Magnetised solar flares and the Mayan Apocalypse

[Jailbird408]

Last night, I was tossing and turning in bed with disturbing thoughts.
You know how scientists say that the sun could send out a pulse of magnetic radiation at any time, and that that pulse of radiation would eliminate all digitally recorded media?
You know what would happen? All of your game saves would be eliminated.
All of your games would be eliminated.
All of your crucial files would be eliminated.
All of everyone's crucial files would be eliminated.
Any company that keeps important data on digital storage (i.e. ALL OF THEM) would lose the files that keep them running.
All official government records of every person in the world would cease to exist.
Therefore, legally, nobody exists.
So here's the fallot: all businesses are bankrupt, all currency flops, everyone is exempt from law, CHAOS, DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.
And you know how non-scientists say the Mayans predict the end of the world will occur on December the 21st of 2012?
Yeah, there's a connection there.

 

[Doc Theta Sigma]

Except for the fact that such solar flares have happened many times before without humanity descending into chaos. Nice try though.

 

[Kud]

My hard drive fried itself last week, so I already have a small taste of what is to come...

 

[Soviet Steve]

And you know how non-scientists say the Mayans predict the end of the world will occur on December the 21st of 2012?
Yeah, there's a connection there.

a) Not going to happen as the sun has been at it many times before.
b) The Mayan calender doesn't end in 2012 just like the Gregorian calender doesn't end on January 31st.
c) The Mayans themselves (They still exist) have denied that anything beyond a new years party will happen

Yeah, you wasted your time.

For some of the other 2012 myths check out Skeptoid.com: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4093

Here's a shortened version on video if you don't care for podcasts:

Spoiler: Same fellow, same sources as listed on the podcast

 

[Scarim Coral]

Err how about some informations are still or at least kept in hard copies like book or record files? Therefore we still exist!!

Also very unlikely if we were to survive without technology and restore order to chaos than I guess we are simply revert back to the middle age (well higher up than that)!

 

[Steinar Valsson]

I'm fairly sure that the most sensitive data (banks, social security, economy etc.) are stored inside something similar to a Faradays cage so magnetic disturbance can't affect it. But the solor flares won't be that intense to begin with. At most power will go for a few days at some locations but nothing world ending or even close.
(A Faradays cage is the same thing used in microwave oven to keep the microwaves from you, a "cage" of conducting metal that keeps any magnetism from exiting If you want to read about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage)

 

[Aidinthel]

*snip*

You should add a complete sentence to that if you don't want a warning for a low-content post.

OT: I do not accept that an ancient civilization knew when the world was going to end, even if they actually though it would. Which they didn't.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I wouldn't care, honestly, I would just chill at home and meditate, with my sword nearby and my sticks(rattan batons) anyone tries to fuck with my shit gets it, otherwise, I have food, and I know how to survive in the wilderness, when society has calmed down a bit, I take my leave of the city, and travel to a remote location in the rockies, live there till stuff starts to come back together, as I'm sure it will shortly, in the meantime I'd live by hunting and fishing, and eating edible non poisonous plants. Probably get my close family together, and some of the friends I know... help them not die... and yeah everything will be back to normal(well a lower tech normal) sooner or later. Otherwise we'd have a community up and running, with me as the leader.

 

[Kahunaburger]

You know how compasses are a thing, because of the Earth being a giant magnet and all? Turns out that magnet does more than make compasses work - it protects us from the worst side-effects of orbiting a nuclear explosion.

 

[Fertro]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the Mayans believed that at the end of the cycle, there would be a celebration, and a new cycle would be made. It would be like Mayan New Year.

 

[McMullen]

And again we see why a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

What is up with that? Why do so many people take a tiny piece of information they learned - which may not even be correct - and then fill in the rest of their "knowledge" of the subject with pure speculation instead of, you know, actually taking 5 fucking minutes to google the information from a reputable source?

For instance, some good questions to ask yourself here may be:

*Can solar flares do everything I suspect they can do?
*How strong are the strongest flares?
*How often do they happen, and has one happened in modern times already?
*Wouldn't someone trained and experienced in this field have already thought of that and done something about it?
*Is there any evidence that the Mayan Calendar is somehow tied to the fate of the world in a way that dozens of other historical calendars were not?
*How many end of the world predictions have there been? How many of those dates have already passed and therefore been shown to be wrong? What does that say about the likelihood of this or any other doomsday prediction being more than just a myth?

Find answers to those questions by researching, rather than speculating, and you will sleep easier at night. It's not hard and it doesn't take very long.

 

[Zen Toombs]

-snip-
All official government records of every person in the world would cease to exist.
Therefore, legally, nobody exists.

This reminds me of something from Shadowrun:

For a period of ten days beginning on 14 February 2057, Lars J. Matthews will cease to possess any legal status. He will be stripped of all evidence of legal existence, including SIN, credsticks, DocWagon contract, bank accounts and so on. To the individual or group who ends Lars J. Matthews' physical existence during those ten days, I leave all of Matthews' assets and 1 million nuyen for a job well done. If Mr. Matthews survives and can prove his identity, his legal status and all possessions will be restored to him. Haven't you heard? Never deal with a dragon, Lars.

 

[Lunar Templar]

hehehehHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

ahh ... more 2012 doomsaying, tell ya what, you keep thinking somethings gonna happen cause they decided to STOP MAKING THE CALENDAR, and I'll, be over here with the sane people

 

[Charli]

It's okay go make a hat out of tinfoil, you'll be fine.

 

[Racecarlock]

Say what you want about how stupid every mayan doomsday theory is, I personally can't wait for the massive "We didn't die" party on the 22nd. That's gonna rock.

 

[WeAreStevo]

Hahahahaha! That's why I own everything on LASERDISC!!!

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA-wait.....

awww

OT: I'm drunk. I also think that the 2012 "Mayan "oh dear gods no!" apocalypse is utter bullshit.

And remember. There are mostly paper back ups for important documents (i.e. birth certificates, social security cards etc.) therefore, people would exist. Facebook however, wouldn't exist. So yea, I'm sure a lot of people would feel as though nobody exists

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

All I am gonna say is I have survived over a dozen END OF THE WORLD scares and each one was absolute horse shit.
A quick list of the ones I can remember, 2000 with all the computers everywhere not working, ebola, killer bees, a few Raptures, supposed volcanos, WW3 from the 11/9 attacks. And these are just the ones I can remember from my own lifetime. Hell we are all meant to drown from global warming within another decade or so anyway.
I gotta say that Ebola and the african killer bees were my favourite ones though.

So if you wanna believe in the 2012 nonsense then you go right ahead. I will be over here with the sane people.

 

[Random Fella]

Oh Noes! Mayans predict future therefore they must be right!
They just chose to ignore the future destruction of their civilization though?
Kind of sick of this 'end of the world' stuff that is rabbled on by idiots.
I even see it on the paper and in the news, it's not even newsworthy, then again in New Zealand nothing they broadcast is.