Is the world going to end in 2012?

If you're worried that the world is going to end in 2012, relax! Through the ages there have been many predictions about when the world is going to end - and all have proved to be wrong (so far).

The prediction that the end of the world will occur on December 21, 2012, comes from two particular ideas. First, some people claim that a distant planet called Nibiru is on course to collide with Earth in 2012. Second, the calendar of the Mayans, an ancient civilization, ends on December 21, 2012. To some, this is evidence that the end is near. Of course, the film 2012 also helped to put this ''end of the world'' idea into people's mind.

The good news is not only is Nibiru not heading towards Earth, there is no planet called Nibiru - it's made up. And the Mayan calendar will just start again, just as our calendar starts again on January 1 each year.

Armageddon is the term that describes the end of the world. And there has never been a shortage of people trying to predict when this will occur. Most of these predictions are based on interpretations of religious writings, though some are based purely on numbers. The most famous recent prediction revolved around the year 2000 because it marked the start of a new millennium (a period of 1000 years). Computers were going to crash, riots would take place, food and water would run out and everyone would starve. Of course, nothing like that occurred.

One prediction of impending doom related specifically to Australia. A spokesman from one religious group, Jehovah's Witnesses, declared that Adelaide would be destroyed by a tsunami on January 20, 1976. Several people sold their homes and moved out of the city, while others sold their businesses. South Australia's then premier, Don Dunstan, declared that such a prediction was nonsense and to prove it he stood on the beach, at the exact time the tsunami was supposed to hit. He did so along with a huge contingent of media, and waited … and waited … and waited. Of course nothing happened - as with all such predictions.

People think that the manner in which the Earth will be destroyed differs from prediction to prediction. It may be a tsunami, a meteorite, a collision with another planet, or even an alien invasion. Some think it will end when the sun runs out or the earth will just freeze over. Some have the thinking that n a couple of thousand years when all the resources run out and then the world will end.

Well I say don't get too concerned. Watch the movie “2012” in 2013 and laugh over it. You can sleep soundly each night in the knowledge that Armageddon predictions have been wrong many times in the past, and will continue to be long into the future - a very long time into the future.

Ayesha Nazir

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