One in 5 Americans believes world is coming to an end; many point to 2012 prophesies

[Islander]

A bit of sanity from Mike Adams

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Friday, May 04, 2012

(NaturalNews) Even I was surprised at the results of a recent Ipsos Global Public Affairs poll of over 16,000 people around the world. The poll, underwritten by Reuters, sought to determine the percentage of people who believe the world is coming to an end in their own lifetime. Astonishingly, the two countries with the highest percentage of people who believe in such a thing were Turkey and the USA.

The nations with the lowest number of people believing the world is coming to an end (in their lifetimes) include Belgium and Great Britain.

Read more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035767_apocalypse_2012_end_of_the_world.html

[Islander]

‎"...the two countries with the highest percentage of people who believe in such a thing were Turkey and the USA." They are also the two countries with the highest percentage of evolution deniers.

[Reesacat]

‎"...the two countries with the highest percentage of people who believe in such a thing were Turkey and the USA." They are also the two countries with the highest percentage of evolution deniers. The triumph of gullibility.
I think your conclusion is in error.

In my experience, people who think evolution is a false theory have very strong religious beliefs and many of them also believe in Armageddon, The Rapture, etc. leading to the end of the world as we know it.

I personally believe evolution is a theory; and don't consider myself stupid or gullible. My father has his PhD in geology, I was classically trained in the biological sciences, and was taught evolution as fact. I have since seen and read some very interesting items by scientists who are questioning evolution, just as questioning Newtonian physics has led to the science of Quantum physics. Having seen almost every scientific presentation I was taught be overturned or modified I am reserving judgement on evolution as solid fact.

[Islander]

I respect your viewpoint, Reesacat. But in scientific terminology, "theory" is equivalent to "fact." It would not be inaccurate to say the "theory" of gravity. A hypothesis graduates to "theory" status when it cannot be shown to be falsifiable, which is how evolution achieved its position. Why, even the Catholic Church is comfortable with it.

I understand that some believers interpret the Bible literally, but that's a discussion for another website.

[Reesacat]

Theory is not equivalent to fact.
From http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm :

Theory

A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore, theories can be disproven. Basically, if evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, then the hypothesis can become accepted as a good explanation of a phenomenon. One definition of a theory is to say it's an accepted hypothesis.

Example: It is known that on June 30, 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, there was an explosion equivalent to the detonation of about 15 million tons of TNT. Many hypotheses have been proposed for what caused the explosion. It is theorized that the explosion was caused by a natural extraterrestrial phenomenon, and was not caused by man. Is this theory a fact? No. The event is a recorded fact. Is this this theory generally accepted to be true, based on evidence to-date? Yes. Can this theory be shown to be false and be discarded? Yes.

[mellowsong]

@Islander: I've been sitting on my fingers and thinking about your responses but feel I have to say something. First of all, I support everything Reesacat said. I think there are too many unanswered questions to move evolution from theory to "fact". In science, fact is something that can be observed and repeated with the same results over and over. Theories, while presumed to be true, are as yet, unproven. I do not consider myself gullible by any means. I believe I am rather intelligent and have a very strong background in science and biology. Taking my spiritual beliefs out of the equation, I still find too many loopholes in the theory of evolution to accept it as fact.

[Reesacat]

It would not be inaccurate to say the "theory" of gravity.

Theory of gravity is an inaccurate term.
Actually it is the Law of Gravity and that is the term used in science texts.

From http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm

Law

A law generalizes a body of observations. At the time it is made, no exceptions have been found to a law. Scientific laws explain things, but they do not describe them. One way to tell a law and a theory apart is to ask if the description gives you a means to explain 'why'.

Example: Consider Newton's Law of Gravity. Newton could use this law to predict the behavior of a dropped object, but he couldn't explain why it happened.

[bmc65]

Wow this is posted on FB as well, and I was going to ad my FB 2 cents, but wanted to see where other HH'rs took this first. .... Such a different conversation. for me this article brings up all these thoughts about needing to move somewhere that will hopefully have the most stable weather possible and have good crop growing conditions. - How to finance this -How to transition. What an interesting line it's gone down.
Evolution. What is it exactly anyway (like is it more complex than we generally think of it)? Did we ever find that missing link? If not evolution then what exactly?

[Islander]

Science can be seen as a belief system in much the same way that religion can. Intelligence, I've learned from observation, has little to do with belief. My personal belief, as you've seen, is that evolution has been proven. Others believe differently. I'll modify my first comment out of respect for differing beliefs. Beyond that, I prefer not to debate this issue with those I think of as friends and whose friendship and trust I value. It's possible to have wildly different beliefs and yet preserve a steadfast friendship; my best friend of 30+ years is a devout Christian who believes in the literal word of the Bible, and we simply agree to disagree and not to discuss the matter in anything but the most abstract terms. Religion, politics, and the whole matter of belief are topics better reserved for some other time and place. I apologize if my views have offended anyone, but some of you have always known my position.

[Reesacat]

Thank you for modifying the post. Islander and I agree to disagree all the time:)

[bmc65]

Getting to Mike Adam's article, there are 3 ways I can think of that would end of the world in 2012 (for real): One is the eruption of a mega volcano like the Yellowstone caldera. Unless I'm imagining things, the pacific ring of fire is more active than usual, and I wonder if a massive eruption is building somewhere. A mega volcano eruption would indeed be a life altering, extinction level event. Two would be a nuclear world war. If enough countries fired off enough war heads, we could indeed torch ourselves, and more countries are developing nuclear weapons, and they do not like us. Third (least likely) the sun could do a super nova thing. It's not due probably for several billion yrs, but hey, I guess the possibility is always there. I'd ad an asteroid collision, but we have the technology to see that coming and as far as I know, nothing is headed our way.
Dag I'm cheerful::

[Reesacat]

Bmc65; remember the wisdom of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Do the best you can to plan for emergencies, then relax and enjoy your life.
There isn't much we can do about a volcano or asteroid; nuclear war or problems with nuclear reactors are a very real threat and have been for decades.

[bmc65]

No worries Reesacat, I just ponder this stuff, because it is possible if not likely. A great many science fiction writers come up with their topics by pondering the what if of stuff like this.

[Islander]

I see three separate directions we humans are taking to destroy the planet. It may not be TEOFTAWKI, but it's inevitable in my grandchildren's time if not my children's.
FRACKING is creating a barren polluted landscape with millions of gallons of formerly potable water permanently contaminated. Add to that, that the U.S. is profligate in its wasted water which, like fossil fuel, is a limited resource.
GMOs and the pesticides they require are slowly but certainly poisoning, deforming and eventually destroying life on the planet. When the bees go, so do we.
CLIMATE CHANGE is past the tipping point; we need to be focusing on preparation, but while the earth burns, we fiddle, playing politics with denial.

I harp on these three themes constantly on FB, hoping to educate and inform. Though I make these posts PUBLIC, I doubt they make a difference. But I have to try.

[Reesacat]

@bmc65 — I understand. I think about things also (down heah in the South we say "I'm studying on it.").
I do get overwhelmed and sometimes need to take a break from the news just for my mental health.

[Islander]

Reesacat, as y'all know, I have no TV. I rarely listen to radio news any more, it's either irrelevant, distracting, or depressing. I rely on the 'Net and my one newsweekly, The Week, to bring me actual, unbiased, balanced news from around the world. If I paid attention, I'd be truly mental!

[bmc65]

I try to stay away from the non-news as well expect to catch the weather. That insipid crap inter mixed with the coverage of street crimes will continue keep many numb while things are falling apart all around them. Like you, Islander, I use FB a great deal, but most of the folks who read my shares are already informed. Sometimes I fantasize about renting access TV time and starting my own real-news station. In my fantasy show I'd talk about health, the environment, and point out the deceit on other stations. I'd air commercials with the same purposes of pointing out the lies. Maybe it would catch folks who otherwise would never get it.

[Jane Chitty]

I always get the feeling (from this side of the world) that the media and the US government (in particular) like to keep people in a permanent state of fear and ironically, some of the health sites such as NaturalNews etc. are now doing the same but from a different angle. Obviously, one has to be concerned and do what ever one can to spread information but as Reesacat says, we have to try and enjoy life a bit too. I am glad that Islander is soon going to be so busy with her chicks, piglets and veggie garden that she can also do what she enjoys!

[Islander]

@Jane: that's exactly right — not just fear but distraction, so that in focusing on the trivial and whipping us into a frenzy about it (e.g. the white-on-black homicide in Florida) we can ignore the truly significant issues, e.g. unemployment, health care, environmental issues, the EU in crisis, etc.)

@bmc: I know my FB friends already think as I do, or at least the closer friends do. That's why all my environmental/climate/health/GMO shares are PUBLIC. I want to reach as wide an audience as I can, not just sing with the choir.

[bmc65]

Well there's my computer skill for you (or lack of). I honestly don't know if my shares are public or just for friends, never bothered to look.
I think all of us step away from this stuff when we need to. I just like to think, talk and post about it now and again. Maybe I can introduce the "red pill" to someone who hasn't woken up yet. There are people out there who don't look beyond who the Jersey Shore personalities are currently dating.

[highlander]

In addition to Islander's list there's the Autism epidemic (up to 1 in 88 now). Can our species survive if every person has Autism? I think not.

[Islander]

Good point. What's more, who will be left to care for those who cannot care for themselves? Don't look to our health care system!

[Pattypans]

There are people out there who don't look beyond who the Jersey Shore personalities are currently dating.

Jersey Shore? Don't worry; you don't need to bother to answer. I don't care.

[highlander]

Good point. What's more, who will be left to care for those who cannot care for themselves? Don't look to our health care system!

Already our health care system (cough) doesn't have the capacity to care for everyone who needs care and many people can't afford to go to the doctor or hospital. The only solution is to prevent most of the illnesses people have (although it would probably help tremendously to use the money that goes to war on health care but that's just dreaming.)

[Aaltrude]

This one is probably too out there for a thread of its own therefore I'll bury it in here where it is not so obvious. Some truths, some questionable statements and referenced to Natural News but food for thought.
http://www.freedominfonetwork.org/profiles/blogs/14-signs-that-the-collapse-of-our-modern-world-has-already-begun

[Reesacat]

Ahem.....there is quite a bit of fear-mongering on both sides of the political aisle here in the US as we come to another Presidential Election. Do take everything you read with that in mind. Yes we have problems..... but I also remember the last election where Mike Adams whipped his readers into a frenzy and some actually left the US.
I just wanted to post this as we evaluate serious problems that do exist like the crisis in Japan, etc.

[Aaltrude]

Agreed Reesacat.

[Islander]

This one is probably too out there for a thread of its own therefore I'll bury it in here where it is not so obvious. Some truths, some questionable statements and referenced to Natural News but food for thought.
http://www.freedominfonetwork.org/profiles/blogs/14-signs-that-the-collapse-of-our-modern-world-has-already-begun
Aaltrude, solid enough that I'm stealing it to post on its own. It'll get lost here.