2012

Where have I been that I have never heard of the 2012 prophecy?  I picked up a book from the library titled The Book of Destiny because I have always been fascinated by the Mayans.  The author spent a good amount of time explaining that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012.  Some people speculate that is when the world will come to an end.  Apparently, the earth, sun, and moon will be aligned with the Milky Way and the gravitational pull on the earth will be so strong that it will make the poles reverse and cause tsunamis, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, etc. 

The Book of Destiny explains that the Mayans do not believe the world will come to an end on that date, but  that we have to begin looking at the world in a new light so we can achieve a new consciousness.  Every human civilization has made it through four cycles of the Mayan calendar, but no one has made it to the fifth cycle. 

I did some research and it sounds like Mel Gibson is on board with the end of the world theory.  That alone disqualifies the whole thing for me as a serious scientific prediction.  The whole thing sounds rather hokey.  Seriously, where have I been that I have never heard of this?  I need to get out more...