]

With December 21st drawing closer and closer, I just felt like seeing how many Escapists believe in the Mayan Calender stuff. Personally I've always thought that whoever was chisling that giant wheel got to the year 2012 and said "We're in what, year 6? Honestly, if we make it to and beyond 2012 just have my decendant finish this because I'm fucking DONE with the chisling!"

I can't deny, though, that it always does linger in the back of my mind. "What if..."

it's going to be used as an excuse for children to party hardy the day before/of. Anyone who takes it seriously will be the laughing stock of mankind.

I actually regret that I didn't maintain a friendship with this girl I knew in highschool. Ayleigh I think was her name. She swore to me she had researched special documents in the archives of Oxford University which indicated that the world was FOR SURE GOING TO END on Dec. 21st this year. of course, by "end" she meant "reach a greater state of enlightenment as we align with the center of the universe". Whatever that meant. I pretty much took it as ending, though. After all, where would all the funn political and religious topics go if that happened?!

As far as that "Align with the center of the universe" thing, there are some scientists saying that on December 21st, Earth will be in perfect alignment between the super-massive black hole at the center of our galaxy and our sun, and that this may somehow cause a polar shift.

 

[Soods]

I have a tin hat, but I do not believe in some ancient Mayan prophecies. 3rd option please!

 

[Meight08]

It's not going to happen my omnisexual robotic rapist armies are still in the prototype phase and won't be ready for a while.

 

[Ziame]

I hope not.


I've got shit to do, man! I mean come on!


Besides, how many apocalypses we had yet? The closest one was the black plague but even that didn't work on those pesky humans.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

No, it's my birthday and I have things to do on that day.
Maybe once I've played the Deadpool game then I might decide to end all existence on this planet. It just depends on how this world can continue to entertain me.

 

[FalloutJack]

Pffft...NO. And if anything tries, I will march upstairs and kill god for ruining Christmas.

But don't take it from me. Here's the resident expert on the notion of 2012, Dara O'Briain.


You can take from that just how ridiculous the notion is.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Dude, the universe doesn't care much about us. It just is, and we happen to be in it.

Except for the numbers we figure out by actually measuring things, numbers are just our way of trying to keep track and make sense of things.

Anything involving "time" and "dates" is pretty much nonsense. Try discussing the concept of time with a dog or a cockroach. Doesn't work, and it's not just the language barrier, trust me.

Just consider what year it is -

hint: It's 1434.

No, it's 5773!

No, it's 2555!

Now, these are just the 'major' cultures of sorts. If you take these four numbers - 2012, 1434, 2555, 5773 - and fiddle with them, you'll end up with everything pointing to the number five! Magic! Oh my! Good Lord! What is this? What does it mean? Nothing, if you don't want it to and/or suffer from a mental illness.

Only because a not too exclusively blood-thirsty culture dominated the World we sort of agreed on it being 2012 now, to facilitate things. Beyond that, it's all pretty random.

Don't ever trust the numbers.

 

[Klumpfot]

Yes, I do. I believe that the world as we know it will end on that day, and it will be replaced in a picosecond by a planet almost exactly the same as this one, only a picosecond older.

Prove me wrong!

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I figure at the very least I should be able to pick up a sympathy fuck from someone. The world is ending, so lets get it on!

Suddenly the reason for all this scaremongering becomes clear...

 

[Little Woodsman]

With December 21st drawing closer and closer, I just felt like seeing how many Escapists believe in the Mayan Calender stuff. Personally I've always thought that whoever was chisling that giant wheel got to the year 2012 and said "We're in what, year 6? Honestly, if we make it to and beyond 2012 just have my decendant finish this because I'm fucking DONE with the chisling!"

I can't deny, though, that it always does linger in the back of my mind. "What if..."

Your poll doesn't have an option for "Nah, don't think so but it sure would be nice!"
I jest, of course. But a world altering shift like in the anime Hyper Police would really
be great. Hmm, I'd better go ahead and make some rice balls and feed them to the foxes that
live near here, just in case. Can't hurt to have allies if the hammer comes down....

 

[Little Woodsman]

I will end the world. I will destroy it with communist robots!

Oh come on! You know that communist robots are always breaking down and running out of coal!

 

[Cranky]

Yes, I do. I believe that the world as we know it will end on that day, and it will be replaced in a picosecond by a planet almost exactly the same as this one, only a picosecond older.

Prove me wrong!

I trust you man, sounds very Hitchhiker's Guide-like.

 

[DoPo]

And here it is: the world will either end or not. It is a 50/50 chance. All the sources agree.

Someone's probably called you out on it already, but having only two possible outcomes does not mean that both outcomes are equally likely. If all evidence points to Dec-21 being no more extraordinary than any other day, and every other day has fallen on the "world didn't end" side of the coin, it's statistically far more likely the world will go on than end, meaning the odds aren't 50/50 (implies equal probability).

Which part of my post made you think it was written as a serious reply and not a joke? Tell me so I can remove it. I mean, I thought making an incredibly stupid claim in an outrageous context, which didn't even make sense, was enough. Especially for people who would recognise it. Evidently not.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I hope not. I'm already paranoid, I don't need this shit, dammit! And only God is supposed to know when the world ends, quit trying to do His job!

...Sorry, I'm just so freaking sick and tired of hearing this...!

Though if this date does pass by, would it be wrong to laugh at the crazies who believed it?

 

[Something Amyss]

Personally I've always thought that whoever was chisling that giant wheel got to the year 2012 and said "We're in what, year 6? Honestly, if we make it to and beyond 2012 just have my decendant finish this because I'm fucking DONE with the chisling!"

The Mayan Calendars work in cycles. This was intended to be the end. Just not, you know, the end of the world.

However, if you like "what if" deals, and so on, I suggest you read Mercury Falls (and the two subsequent books if you like the first). Robert Kroesse masterfully interlaces the apocalypse, ping-pong, and the word "douchebag" into a single narrative.

I bring this up in part because of the introduction, which actually mentions rain dates for the apocalypse.

Well, put it this way, the calendar I bought from WHSmith last year ran out at the end of 2011, did the world end then?

I thought it was funny for a while that all the food I bought expired in December 2012. However, my calendar ends in January 2013. I'm confused.

Isn't the Christian apocalypse a usually drawn out affair?

Ignoring the fact that this isn't a Christian tradition, most Christians don't seem to believe in the end of the world as told literally in the Bible. Some believe we're already in those end times, and a lot of them believe in a much quicker end. This probably stops them from wondering why they themselves weren't raptured.

One thing I know about Christianity from first-hand experience is that following the Bible is completely optional. Hell, knowing the Bible is completely optional.

 

[Something Amyss]

Which part of my post made you think it was written as a serious reply and not a joke? Tell me so I can remove it. I mean, I thought making an incredibly stupid claim in an outrageous context, which didn't even make sense, was enough. Especially for people who would recognise it. Evidently not.

Statistics are ALWAYS serious business, man.

Never mess with statistics.

>.>

 

[Evil Smurf]

I will end the world. I will destroy it with communist robots!

Oh come on! You know that communist robots are always breaking down and running out of coal!

Only because the capitalist pigs sabotage it!

 

[McMarbles]

The world better not end. I keep all my stuff there!