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end of the world scenarios
End of the world scenarios are the scenarios which could destroy humankind as a whole, or even cause the end of planet Earth. The concept is expressed in various phrases such as "End of the World", "Doomsday", and others.
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Historical futurist scenarios
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who was involved in alchemy and many other things in addition to science and mathematics, studied old texts and surmised that the end of the world would happen no earlier than 2060, although he was reluctant to put an exact date on it.[1]
Many believe that the Maya civilization's Long Count calendar ends abruptly on December 21 2012. This misconception is due to the Maya practice of using only five places in Long Count Calendar inscriptions. On some monuments the Maya calculated dates far into the past and future but there is no end of the world date. There will be a Piktun ending (a cycle of 13 144,000 day Bak'tuns) on December 21st, 2012. A Piktun marks the end of a 1,872,000 day or approximately 5125 year period and is a significant event in the Maya calendar.
Notes
- ↑ "Isaac Newton, the Apocalypse and 2060 A.D.", by Stephen D. Snobelen, University of King’s College, Halifax
References
- Corey S. Powell (2000). "Twenty ways the world could end suddenly", Discover Magazine
- Martin Rees (2004). OUR FINAL HOUR: A Scientist's warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century — On Earth and Beyond. ISBN 0-465-06863-4
- Jean-Francois Rischard (2003). High Noon 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them. ISBN 0-465-07010-8
- Edward O. Wilson (2003). The Future of Life. ISBN 0-679-76811-4
Further reading
- Derrick Jensen (2006) Endgame. ISBN 1-58322-730-X
- Jared Diamond (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. ISBN 0-670-03337-5
- John Leslie (1996). The End of the World. ISBN 0-415-14043-9
External links
- Last Days On Earth (TV documentary) ABC News 2-hour Special Edition of 20/20 on 7 real end-of-the-world scenarios (Wed. Aug 30 2006)
- "What a way to go" from The Guardian. Ten scientists name the biggest danger to Earth and assesses the chances of it happening. April 14, 2005.
- "Confronting the New Misanthropy", by Frank Furedi in Spiked, April 18 2006
- Ted.com (video) - Stephen Petranek: 10 ways the world could end
- Armageddon Online, A collection of doomsday scenarios & Daily News
- Exit Mundi, a collection of end-world scenarios.
