2012 - Horrible Truth or Pseudoscience?
In spirit
of the supposed upcoming “doomsday”, I decided to watch 2012, an apocalyptic
movie that takes place during the predicted events of 2012. This movie was an action/sci-fi film, and the
plot was based on a lot of science. A
lot of the facts seemed quite believable, and some were explained so fast that
the average viewer would not have had time to understand and reflect on what
was being said. The movie begins with a
geologist meeting with an astrophysicist to discuss the issue of a large solar
flare sending neutrinos to Earth, and causing its core’s temperature to rise
significantly. It is indicated that this
increase in temperature would have a significant effect on the planet. The film then cuts to the building of large
ships in a mountainous area of China, and the hiding of valuable cultural
pieces, such as painting and sculptures, deep in the Alps. Then, we are introduced to the main
characters: a science fiction writer and
his family, who try to escape the natural disasters that 2012 brings their
way. In the end, the main characters
reach the now-constructed ships in China, and are looking forward to rebuilding
their future.
Though
there were many scientific facts and theories mentioned in this movie, the main
one was a about a solar flare sending neutrinos to the Earth, and heating it
up. This caused pole shift and Earth
crust displacement to occur resulting in massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and
volcanic activity. While analyzing the
scientific facts in the movie, I found that it was easier to move backwards,
and go from the consequence to the cause rather than from the cause to the
consequence. For example, the end result
of all this activity was a significant change in the ocean levels and the
decimation of most civilization on Earth.
Would this be possible through enormous amounts of volcanic activity,
earthquakes, and tsunamis? Probably. The Japanese earthquake in 2011 was the 5th
most powerful earthquake in the world since they have been recorded, and caused
more than 25 000 people to become dead, missing, or seriously injured. It also caused a major crisis for Japan’s
nuclear power program. By looking at
previous events, it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine that many earthquakes and
eruptions could destroy civilization.
The
earthquakes, tsunamis, and other horrific natural disasters were the result of
earth crust displacement and polar shift.
Popularized by Charles Hapgood, the theories of earth crust displacement
and polar shift go hand in hand. The
theory states that the earth’s crust has gone through significant changes
throughout time. As well, changes in the
magnetic and geographic poles in the Earth can be caused by this Earth crust
displacement. A character in the movie
states that Hapgood said that this would happen because of a certain planetary
alignment, and that Einstein had supported Hapgood’s theory. By doing my own research, I found that
planetary alignment has nothing to do with Hapgood’s theory (and therefore, Einstein
hadn’t supported that part of it), and that the theory of crust displacement
was made to explain some things that plate tectonics can now explain
better. Furthermore, NASA scientists
have said that even though polar shift is possible and does happen, it happens
extremely gradually and will not cause any major effects. The North and South poles will not “flip”
instantaneously.
The cause
of the polar shift and crust displacement was the heating of the Earth’s core
because of neutrinos from a solar flare.
In the movie, the neutrinos had an electric charge that caused them to
heat up and liquefy the Earth’s core, resulting in the displacement of the
Earth’s crust. A few minutes of research
breaks the plot this movie was based on.
Solar flares do occur, and send out coronal mass ejectons, which consist
of many particles travelling through space.
Particles from a CME usually reach Earth in 24-48 hours, and don’t do
much damage other than to electrical communications devices, and devices in
space. Neutrinos have no charge since they
are neutral. They also pass harmlessly
through matter, and are not known to cause damage or a radical increase in
temperature to the Earth. Any harmful
effects of neutrinos haven’t been proven, and exist only in theories that
suggest that enough exposure to neutrinos can cause cancer. Another thing I noticed during 2012 is that
to melt the Earth’s core, you would need an amount of energy that doesn’t seem
to be present in the film. Though
extremely hot, the Earth’s core is solid, largely because of the amount of
pressure put on it. You would need huge
amounts of heat energy to melt the core.
Wouldn’t the energy cause massive destruction to the Earth’s surface
before it did so to the core?
Overall,
one can safely conclude that the science in this movie is merely pseudoscience,
designed to entertain rather than educate.
The credibility of the science in this film isn’t very high, since it
was designed to make profits. The
majority of viewers might at first be convinced that the events of 2012 could
be a possibility, but once they look back and think about the movie, they will
know it was just another passenger on the “2012 apocalypse” bandwagon.
I chose to
watch and reflect upon this movie because of its relevance in current media and
popular belief. Many people believe that
some sort of apocalyptic event could take place in 2012. Many of these beliefs are being spread by the
media, which is now almost omnipresent thanks to advances in technology. We are constantly being spoken to by thousands
of very convincing voices telling us that the Earth will end because of cosmic
rays or planetary alignment. Having even
a little bit of scientific literacy and general knowledge will quickly help us
realize that many of these predictions are based on fiction rather than fact.
The amount of people that believe what the
media says is slightly disturbing, since it shows how easily we can be fooled
into thinking something that is false. A
lot of the media is also politically inclined, and might present to us biased
news because of this. Though it may seem
bad, and maybe even evil, it is just a result of people trying to reach their
own goals, and it can be avoided by taking on a responsibility to be informed,
and not believe everything you hear.
Personally, I believe that on December 21st
we will be just as prone to dying suddenly as we are on any other day. Many people base their beliefs on religion or
other’s experiences, which is an extremely personal choice. I think that I will be able to survive best
if I base my choices on science, since it has been proven to work many
times. If many other people and I are
wrong about the world not ending on 2012, then at least we don’t have to worry
about the consequences! But it will also mean that I wrote this science journal for nothing... :P Hopefully, all
deathly cosmic rays will occur after I eat the food at the class parties!
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