The cost of the end of the world

2012 is by no means the most ridiculous end of the world prediction, though it's unique in that it has its own exotic appeal.  This one is not based on Abrahamic religions, which have built into them the basis for Apocalyptic fan-fic.  It's from deep in the jungle, where astronomers battled with the forest canopy to gaze at the night sky, and mathematicians created knot-based counting systems complex calendars.

It's the ending of their calendar that has caused all of this end of the world speculation.  And baseless speculation is what can hurt people.

This article touches on the continuing saga of people predicting the coming of Christ over the years, and how those predictions affected the decisions of many people, many to their ruin.  Harold Camping ruined the lives of many of his followers after his failed prediction of the Rapture and the Apocalypse.  It wasn't even his first failed prediction!

Other doom and gloom predictions have caused people to do horrible things to themselves, like suicide from the misguided belief the the Large Hadron Collider would end the world.  That was in no small part due to the irresponsibility of the non-skeptical news media hyping the event and inflaming the irrational fears of a non-skeptical audience.

So, are end of the world predictions something that should be ignored?  Absolutely not.  They should be questioned, investigated, and when necessary, mocked.  Mockery, I believe, is the best antidote to silly ideas.  Silly ideas are only dangerous if taken seriously, and it's hard to take something seriously when it's being mocked and satirized.