Cover Image: February 2013 Scientific American Magazine See Inside

Still Crazy after All These Fears [Preview]

The world will end, but not for a long, long time















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classroom, teacher in front classroom, Mayan Apocalypse, end of the world, students, chalkboard

Image: Matt Collins

Congratulations, you survived the Mayan apocalypse. I knew you could do it.

I had complete confidence that I would live past the alleged planetary expiration date of December 21, 2012, provided I didn't get hit by a bus or slip in the bathtub. But those modes of demise are, of course, far less tantalizing than some end-of-the world fantasy dreamed up by amateur archaeologists and sucked down by people who perhaps never worry that they have undiagnosed hypertension or that the highway bridge they cross daily hasn't been properly maintained.


This article was originally published with the title Still Crazy After All These Fears.



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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Steve Mirsky has been writing the Anti Gravity column since a typical tectonic plate was about 33 inches from its current location. He also hosts the Scientific American podcast Science Talk.


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