Chicken Little says December 21st 2012 is the end of time as man knows it

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by JU_88

People are always coming up with dates for the 'end of the world' through various doomsday scenarios. But define 'the end' what is that? the total destruction fo the planet and all life on it? That would actually be very difficult for man to achieve.

A nuclear war would destroy major cities and kill billions and cause major eviromental damage, it would be the end of life as we know it, BUT not the end of the world, many people would still survive, life on earth would still go on.
The only other threats can be maybe a deadly airborne virus or something from out of space.
However- there is no way to prepare for the end of the world, what you going to do exactly? live the rest of your life in a bunker with a lifes supply of tinned food?
Whats the point in that? death might actually be the better option here.

The so called 'end of the world' can happen anytime between tomorrow and a ten thousand years and beyond, I dont see why people are so keen to predict it, other than being able to say 'I told you so' if they are right (asuuming they survive - and have other survivors to say it to.)

The only way I see the Human race surving indefinatly is by locating other habitable planets in the Universe and finding a way to travel / migrate to them. without that mandkinds 'time' is most certainly limited, we havent taken care of mother earth very well and she can only support our unsustainable lives of mass reproduction, destruction, consumption, waste and polution.... for so long.

This, so very much this, I always think of the George Carling 'Save the Planet' bit when people say 'The end of the world', what people should really say is 'The end of mankind' and that is quite easy to achieve. The world isn't going anywhere, not for another million odd years or so, and all our weapons and technology, compared to what the planet can cook up...it's like a fly attacking an elephant.

[BossMark]

The end of time already happened when the tory lead coalition came to power.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Skybird

What...? Of 7 voters so far, only 2 - one of them me - have voted "No", but 5 have voted "I don't know"...????

That is, in principle, a disgrace.

Confusion reigns supreme perhaps

[mookiemookie]

If you're a religious sort:

Matt 24:36: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

[mapuc]

I don't know if it's any comfortable news I gonna tell you.

But many are gonna wake up on 1 st January with a hang-over.

And it's not because that the earth is tumbling down on their heads.

Markus

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

If you're a religious sort:

Matt 24:36: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

On some youtube videos I have posted exactly the same. Mostly those that are religiouse.

Markus

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Skybird

What...? Of 7 voters so far, only 2 - one of them me - have voted "No", but 5 have voted "I don't know"...????

That is, in principle, a disgrace.

Why? I gave my reasons. No matter how certain I may be, I don't know this for certain, any more than I know anything for certain. Neither do you.

Am I wrong? Almost certainly. A disgrace? Stuff it.

[Skybird]

There is no evidence that there are no pink flying tri-eyed elephants singing God-Save-The-Queen in reverse somewhere in the solar system.

...

the end can't be 2012, cos I'm gonna live to be 120, or die trying

[Sailor Steve]

Doesn't mean they don't exist.

My problem is that there is no evidence the sun will rise tomorrow. I'm certain it will, but I don't know for a fact. I don't mind you saying I'm wrong, or even that I'm an idiot, because in a lot of ways it's true. But a disgrace? That's just rude, and I stand by my suggestion.

[Skybird]

Okay, no disgrace, but a declaration of bancrupcty of intellectual, reasonable thinking. Is that better and more kind to your ears?

And there are no pink, flying tri-eyed reverse-singing elephants in the solar system. Trust me. You can bet your life and the fate of all the universe on that.

Scepticism is good, I am a basic sceptic myself. But things can become just too absurd, and then it is no more scepticism, but simply idiocy. Yes, you can always look even closer at things,m and closer, and then much more closer, and you will always see some more, but also: some smaller detail. You can increase the "reliability" of your argument, but you can push that only so far, and not beyond - because from some point on, the "validity" not only has become small with reliability beocming big, but validity simply is no more there. This reliability-validity thing is not for no reason being called a dilemma in statistics and science theory.

At some point, you need to take the probabilities you have, and form a decision on basis of them, you cannot spend the rest of your life just calculating them finer and finer and avoiding any decision at all - you would just miss your whole life that way. And so you decide, and act, and that's it.

Wild guessing, an imagination on rampage, just any neurologic activity in the brain forming an idea on the absis of nothing - such things do not automatically claim equal status to reasonable ideas basing on observation or experience of logical conclusion, just because the wild guess, the image forms up in your mind. that you sit down and write a novel, does not mean that the story told ever has happened exactly the way to tell it, with the same names and people, and places and times and events.

It's fantasy.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Skybird

It's fantasy.

I believe in reason. I just don't trust my own, or my judgement, or my sanity. It's as simple as that. I'm not a skeptic. When I say I really don't know anything, I mean it. I'm pretty sure I'm writing this right now, but I don't know for certain. It's what I live with every day.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I'm pretty sure I'm writing this right now, but I don't know for certain. It's what I live with every day.

That - does not sound good, Steve. Must I be worried about you?

[Herr-Berbunch]

NO! So cheer up folks.

There may be pestilence, famine, plagues, and flooding, but somewhere within the 150m km² there will be man with his clocks, watches, sundials and henges* willing to tell a passing stranger the time.



*Might even be a mobile phone, who knows?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Skybird

That - does not sound good, Steve. Must I be worried about you?

Not at all. I'm fully aware of my problems and don't try to pretend anything is other than what it is. I do a pretty good job of faking humanity, and so far I've proved to be harmless to myself and others. I just don't trust people when they argue from a position that they "know" something, or that they are convinced they're right. And like most people I have a hard time recognizing that others truly think differently from me.

At least I don't claim that I'm sane.