See: NASA. They have an entire section dedicated the debunking nigh every single one of the more thought out theories.Therumancer said:Let me be blunt about something here:
I'm not personally making any preparations for the end of the world or anything, however the 2012 thing has been out there for a long time. Truthfully it's one of the creepier ones out there with a lot more supporting it than most of these theories (like Y2k). As it's gotten closer you've seen more and more people claiming to have "debunked" it. I've noticed this is a general tendency among people in general whenever something "big" is supposed to be coming. Nobody wants to be "that guy" who reacts on a massive level, and gets laughed at when nothing happens. Heck, in reality that's the biggest problem with emergency situations is that unless someone actually SEES the fire (or at least the smoke) or evidence of a disater or whatever, they are going to think your jerking their chain, trying to scam them somehow, or involved in some kind of a drill. More people die in emergencies through lack of appropriate reaction, even given plenty of time (disbelief) than do in massive stampeding panics. Strange but true, and it's a big part of emergency training, or at least it was when I did it. In this case there is no obvious danger, and nobody wants to be that idiot who goes on on a limb for something that doesn't happen. It's easier to be a victim "OMG I didn't think it was real" after the fact, than the clown who say runs away from a fire only to come back 20 minutes later when he realizes the building isn't burning to find all his buddies laughing about
him while having a beer.
The point here is that I'm 35, the 2012 thing has been around and closely examined for decades of my life. It's only as it's gotten closer that I have seen many serious attempts to debunk it being given time, while at the same time very few of the people who made the previous cases open their mouths, or are given much time.
Speaking entirely for myself, if I was going to believe in one of these things to the point of taking action (which I doubtlessly won't) this would probably be the one. While unrelated events can be connected to anything to give a veneer of signifigance, it's interesting to note that a lot of things that have been being said for decades (longer actually) do seem to be happening. I mean we have massive numbers of natural disasters happening all over the place, heck I was even reading an article about how polar north is apparently shifting (very slowly, but it's happening) and has been messing up insturments not too long ago. All of this at once is a bit on the uncanny side, above and beyond people who want to believe trying to tie anything they can into it. I mean how often do we have polar shifts, and an area roughly the size of Texas (if I remember the measurements right) in Australia getting stuck under 30' of water.
Now for those going "lulz, Theru is as mad as George Lucas" I'll be blunt, I find the situation more or less irrelevent other than as brain candy to ponder. It's not much of an apocolypse if any amount of preparation a disabled guy like me could make is going to allow them to survive, and if it did, and I lived, I need so much medication to operate comfortably that it's unreal. It's not like I'm going to be able to get by as "Mad Max" or something. This basic reality renders the whole thing kind of meaningless.
My advice is that I wouldn't be so quick to mock people, any more than you should mock people who hold to a religion. If nothing happens on 2012 they are going to feel like giant goofuses already without needing more mockery.
Also I'll be blunt, 2012 is a good enough excuse to do something cool. I mean let's say you *DO* make a survival vehicle or something, even if the apocolypse never happens you've still got something pretty cool that you did. Someone screws you on a real estate deal or whatever and you decide to pull a Heemeyer your already set.
Jokes aside, I recommend anyone who is capable of surviving an emergency should as a matter of course have a pack ready to go. Not literally because of zombies, 2012 events, or anything in paticular, but for anything that could happen. Heck, it could just be your neighbor's house on fire, or a weather/flood based evacuation. Having a couple changes of clothes, and some basic supplies ready in a bag that you can just grab and run out the door with is not typically a bad idea. For nerds thinking "what would I need to survive a Zombie Apocolypse" or "what if 2012 causes radical shifts in the climate and I don't die instantly" is a good basis to do your packing, because most of what would help in that situation would help you deal with say... unexpecting flooding. This includes having something that can be used as a weapon handy to bring with you because well, crazy people aren't Zombies, but look at what happened during Katrina in New Orleans... you had people shooting at the rescue copters.
At any rate, I'm HOPING 2012 will be the beginning of a Shadowrun like occurance where I will be physically transformed into a long lived and physically and mentally healthy form, gifted with magical powers. But then again I'm the God-Emperor of all nerds, before whom even Nerd Kings bow to in fits of "WTFness". I'm not banking on something this cool (especially seeing as it's popular fiction, which pretty much excludes it's potential as an occurance) but the thing about hope is you can hope for anything.
As for your other points, I totally have a zombie survival plan, I say 75-90% of people on here do.
