The End of the World? Hardly...

There is so much fear among some who claim the end is near, and they have been able to predict it. While there is no doubt evidence of cataclysmic events in the past ( I'm looking at you dinosaurs), I take most offense to those that claim the predictability of such events. In case you haven't heard, today is the end of the world. The Earth's magnetic field is going to flip, today, and we will therefore feel the full brunt of our star's life-destroying solar wind. This will cause unspeakable chaos, doom, destruction, and satisfaction among the doomsayers. They will be vindicated. They will say, "I told you so!" No need to pay your rent this month. Oh no, you should blow that money on whatever you want today and spend your last hours with your family or making peace with our fate. How does this happen? Why do people feel so confident in this type of thinking?

I worked at a company where a fellow employee was convinced that the world was going to end in 2012. At first I thought he was joking, but after talking to him for a few minutes I realized he was not kidding. I took a step back because I didn't want to insult him, but I felt if only I could present enough arguments, enough evidence of the contrary, he would believe me. 2012 is now long gone, but we now have a story out claiming the world is just hours away from its untimely demise. It is an interesting read, but also kind of sad that there are real people that believe this.

Control. I think a big part of why these theories spread is due to control. There is so much we are unable to control in our lives, it is nice to feel like we know when things are going to be over. I feel good feeling like I have predicted small events in my life, I can't imagine the feeling of predicting the end of days. You can do what you want. Do that last thing you always wanted to do, but never had time in your life. Ultimately, if you look closer at the details behind the claims, you will find cracks in the foundation. Those cracks will spread and cause the theory to crumble. In this theory, try to find out how long the magnetic field will be down, and then find out how it was predicted to occur on this day. Without a doubt, you will start to see that today is not the end of the world. It is far from it.