Since you're reading this, you're alive. As you are alive, you noticed that the world didn't end on December 21, 2012. A while ago I put together a column on the absurdity of these apocalypse theories, and now I get to gloat a bit. All of the Mayan prophecy nonsense didn't come to pass, because the Mayans didn't make a prophecy and even if they did the calender created by a culture thousands of years ago really has nothing to do with our reality today.
So why did this nonsense get traction? Well, for one, it was a way to make money. The people who pushed it hardest had books to sell about what they believed was going to happen. Some people decided to make a big budget film about the world exploding, and capitalized on the goofy theory as a marketing angle. Some decided to sell products to people who somehow believed they would survive the world ending if they just had enough canned goods. It doesn't matter if it was utter nonsense, it was still an opportunity to separate a fool from their money.
The more difficult question is why the fools themselves decided to believe in the ridiculous notions put forward about the 21st of the month. It's not like this was the only time that we had an apocalypse on our hands, end of the world prophecies pop up frequently in human history, with charlatans convincing others that all will end soon and they must prepare. I can remember at least four in my lifetime, and there have been various different predictions that have received various amounts of traction over the years. This latest threat was no different from the Great Disappointment in 1844, when the Millerites predicted that Jesus Christ would come back to earth and cleanse it with fire. People wanted to believe it was the end, even if it wasn't.
Why do people want to set the world on fire, so to speak? While I can't speak for the people of 1844, in 2012 it is actually a relatively stressful time to be alive. There are economic problems in many nations, especially in Europe and the United States, there are wars in the Middle East, and major environmental issues that are affecting the entire world. Right now, there are no clear solutions to any of the major problems faced by different people in the world, and long term questions about what exactly will happen have no clear answer.
But the end of the world, strangely, is a way to relieve that stress. You don't have to think about solving the world's problems if it's all going to disappear anyway. Long-term planning is difficult, and it's hard to gauge how we are going to deal with the various problems the world is currently facing. Eliminate the possibility of the future, and while it may continue to be stressful, it's also oddly liberating. People can then live like there is no tomorrow, and have the stress-free life that comes with pretending there are no consequences to your actions.
Well, since the world is still around, we don't have an easy way out. We've still got problems, we still need to plan for the future, and we've still got a big spinning marble that we have to keep in decent shape for the next generation down the line. For most of us, this has never changed, but for the people who thought it was all going to end, now they've lost their easy way out. Expect a new apocalypse prophecy within the decade.
