Why All the Fuss About 2012 Predictions?

The new Hollywood blockbuster of the same name seems almost certain to increase the concern about 2012 predictions. It leaves me a bit bemused and wondering why the fuss about this time? It seems that for the whole of my life there has always been some year that people have named as the period it will all end. The fact that all of these predictions have been proved wrong does nothing to dissuade the obsession. What is really amazing is the some of these people seem almost gleeful about the prospect; maybe their god will arrive and smite the evil doers.

I think that people forget that years are just something we invented to allow us to mark time. The universe probably doesn't really care what year it is. This makes all the year 2012 predictions seem all the more absurd to me. Not only do we use ancient books like the Bible to predict the end, but now we are even looking towards the Maya culture. This current obsession with year 2012 predictions seems focused on the Mayan long count calendar; like these people somehow had a better understanding of how the world works than we do. If somebody today makes these types of claims we would just consider them as a bit of a loon, but after people have been dead for a while we seem to give their words special meaning. If the Mayan culture was so good at predicting things why don't they have more of a presence in the world? Year 2012 Mayan predictions don't seem to be backed by much evidence.

So what are these 2012 predictions? Well according to the film the earth's crust will become really active and the land will become uninhabitable; only those of us with one billion Euros will be given the chance to survive on high-tech arks. According to the experts the month to watch out for is December 2012; this is when the fun should really begin to be at its peak.

I have little doubt that the 2012 world will be much the same as this one. I shouldn't expect that the doomsayers will apologise for their failed prophecy, but they are sure to be back with another date that they feel certain will be the end. I don't believe that there has been any reliable prophecy ever made so won't be waiting for the 2012 end. I could be wrong though, and for all you know I could be writing this from the safety of my ark.