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    anonymousteen09's Avatar
    anonymousteen09 Posts: 30, Reputation: -2
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    #1

    Mar 25, 2009, 11:18 AM
    End of the world?
    I just recently watched the movie Knowing starring Nicholas Cage. It was extremely eye opening and it actually made me cry.. I've always been a firm believer in science rather than a believer in a biblical sense. I honestly do not believe in God.. I believe in science. I want to know peoples opinions on how they think the world will end.
    Some people believe the sun will just explode and destroy everything... some people think the world will stop spinning and it will cause global disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. and the world will be in caos... Actually.. May 15th or 16th we're supposed to see some red planet that has something to do with the world ending.. I think the mayans believed that.. If any of you heard of the Mayan calendar.. Do you believe it?
    I mean they've been true on just about everything they've predicted. It's a scary thought.
    What does everyone think about the world ending and such?
    mudweiser's Avatar
    mudweiser Posts: 2,750, Reputation: 707
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    #2

    Mar 25, 2009, 11:36 AM
    I think everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. However I live my life freely [and respectably]. I believe that people who focus mainly on the end of the world are really missing out on life.

    Yes there are things that could make this earth a lot harder to live in [I.E. global warming and it's effects] and there are things we can do to "save" it or at the bare minimum conserve of what is left.

    MRS.S
    anonymousteen09's Avatar
    anonymousteen09 Posts: 30, Reputation: -2
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    #3

    Mar 25, 2009, 03:47 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by mudweiser View Post
    I think everyone is entitled to thier own beliefs. However I live my life freely [and respectably]. I believe that people who focus mainly on the end of the world are really missing out on life.

    Yes there are things that could make this earth a lot harder to live in [I.E. global warming and it's effects] and there are things we can do to "save" it or at the bare minimum conserve of what is left.

    MRS.S
    I disagree. I focus a lot on the end of the world.. I know its coming and nobody knows when and because I focus on that I live my life to the fullest. Cherishing every second I have in life.. Its reality and everyone should be exposed to that.
    That wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for but thanks for posting a response. I know everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.. Hense why I was asking the question. I wanted to know their beliefs.
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #4

    Mar 26, 2009, 01:25 PM

    The scenarios that I could see causing the end of the world (which I would define as the human race being wiped out) are:

    (a) The sun evolving into a red giant. This is a virtual certainty to occur, but it won't happen for several billion years.

    (b) A killer asteroid or comet hitting the earth. This seems to have occurred in earth's past alarmingly frequently. The dinosaurs were wiped out this way "only" 65 million years ago. So the odds are high that we could get hit by another killer from space within in the next 60 million years or so.

    (c) Mankind does itself in through war. It's impossible to predict how "severe" a nuclar war would be to the survival of the species. We only have about 44 years of experience dealing with issues of nuclear weapons, so it's impossible to predict much from such a brief time span. I think sooner or later there will be some sort of conflict involving nuclear weapons, but I doubt that all humankind would be wiped out by it.

    (d) A killer virus wipes us out - like in the movies "The Omega Man" or "I Am Legend." Perhaps a mishap with bio-enginering of viruses will do us in.

    (e) Mankind messes up the environment so badly that we can no longer survive. Personally I have a hard time believeing that even the most alarming of predictions about global warming could lead to the destruction of the species.

    I have never heard of any credible hypothesis involving the earth suddenly stopping its spin - there is no known mechanism that could make that happen.

    Not sure what you're referrng to regarding a "red planet" on May 15 or 16 - please explain. I do know that Mars (which is refrred to as the Red Planet) was at its closest approach in its orbit back in December, so you must be talking about something else.

    The Mayan calendar subject has been discussed to death. Rest assured - there's nothing "scientific" about any of the conjectures of what might happen in 2012.

    I am an optimist, so I think that it's the killer asteroid from space scenario that will eventually do us in, as opposed to mankind's own folly.
    mathwiz3502's Avatar
    mathwiz3502 Posts: 121, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Oct 9, 2009, 04:49 AM
    To be more specific, the world is supposed to end on December 21, 2012, or 2060
    2012 is foretold be the Mayans' calender ending, Nostrodamus, and Chinese histograms.
    2060 is foretold by Isaac Newton's adding of Bible dates, and yes, Isaac Newton was religious
    But if you ask me, it's all not true, and I am also Atheist.
    FlyYakker's Avatar
    FlyYakker Posts: 378, Reputation: 41
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    #6

    Oct 9, 2009, 04:45 PM

    Apparently the Mayans did a darn poor job of predicting their own demise so I don't think we need to worry about it.

    Usually these "predictions" are some distortions of what was actually said, if they exist at all.

    I certainly would not get upset about something in a movie. Movies are made for entertainment, and to make money.
    phlanx's Avatar
    phlanx Posts: 213, Reputation: 13
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    #7

    Oct 10, 2009, 06:44 AM

    If the world was going to end, surely I would have heard about it on the news :)
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #8

    Oct 12, 2009, 07:49 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by FlyYakker View Post
    Apparently the Mayans did a darn poor job of predicting their own demise so I don't think we need to worry about it..
    Best answer I've seen yet!
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #9

    Oct 12, 2009, 07:55 PM

    As ebaines says, the red giant scenario is a certainty but a distant one (at least 2 -3 billion years) and the asteroid is likely but it's possible we could prevent it if we see it coming and plan accordingly. Plus it's not necessarily likely in the next 75 years, which is presumably what you are wondering about.

    There are lots of ways for animals to go extinct however without the rest of life going with them. To be blunt, 99.9% of all organisms that have ever lived are now extinct. Extinction is the usual, not the exception. So there's no particular reason to think we won't go extinct too. The question is when, not if.

    So if you want to worry about something that's going to happen long after you are dead, human extinction will PROBABLY happen before the end of the world. That is, human extinction first, end of world later.

    Or you could just plan to do something nice for someone tomorrow.

    Cheers!
    martinizing2's Avatar
    martinizing2 Posts: 1,868, Reputation: 819
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    #10

    Jul 4, 2010, 12:35 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by FlyYakker View Post
    Apparently the Mayans did a darn poor job of predicting their own demise so I don't think we need to worry about it.
    .
    Actually they did predict their own demise. One of their legends told of the return of a god that would happen on a specific date.
    That date turned out to be the day Cortez landed on their shores .

    Not that this validates the 2012 question at all, but is a bit of ironic history.

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