# 2012 overload- **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188 "2009-09-23T02:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/61 "2009-09-28T17:56:09Z")
Will there be Zombies? Gosh, I hope there will be. A good, old-fashion Zombie end of the world. What? No Zombies! Well forget it. Boring! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/62 "2009-09-28T18:06:54Z")
I saw an ad for the Nostradamus program on History. It has new episodes every week. How? What can they come up with that is new and exciting on a weekly basis? I can not wait. I have to learn to speak in quatrains. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/63 "2009-09-28T20:42:22Z")
I like the code ones, because with enough text, any “prediction” can be retroactively found to be on the pages. Alice in Wonderland, The Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook, Harry Potter, Ayn Rand. Arrange them right and crunch it with a supercomputer and you’ll find what you want to see. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/64 "2009-09-28T20:55:15Z")
Especially if you read it backwards, forward, skipping letters and diagonally. I have to say that, outside of homeopathy, I find the whole code thingy one of the goofier bits of psudo-scientific clap trap out there. Of course with dowsing and the Holy Grail being in the US, that isn’t saying much for the rest of these kinds of things. The 2012 thing almost seems sane compared to some of this other stuff. -XT ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/65 "2009-09-29T19:33:27Z")
That is because it is only 2009. Wait patiently, it will get much worse. My grandmother died at the age of 96. She told me there were end of the world nuts making noise in 1900 too. Then 2000 was noisy. this will be much bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/66 "2009-09-30T00:35:23Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > The Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21, 2012. They knew the world was goning to end then. Or so the nutbags think. Actually, it’s a complete misinterpretation to say that the Mayan calendar “ends” on any date. On Dec. 21 (or so), 2012, the long count will hit 13.0.0.0.0. The day after that, it will read 13.0.0.0.1, etc. Some people _speculate_ that the Mayans intended the fifth order to only go up to 13, but there’s really not a lot of evidence that it shouldn’t happily go on up to 19, like all (save the second order, which rolls over at 17) of the others. And then after 19.19.19.17.19 the count will just add another order and roll to 1.0.0.0.0.0. Really, it never ends at all. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/67 "2009-09-30T00:43:34Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > Actually, it’s a complete misinterpretation to say that the Mayan calendar “ends” on any date. On Dec. 21 (or so), 2012, the long count will hit 13.0.0.0.0. The day after that, it will read 13.0.0.0.1, etc. Some people _speculate_ that the Mayans intended the fifth order to only go up to 13, but there’s really not a lot of evidence that it shouldn’t happily go on up to 19, like all (save the second order, which rolls over at 17) of the others. And then after 19.19.19.17.19 the count will just add another order and roll to 1.0.0.0.0.0. Really, it never ends at all. What does that have to do with anything.? This is just an excuse for the nuts to go wild. If they are able to convince themselves the world will end DEC. 2012, do you think you can educate them out of it. This is religious fervor. You won’t need a TV. Entertainment will be everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/68 "2009-09-30T01:08:18Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A significant percentage of American fundamentalist christians want exactly that. The sooner the world ends, the sooner Judgement Day comes, and they can join their loved ones with Jay-sus in Eternal Peace. For some reason I read that as Va JayJay-sus. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/69 "2009-10-01T01:34:43Z")
The Nostradamus Effect is doing a story on Hitler and the occult. How it ties into Nostradamus i do not know. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/70 "2009-10-01T01:41:10Z")
Supposedly some of the quatrains dealing with ‘Hister’ were about Hitler…so, maybe it’s that? Most of Mike’s predictions were so obscure and convoluted that you can make them say whatever it is you want them to say. And they were, IIRC, written in old French too boot, so there is always translation errors too. As far as I know, Mikey didn’t make any specific predictions about 2012, though I was watching something about a lost book (supposedly hand drawn by his son) that had some obscure drawings in it that supposedly tied it into the supposed end of the world in 2012. To me they looked like stuff I used to doodle on my notebook when I was trying not to hear the teacher droning on in English class… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/71 "2009-10-01T01:41:16Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > What does that have to do with anything.? This is just an excuse for the nuts to go wild. If they are able to convince themselves the world will end DEC. 2012, do you think you can educate them out of it. This is religious fervor. You won’t need a TV. Entertainment will be everywhere. I know this is the pit, but a little reality doesn’t hurt, does it? I think there’s a big difference between 1) “The Mayan calendar ends in 2012, the Mayans predicted the end of the world, and the nutcases believe that”, and 2) “The Mayan calendar just rolls over to a new fifth order in 2012, the Mayans never said anything about the end of the world, and the nutcases are basing their end of the world belief on a complete misinterpretation.” But maybe that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/72 "2009-10-01T01:44:35Z")
I think the number and density of the nutcases is being vastly exaggerated as well. Most people don’t take this stuff all that seriously…it’s just entertainment on History Channel. Heck, I love these kinds of shows…some of them are more funny than some of the comedies that are out! 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/73 "2009-10-01T03:02:08Z")
You guys better be careful. You might piss off bigfoot. The point about the Incan calendar is that nothing will stop them. They have got it meaning what they want to now. They are not going to allow some other data get in the way. They have fine tuned Nostradamus’s stuff to prove the world will end in 2012. How can you argue with that? It must be right. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/74 "2009-10-01T03:14:04Z")
I’ve got a Non Sequitur page-a-day desk calendar sitting right here on my desk. Guess when it runs out? December 31st of THIS year! Are you scared now? You should be. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/75 "2009-10-02T01:55:08Z")
Personally, I find myself highly amused that there are not one, but \*\*two \*\*movies titled _2012_ coming out this year, and a third “in development” for 2011. The first (American) one says it’s about the end of the world and the struggle of the survivors.\* How does the end of the world even HAVE survivors? \*No info on the plot of the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/76 "2009-10-02T02:32:37Z")
> [@](#): > > How does the end of the world even HAVE survivors? Do you not read enough science fiction? There are always survivors. Sometimes they look for food and try not to die. Sometimes they look for people to have sex with. Just depends on the book. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/77 "2009-10-02T02:56:06Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I like the code ones, because with enough text, any “prediction” can be retroactively found to be on the pages. Alice in Wonderland, The Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook, Harry Potter, Ayn Rand. Arrange them right and crunch it with a supercomputer and you’ll find what you want to see. He wrote almost 1000 quatrains, which can be interpreted as anything from 10 to 1000 separate prophecies. And there are multiple interpretations of each possible division. There are DECADES of possible weekly episodes, even without getting into the context in which he was writing these, or any biographical information about the man himself or his patrons, or critiquing his writing itself… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/78 "2009-10-02T03:02:57Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Stuff completely unrelated to what I quoted… Weird…that’s not the post I meant to quote… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/79 "2009-10-02T05:30:32Z")
There was an ad for a new movie on TV. The name …2012. It will show the world being destroyed and people running. Where are they going to go? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-overload/511188/80 "2009-10-02T05:52:35Z")
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