We're all fucked in 2012.

[Faris]

Well it isnt that general, but its also not that specific too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gGNa6IH_o
just an example, its a discovery though.

About the end of the world, the Quran mentions several occurances that will indicate "Judgment Day" the main one is:

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

[Khamsin]

Well it isnt that general, but its also not that specific too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gGNa6IH_o
just an example, its a discovery though.

About the end of the world, the Quran mentions several occurances that will indicate "Judgment Day" the main one is:

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

Which means in some part of the world, the sun would reverse direction in the sky mid-day. So if you see that, you're fucked, too.

Chances are, though, if we saw that, it'd only be a mirage caused by a temperature inversion at sunset so you still see the sun while its below the horizon. That might make it look like its coming back up just after it set. But I'm sure that's not exactly what they meant.

[Mulligan]

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

If the sun rose in the west it would mean the rotation of the earth stoped and then reversed which would cause so many cataclysmic natural disasters i doubt there would be alot of people to see it rise, but that does not mean that the world will end, just humanity as we know it. Unless youre one of the geniuses that still think everything rotates around the earth http://www.fixedearth.com/

Also, i predict that Firas will post in this thread again!

[Septimus]

That means that the world has already ended, were a bunch of ghosts, and don't even know it yet. What a twist!

Mathematicians have recently worked out that with our double-the-power-half-the-size rule regarding technology, our recent advancements, and taking a ton of other things into account that there's a relatively high (20%) chance that we're all actually living inside a Matrix-esque pseudo-world, computer generated, almost a game, played by a species with a higher intelligence than ourselves, or a futuristic manifestation. Sure, it sounds farfetched, but if you look at how far games (technology) has advanced and use the current model for equating when it'd be possible to mimic a human brain, host a human brain, and eventually control one, the absurdity starts to blur into chance... 20% chance, as it was shown.

I'll find the link, was a really interesting read.

So that means that we are actually video game ghosts.

What a twist!

[Kyreth]

Sting was right. We really are spirits in the material world.

That being said, the conclusion in the article that you should live as interesting a life as possible doesn't make me feel bad.

[Kaelan]

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

Doesn't that always happen naturally every x years anyway because of the way the earth is tilted while it's rotating around its axis and around the sun? I can't remember where I heard that from, but I'm pretty sure I heard something about that a while ago.

[Mulligan]

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

Doesn't that always happen naturally every x years anyway because of the way the earth is tilted while it's rotating around its axis and around the sun? I can't remember where I heard that from, but I'm pretty sure I heard something about that a while ago.

You heard wrong. The only way currently to see the sun rise from the west barring a reversal in the rotation of the planet is to be moving faster west than the earths speed of rotation, so the sun would seem to rise from the west, even though youre only really catching up to it.

[Charla]

when the sun rises from West rather than from the East. So if you see that, know that we're fucked.

Now, personally I'd say the most likely way to see a western sunrise would be if a sufficiently powerful detonation of something or other happened just under the horizon. Which would also be at least a pretty reliable indicator of an extinction level event.

[Odon]

You have taught me well Jedi Master Septimus.

You have much to learn in the ways of cynicism my grasshopper.

Eh. I tend not to believe stuff like this, but with what's going on in Iran...

well, the timeline fits.

Ha ha! Self-fulfilling prophesy.

The mayans need to work on their math.

The end date for the Mayan age is based on the alignment of the winter solstice with the galactic equator. This event actually occurred at the winter solstice of 1999, one season before the spring equinox occurred 90° from the galactic equator, a related event. This means that 5000 years ago the Mayans (actually the Toltecs then) miscalculated the alignment of the galactic equator with the winter solstice by 10 to 20 years

That means that the world has already ended, were a bunch of ghosts, and don't even know it yet. What a twist!

You're going to give M. Night Shyamalan a run for his money Sept. Just add some BRAAAAAAAAAAAA and GROOOAAAAAAAAAW and you've got a good flick.

[Kaelan]

Hmm yeah I think I mixed a couple of things up. Regardless, I looked it up, this is what I was referring to(or trying to remember):

Q: Where and when on Earth can the Sun rise in the west?

A: Near one of the poles in spring, since the earth's motion round the sun is then more significant than its rotation.

Let T be the angle of tilt of the earth's axis (about 0.4 radians), and let R be its radius (about 6.4e6 m). Suppose for the moment that the earth isn't rotating on its axis, and consider a small region around one of the poles. As the earth moves round the sun then in spring the night-day terminator will move across this region with speed 2 pi R sin T / year, and if we stand in the appropriate part of the region we will call the direction in which the sun appears to be rising west.

Now suppose the earth is rotating on its axis. Then we will be carried from west to east, ie in the same direction as the terminator. However, suppose we are so close to the pole that we are moving slower than the terminator - then the terminator will pass us in the same direction as before, and we will still see the sun rise (slowly) in the west. If our latitude is pi/2 - L then our speed due to the rotation is 2 pi R sin L / day. Thus - assuming that L is small relative to T so that the terminator's speed is constant throughout the region - we must have
2 pi R sin L / day < 2 pi R sin T / year, ie sin L < sin T day/year.
Our distance from the pole is RL. With the above values of T and R we can therefore be up to 6.9 km from the pole.

[guartz]

Did the Mayans actually predict the end of the world, or does their calendar just end in 2012 and a bunch of people seem to think it means the world will end.

No, they didn't predict anything. The calendar is set for era. According to their calendar, the present era will end in 2012.

[Khamsin]

Did the Mayans actually predict the end of the world, or does their calendar just end in 2012 and a bunch of people seem to think it means the world will end.

No, they didn't predict anything. The calendar is set for era. According to their calendar, the present era will end in 2012.

That's their mistake, they set it for 'era'. Well, someone should set it for 'epoch' and we won't have to worry about it for a while longer.