True as that first part may be, almost every one of them I personally know believes this end-of-world shit, or at least entertains the possibility. It makes no sense to me why they would pick this over organized religion, as a practiced religion has more likelihood of being true than a coincidence of Armageddon on the date the Mayans stopped their calendars.

They just want something to believe in, I think.

Atheists may be smart but they lack a key ingredient to the spicy soup of life. Believing in something.