Has Earth gone bonkers? Err, no.

End of the World, Shit Hits the Fan, Doomsday - whatever you call it, people are getting more and more concerned that the time is near.

And we see signs everywhere. Famine. War. Earthquakes. The time must be very close, for everything is getting much worse.

Isn't it?

Unfortunately it is a human trait to consider your own world, and your own time, to be of more importance & significance than other worlds or times. For example, today's weather is more important to you than the weather of 191 days ago.

Kelemen suspects people are struck by similar coincidences in nature and "probably don't make a note of it when there is an earthquake and no volcano. It is only when these things are happening clusters that it makes an impression on you."

He pointed out that you can use a computer to generate random numbers and plot them graphically and see patterns and clustering. Clearly though, there is no natural or scientific phenomenon behind those figures.

...The number of reported natural disasters globally has been on a fast rise since the 1960s. EM-DAT disasters are up from about 120 in 1980 to more than 400 in 2007.

But the increase has nothing to do with the planet. Rather, the rise is the result better monitoring and reporting of natural disasters.