It depends what you call 'peak oil'. That there will be a point in time where we consume the maximum amount of oil ever is inevitable - we will run out, and the

It depends what you call 'peak oil'. That there will be a point in time where we consume the maximum amount of oil ever is inevitable - we will run out, and the usage curve will have a maximum somewhere. But 'peak oil' is being used as some sort of scientific-sounding synonym for a precursor to a Mad Max style society. It's this part that is absurd and highly unlikely - much more unlikely than the alternative in which we more or less gradually transition into a society based on other energy sources and modes of energy transport.