I think humanity will be just fine. I'm more concerned about my own mortality and hoping I stick around long enough for my 9 year old daughter to grow up and have a life of her own. Plus, there are so many things I want to do before I check out.

I've been sharing this since that one dude was talking about the impending rapture...?

The history of the Earth is rife with extinction events--one every 50 or 75 million years. It's a certainty we will have one. To ensure the survival of the human race, ( ... and is that a noble goal, or just perpetuation of our self -importance--you decide.) we need to become a multi-planet species.That's one of the goals of Elon Musk in his drive to colonize Mars. Odds are none of us will live to see that cataclysm, but some may live to see colonization of the solar system. "Dream Big," is my motto.

As my dad got older and in worse health, he became way more concerned with the rapture and end times. We went to a small church with an older audience, and I think it was a fear of death that drove the obsession.

With younger people I see it as a reaction to constant bombardment of being told how bad the world is. They are told there is a war on Christmas, homosexuals are threatening your family values, they want to keep prayer out of schools, they are coming for your guns ( ok, not necessarily a Christian view but strongly entangled in Middle America). Christians are anxious that the secular world wants to dismantle their way of life. They want Jesus to come back and set everything right.

I've observed that those most believing in an apocolyptic end-of-times scenario are those who may wish for it to occur. The disenfranchised of the planet who see it as revenge on the "haves" for perceived injustices, and as an escape to a better existence for themselves.

I'm optimistic, too. Maybe it's just a character trait and we can't help it, but find it a bit irritating that so many people look on the dark side and assume we are bound to be heading for disaster. Even if we optimists are wrong, at least we have a happier time until the world goes pear-shaped!

You may be every bit as insane as I am.

Back in 2011, I wrote an article for my "What's Up" column about the Mayan Calendar and the 2012 Dooms Day Hoax (remember?). Here is the last section of the article focusing on doomsday predictions throughout history. Enjoy!

Dooms Day Predictions and Human Psychology
The list of unfulfilled doomsday predictions throughout history is enormous and, of course, as would seem obvious, none of them have come true. I was impressed with the large volume of Judeo-Christian doomsday predictions of the Armageddon, Judgment Day, the Anti-Christ, or the Second Coming of Jesus, from Pat Robertson’s guarantee that the world would end by 1982 to Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormon church) telling his flock that he had spoken to God personally and was assured Jesus would return and the end times would begin by 1891. One of my favorite (if you can say that) doomsday stories involves the Heaven’s Gate Cult in 1997. They believed that an alien spaceship was following comet Hale-Bopp and that NASA was covering up the evidence. Somehow, from that, they concluded that the world was coming to an end soon so they committed mass suicide so that their souls could board the alien ship and evolve to some “next level”. They even purchased alien abduction insurance at a cost of $10,000 (OK, at least that was a smart move). Apparently, they used planetarium software to prove that the alien ship was real since they could observe it visually but could not find it on the online star chart. Sadly, they had set the limiting magnitude of stars that were to be displayed too low and so the star did not appear on the chart. You can find your own stories of failed apocalypse predictions. There are many web sites that offer such accounts such as “A Brief History of the Apocalypse” (http://www.abhota.info).

So what’s going on? There appears to be some psychological basis for our fascination with doomsday predictions. These predictions often set “believers” above and apart from the mainstream population and provide a rallying point that strengthens group affiliation as is the case with many religious prophesies. Even when these prophesies fail to produce, there is evidence that these groups often actually strengthen their beliefs in the prophesy, modifying it just enough to be once again believable. I am also reminded of the people who get excited about natural disasters (tornados, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.), choosing to stay in the targeted areas rather than evacuate, going so far as to surf in hurricane driven swells. This type of experience is perhaps echoed in other areas of our lives where we explore our thanatos (ref: Freud, Death Instinct) through pro football, bungee jumping, sky diving, and roller coasters.

There are, however, at least two important (real) astronomical reasons to take note of the year 2012. The first is the Transit of Venus. This is a rare alignment of the planet Venus with the sun and Earth which occurs twice – eight years apart – every 105.5 – 121.5 years. The second alignment of this pair will occur on June 5-6th, 2012. Since the 1600’s, apparitions of the transit of Venus have been used to derive the distance to the sun (the A.U. or Astronomical Unit), so it was of great importance to astronomers of the time. Don’t miss this one. The next Venus Transit won’t occur until 2117!

The other is a total solar eclipse which will graze the northern coast of Northern Territory and Queensland Australia on November 13th. The path of totality runs almost precisely through Cairns before heading out into the Pacific Ocean. Also, on May 20th, there will be an annual solar eclipse visible in southern China, Japan, and the Western US.

So, there is a lot to look forward to in 2012 but I don’t think the apocalypse is going to be one of them!

Because of their religious text, they are chosen to go spend eternity in paradise with their deity.

I'd rather freak out about plausible Doom's day scenarios like A.i. going all terminator, or stray asteroids ,man made super viruses or nuclear holocaust. But I keep my fingers crossed that people might suddenly wake up one day and start enmass to help put out this dumpster fire we like to call human society.But saying all that the world needs optimistic people to bolster spirts. So stiff upper lip an all that and carry on the good fight.

To have peace on earth, does not require someone who never existed, it requires someone who does, and who better than oneself, who throws off the bigotry of religion, and believes in oneself, to the betterment of those around them ?

You aren't alone. I do think that society will get worse before it gets better. I think until people do away with religion completely, there will never be a true enlightened society. It seems that no matter how much progress gets made, it seems that some kind of religion ruins it. It's the old proverbial "1 step forward 2 steps back" scenario.....

Sometimes on an optimist, but most days I'm like...

"you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." George Orwell

CatNub,

I've always thought it was a need to feel "special", as in we know the end of the world is coming. Surely the big guy will choose to rapture extra special holy me.

I think the apostles thought he was coming right back, too.

I think people are unsatisfied and feel impotent. They do not believe things will change any other way.
I have been arguing for many years. I actually hate it when I am right.
We had a big fight 30 years back, people telling me we would stop using fossil fuels well before they ran out as they would be too expensive and the environmental damage was so high. I argued we would use every last drop of oil we could find. About 3 years back, the people I was arguing with recalled the conversation and admitted they were wrong.
I gain a slight hope every time there is a financial crises. I yearn for economic collapse.

I think people are just generally cynical and end-times contemplation justifies their apathy and pessimism.

I think people are just generally cynical and end-times contemplation justifies their apathy and pessimism.

Because their 100% true fairy tale says so.

Some of it is fear based and some of it is pushed as a way to assure that the "flocks" keep coming in and feeding the coffers. These people have been taught since infancy to follow the masses without question or risk alienation. The preachers are ego manics playing to a desperate and needy audience.

It gives them a false sense of importance.

But, yes, you likely are overly optimistic.

The world will keep turning..... Enjoy your time

well first, you are not the only one.
Second, atheism in general is being pushed by the phenomenon you described. Being unaffiliated to any religion is the fastest growing segment of modern society.
As to what to do to the End of the world wishers is to not vote for them.