Will the World End In 2012?

Especially with a new movie opening tomorrow, the hype that the end of the world is getting is growing exponentially. December 21, 2012 is probably the most famous date of modern day America. In the article I read, it explains reasons why the world might end. It has some scientific background to it too. It says that an object from space will enter the solar system and earth's atmosphere and make the north and south poles reverse. Another reason I discovered is from what I saw in a movie. The movie depicts that solar flares from the sun are heating up the earth's core, like a microwave oven. In my opinion I think that the chances of something like this happening are very slim and close to impossible. We can not prevent either of these events from happening. And in actuality, it scares many many people. As I write this post, I see a commercial for the movie I saw, and the effects of the poles turning are very very scary. I am very interested in this article because I am fascinated by what so many people are afraid of. I also think that people are making too big of a deal about it. All in all, the end of the world is very frightening, and has some science behind it too.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/faith/bal-fa-20121113,0,7753682.story

Science Extra Credit

In Science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurred.

Sir William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian physician.

This quote by Sir William Osler can be interpreted many different ways. To me it means that no matter who comes up with an idea, whoever proves it gets the credit. It also means that many notions in science are not correct. Theories are tested with what we can use, but since technology is always improving exponentially, those theories are proved wrong. Yet the person who thought of the theory may not test it. The person who tests it may not get the credit if they are not the person that publishes the report. In all, the person to whom the idea first occurred may not be the person to get the credit. For all we know, some average Joe may have thought of gravity, yet Isaac Newton may have heard about it at the market and tried it out. His whole apple story could be totally made up for all we know. The world widely accepts that Isaac Newton created the laws of gravity, but if someone were to say differently, they would challenge that person. Newton got the credit, even if someone else first thought of the idea.