Something I've begun to think about recently is how a lot of people seem to have a romantic idea of the world ending. They believe some global doomsday epidemic will come about, civilisation will break down, and it will be each man for himself.
Now, you can't rule out anything happening. There's a small possibility that it could happen, sure. But when you listen to some of these predictions, they will claim that another 2008 recession will be the reason for the end or that tomorrow the sun will rise and it'll be the end. Things that are relatively small become reasons for an epidemic. I just don't believe that to be the case.
These people have a dreamy idea that they will be truly free and in touch with nature. They will hunt, fish, axe their own trees, construct their own fort. I too have thoughts about alternative scenarios, but again, there are things that aren't likely to happen in reality. That includes living like the Amish.
Disasters do happen, and it's important to be prepared. But disasters don't happen in a wide area affecting a massive chunk of a nations population. It's confined to areas and it impacts a certain number of the population. How you'll survive after a disaster strikes is a good thing to ponder and act upon. But it's not for long. You leave and the place gets rebuilt in a few years time.
Even if a large-scale disaster were to hypothetically happen, why do we have to suddenly live among nature? There's nothing stopping us from living like they did merely 100 years ago. We have the knowledge of industrialisation, carpentry, metal work. While you would never return the high standard of living that we had before, you can definitely rebuild and get back onto the path of development.
As I write this, I've begun to wonder about the religious relation to this. Could there be a bit of a religious attachment to this romanticism of the end? To me, it feels like it comes from the same types of people who believe that Jesus will come back and usher in a new age.
I have no problem with the people who believe this. I just think it gets a bit much at times and can get a bit silly. But it's important to be prepared, regardless of the scale of any disaster.
This is the main reason that people who are obsessed with the zombie apocalypse always bothered me. It's one thing to prepare, but so many actively want to be able to put their plans into action.
It's this whole Rambo mindset in which everyone is convinced that they won't become part of the 99% casualties. Perhaps its just the justification for murder that they seek.
I dunno, and obviously this isn't applicable to everyone. But with the rise of extremists calling for all out civil war in the states. It's a troubling philosophy to follow.
But I digress from your original point. There's a short list of full apocalyptic disasters that would ruin the world, an asteroid strike, or full nuclear armageddon would do it. Aliens or any space related event would kill us all.
I think a true world altering disaster that's most likely is a massive solar flair that sends us back to 1935 technologicalluly.