People have a fascination with death. And some people are drawn to the number 23. Hence that number 2012 (20 + 1 + 2 = 23).. It's designed to con as many people as it possibly can (for what I dunno, money, publicity, whatever)...
We are not super beings, we die a lot from anything and everything before the discovery of penicillin (+ other anti-biotics) and modern medicine.
Any day now a pandemic may wipe 80% of the population and send the world into a recession. Is this threat real? Yes it is, but nobody can do anything about it. It's just how weak we are. so forget about 2012 and such...