The 2012 End of the World phenomenon is just getting into high gear, and we in the skeptical community can expect to be amazed by what will transpire over the next 365 days, as bad craziness seeps into the mainstream media, and even well-adjusted people begin to worry.
This has been building for a while. For years David Morrison of NASA has been answering a flood of strange citizen fears about 2012 and "Niburu." Morrison does a spot-on job of explaining why this is all nonsense here.
One particularly unique manifestation of this end of the world paranoia is is the "2012 Leap of Faith" promulgated by Sedona, AZ, lawyer Peter Gerston. Gerston, well known for UFO-related legal filings against the government, makes the startling promise that he will leap off a prominent cliff near Sedona on 21 December 2012 at exactly 4:11 am.
Under normal condition, such a leap would result in death. But Gerston claims that instead his leap will rescue humanity when a galactic portal opens. Citing evidence as varied as the third Indiana Jones movie and Steve Martin's movie Leap of Faith, Gerston argues that he will not perish in this fall.
Although he isn't directly asking for additional jumping volunteers, his "invitation" page clearly says, "Your presence is requested to witness this event." An invitation to a suicide surely takes the cake for strangeness. But there is the danger that even if Gerston, at the last minute, finds some reason not to jump to his death, other individuals may be inspired by his Leap of Faith and themselves commit suicide.
This is the problem with woo. Some practitioners may actually believe what they say, others may be simply be in it to make money from the gullible... but in the end, what matters is that third parties change their behavior in ways that hurt them, whether that is stopping chemotherapy while expecting crystals to heal you or giving away one's life savings to fund billboards to encourage others to donate. Woo--all of it--is a health hazard.
