THE END OF THE WORLD

Why is it humans seem obsessed with the end of the world? We make movies about it. Write books about it. Worry ourselves to death that an ancient Mayan calendar holds the key to our mortality. That once their calendar comes to an end, the rest of the world will too.

What amazes me is that thousands buy into the implications of a calendar created by people who didn't even know the planet was round. Although the Mayans had advanced language and mathematics, there is no indication they knew anything else about the world except for their immediate environment. Why is it we can put a lander on Mars but can't convince people to pay attention to science and ignore ancient prophecies?

Ever since we fell out of the trees, mankind has come up with imaginary explanations for phenomena we don't understand. Science is a relatively new way of explaining these phenomena when you consider the length of the human timeline. If we believe the Bible is the word of God and that everything mentioned in the last chapter of Revelations is going to come true, then it's easy to accept prophecies.

Predicting the end of the world has been part of Western culture for centuries.  For some reason, we’re captivated by the thought of the world coming to an end, just as own lives do. Prophecy has also been used to lure people to religion. If I can convince you that I've seen the end times and can predict when the world will end, you're more likely to believe in everything else I have to say.

The world won't end until we're sucked into the sun. By that time, humans may be living someplace else. On another world that supports life. Hopefully, we'll have learned by then, that a world comes to an end when science says so, not when some witch doctor waving a calendar predicts it will.