In a little over three years time, December 21st 2012 will be upon us. For every reason under the Sun, 2012 will be a normal year, with its fair share of trials, tribulations, disasters, deaths, political unrest and pretty much every other setback we’ve been facing this year, last year and all the other years we’ve lived through. Some years are better than others, some are downright bleak, but we can never predict what the year 2012 is going to be like. And no, the Mayans, astrologers, secret government conspirators or tea leaves don’t have a clue either.
No vague doomsday prophesy predicted since the dawn of time has happened, and that’s not going to change.
It’s a little thing called causality. No future event can be seen before it happens, otherwise the whole cause-and-effect thing gets completely screwed up. It’s the way time works, no amount of believing otherwise will change that…
*yawn* Sorry, I fell asleep. Is it me, or is this 2012 bunkum already getting out-dated? Has it become the doomsday equivalent of the tweed jacket of fashion?
I bring this up as the doomsday hype is leaking into every facet of reporting, and today I read an Examiner post that is trying desperately hard to get attention. This time, it’s not about crop circles predicting killer solar flares, it’s the LA Science and Tech News Examiner who couldn’t resist dropping in a mention for the Mayan calendar when reporting about the recent Large Hadron Collider (LHC) woes.
The report goes into some detail about recent LHC problems, pointing out that the particle accelerator probably won’t be operating at full energy until… wait for it… [cue doomsday alert!] …2012.
This triggers another doomsday ‘tweed jacket,’ the nonsensical LHC-induced Earth-eating-black-hole pseudo-science theory popularized by Walter “I need some attention” Wagner after he tried (and failed) to sue CERN for endangering the planet with its scary physics.
I’d understand if the report was commenting about real science behind the various silly doomsday scenarios that are being thrown around like confetti, but it isn’t. Fred Gober decided that the LHC wasn’t interesting enough to stand on its own merits and threw in some doom to jazz it up a bit.
It’s true that Gober was just airing opinions, which is perfectly fine, but at least poke fun at the 2012 doomsday hype rather than using it as a reason to try to add some fear to LHC science (although I suspect he might be trying to be funny, didn’t work). Gober also finds it necessary to link to a ridiculous ‘2012 believer’ site (apparently Mel Gibson ‘believes’, shocker).
I also understand that many readers won’t pay much attention to the doomsday reference, but as we found out in the run-up to last year’s first attempt to get the particle accelerator started, some people take this kind of reporting seriously, occasionally with tragic (and bizarre) consequences.
Unfortunately, 2012 will continue to be overused for the next 40 months, so expect more science-based articles like this Examiner post that decide to add some doom to their reporting.
astroengine.com 
Given the inestimable value of doom & gloom to the 24/7 maw of the “news cycle”, it's hardly surprising that the benefits of getting paid outweigh the benefits of such malarkey getting laid..to rest. Even you, a real scientist, are making hay while the sun shines on this topic. I personally enjoy the advent of stupid pseudoscience. It brings out your very best and we all learn something in the bagain.
You're totally right Maren… in fact the whole reason why I started doing this whole 2012 thing was because Fraser mentioned we were getting a lot of 2012 keyword searches on the Universe Today. So we planned to expose the real science behind the hype. And look what happened! after a few months my articles were read by millions! I've NEVER known anything like it. Now I'm appearing on documentaries and radio interviews… who would have thought it?It just riles me when authors use 2012 lies and pseudo-science to explain their half-cooked vision of reality. The fear factor sells. But then again, it looks as if the “truth-factor” grabs a lot of attention too!Cheers!Ian
Remember when I mentioned, its been at least a month or two, that you may be striking for the “new” Carl Sagan slot? Hmmm? Good for you Ian – you have soo much ahead of you! You're you, and he was then, but you a aimilar approachability and appeal, and now reach that can help you help so many people understand the truth.
That article sounded like they were poking fun at the 2012 doomsday. I didn't see anything bad here. Unless I'm missing something, the “uh-oh” at the end came across as a mockery of the 2012 doomsday.
Even if he was trying to be funny, even mentioning 2012 seemed like a very cheap shot to attempt to get a boost in traffic (and I bet it worked). He didn't make any attempt to poke fun at the hype, plus he linked to a prolific doomsday site (thereby pushing traffic in their direction). All in all it was a rather silly attempt — all he succeeded in doing was to spread more misinformation and cheapened LHC science (which I thought was interesting enough to stand on its own merits).
Still waiting on the whole singularity and timewave zero theory to be debunked as well. Look into Joe Rogan, who is a strong believer in Terence McKenna's DMT induced theory, and constantly mentions this during his numerous stand-up gigs and talk show interviews. I don't want it to be another thing to catch on too quickly because it looks as if all the other theories are running out of steam…or should be.
The problem with debunking things like timewave zero is that it isn't really based on any science. It was just one guy's interpretation of how the future could be predicted through patterns in fractals. There's a lot of pseudoscience out there, and I don't really see how that is even relevant to 2012. Hell, I could come up with several non-science theories about how the world is going to end, however, they won't happen as they will probably be based on my eccentric imagination after several alcoholic beverages 🙂
Another bogus theory that might catch on is the Hapgood theory of Earth Crust Displacement which is the basis around the 2012 movie releasing in November. He came up with this theory while searching for Atlantis. The movie's website also says that Einstein “supported this theory” when in reality, he just said it deserves more research to reach a valid conclusion.
Just read your article regarding my Examiner post regarding the LHC. I had written 3 prior articles regarding the collider which included the search for the Higgs particle and the potential creation of micro black holes and strangelets. My conclusions in each of these articles were that the LHC poses no danger to the public. Since the Examiner is not a technical site, it is important to make science articles interesting to the reader. The tie-in to 2012 appearing at the very end of the post was not the focus of the article but was included as a response to doomsday scenarios that were included in the comments from prior posts. Based upon comments from my readers, I was able to write additional articles that I hope will educate my readers. Tomorrow I intend post an article explaining how cosmic rays pack more energy than LHC collisions. Anyway, contrary to your statement, I was not airing opinions. I believe that the doomsday scenario is hogwash and it was not my intent to suggest it had any validity. But I do appreciate your comments.
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This article is stupid. It talks on and on about dumb rumours of doomsday in 2012, without saying what they are. Good, he says they're nonsense, but apart from mentioning solar flares, he doesn't actually specify what the article is about. Every good article has a brief summary at the beginning of what the f… it's talking about. I've gone though several pages on this site, and the guy always assumes you know what he's talking about. Idiot. Think into the heads of other people, see it from the point of view of the reader, don't put your head into his head, and assume he has your information already at his fingertips. Stupidity is found everywhere, even among the highly intelligent. If you don't use it, you ain't got it.
Hey, McFly! Oh… sorry, McClannon…I'll make it a bit easier for you as you obviously have a problem clicking that mouse button of yours. Click once, right here: http://www.astroengine.com/?p=3053No, you missed, try again: http://www.astroengine.com/?p=3053The answers you seek can be found there (but make sure you click on the big pictures to read the articles).All the doomsday scenarios are examined in great detail in this site, go have a look (hint: type “2012” in the search box).Thanks, Idiot Ian
Just curious, but how much research have you performed on this issue? I must admit I want to believe in things; aliens, UFOs, infomercials, etc… But the whole “end of the world” thing never intrigued me. I have read on the subject, but I tend to read “fringe” literature because I like my “box” challenged. One of the recurring themes has been a time of great change in the early/mid 21st century. Myans, I-Ching, Cayce, Hope Indians and considerable climate/planetary data all point to a tipping point in our society. I don’t think this is the end of the world, but I’m wondering if there is something to come… Some of you have mocked at the crust displacement theory. Sorry, but that isn’t something to laugh at. It has occurred thousands of times on our world; we just don’t have the records to show the documentation. If you want references, consult Scientific American, Discover, Popular Science, History Channel, Science Channel or any other science based literature/programming. The Edgar Cayce guy caught my attention because I’ve been reading about the poles switching for the past decade. Cayce lived in a time prior to the knowledge of plate tectonics. This perked my attention so I delved deeper… He has also made statements about geography and history (Switching polarity, Nile River flow and Essene’s culture) which wasn’t even dreamed of by scientists/anthropologists of his day. This lends credence to his predictions/warnings to me. Bottom line, it is easy to dismiss ideas and people who are not in line with conventional theory, but we do not grow as a person until we take our established beliefs and challenge them. P.S. – I would invite anyone to read Hidden History of the Human Race. It is a dry read (archeology driven) but will give you such insight to the history of man that we don’t accept as a society.
Just curious, but how much research have you performed on this issue? I must admit I want to believe in things; aliens, UFOs, infomercials, etc… But the whole “end of the world” thing never intrigued me. I have read on the subject, but I tend to read “fringe” literature because I like my “box” challenged. One of the recurring themes has been a time of great change in the early/mid 21st century. Myans, I-Ching, Cayce, Hope Indians and considerable climate/planetary data all point to a tipping point in our society. I don’t think this is the end of the world, but I’m wondering if there is something to come… Some of you have mocked at the crust displacement theory. Sorry, but that isn’t something to laugh at. It has occurred thousands of times on our world; we just don’t have the records to show the documentation. If you want references, consult Scientific American, Discover, Popular Science, History Channel, Science Channel or any other science based literature/programming. The Edgar Cayce guy caught my attention because I’ve been reading about the poles switching for the past decade. Cayce lived in a time prior to the knowledge of plate tectonics. This perked my attention so I delved deeper… He has also made statements about geography and history (Switching polarity, Nile River flow and Essene’s culture) which wasn’t even dreamed of by scientists/anthropologists of his day. This lends credence to his predictions/warnings to me. Bottom line, it is easy to dismiss ideas and people who are not in line with conventional theory, but we do not grow as a person until we take our established beliefs and challenge them. P.S. – I would invite anyone to read Hidden History of the Human Race. It is a dry read (archeology driven) but will give you such insight to the history of man that we don’t accept as a society.
Great post! I love your blog! Here is a link to a website I found that has lots of information on it
http://www.ufomystery2012.com it talks about ufo’s, crop circles, planet x, the new world order, and has a ton of information on 2012 too.