I think the most realistic scenario would be a giant asteroid smashing into earth that would cause another extinction of most species. As did with the dinosaurs.

But if that were to happen, we could always send Bruce Willis up in a ship to plant a bomb on the asteroid and be the hero he always is. :)

You guys. you do know that the whole theory comes from 2 stones?. one standing up with a hole in it and one on the ground with marks in it. the sun shines through the hole, and the sunlight then marks the current date which is written on the second stone. the calender stops at 21 12 2012. this could be because there simply wasn't enough space left. Or a piece broke off. Maybe they were too lazy too fill in the rest. This could be a number of things, no one of them indicates that it will be the end of the world..... Or the end of anything at all.

Yeah, Discovery Channel is usefull.

Indeed... The Mayan calender was just a calender that happened to end in 2012... So stupid to think that it is actually going to end then... How the hell would the Mayan's know that?

This is my favorite cartoon for this whole topic:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fQvJ6mZp4Xg/Tvlsx_TuPQI/AAAAAAAAAic/gKu0cF_3I_A/s400/Mayan-Calendar-252x300.jpg

Quote from Raptor

What bothers me is that the people who posted before you didn't seem to notice the stupidity.

What bothers me is that you don't know what "Ignore" means.

Also... Everyone concerned about the "world ending in 2012" thing. Please read this:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/s320x320/64006_3482257414317_1207785185_3916521_375674532_n.jpg

I'm going to write a survival guide for the 2014 apocalypse. As far as I know there isn't one predicted for then yet, so I should be able to corner the market.

Good luck, Zed, but I'll not read it.

Quote from Jombo

Nobody is concerned about the world ending in 2012.
Nobody.

Responding to the original question, "Will the world really end[?]", yes it will. If you're a believer that nothing lasts forever, then the world, and all of humanity, will end someday. I don't think any world-ending events will happen in our lifetime though, so there's nothing to worry about.

dude you don't know for sure nobody does. Theere's scientific evidence to prove you wrong so look it up before making that claim. i know that ancient Mayans predicated it, how could they know about the end of the world? But they did, so it's a possiblilty; I'm not saying I think its going to happen but you never know. Don't be so sure is all im saying ;)

Could you post some of this scientific evidence? Its a lot more useful than what you said.

Also, I could do the exact same thing. I'm going to predict that in October 12th, 2015, a highly radioactive solar flare will ignite the oil thats inside the earth and cause us all to die.
Since I predicted it, it doesnt make it more likely that it's going to happen.

dude just do some research geez, all you have to do is type it in google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon

your prediction has no evidence to support it, mine does.

Quote from Fusion

What bothers me is that you don't know what "Ignore" means.

What impresses me is that you were actually able to ignore it and come up with a serious response.

All you have to do is type it in google. As the one bringing a point forward, its more your job to do that than mine.

Also, in your own link:

Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012. Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar "ends" in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture

Astronomers and other scientists have rejected the proposals as pseudoscience, stating that they conflict with simple astronomical observations

Also, there's plenty of evidence that's already been posted in this thread that is logically sound, and it "disproves" the theory that 2012 will end the world.:)

lol whatever thats just your opinion dude, i dont know why your attacking me. There's plenty of other scientists who believe the world will end in 2012 so they know more knowledge about it then you obviosuly. Plus millions of people around the world believe it's gonna happen and they even made a movie about it so...

stop using ad mominems and talk about the issue. Just because you don't have a response doesn't mean you can give me an infraction.

Ah, you saw my post. No point in deleting it and PMing you instead.
I'm pretty sure you're purposely being that silly, though. "Debating" that badly is pretty rare to see otherwise, and Im sure you're trolling. I might be wrong, but I like to try and have a high standard of the average person's intelligence.