New Maya Discovery Casts Doubt on World's Imminent Demise

[HellenicWarrior]

Eugh more of this... This is based upon the same logic that the world end in December if we stopped printing calendars.

 

[Racecarlock]

If the mayans were so good at predicting stuff, how come they couldn't predict their own extinction?

 

[Meatspinner]

What a conveniently timed discovery.

I have to ask though, why do we care so much about what a few modern day cavemen think?

 

[Strazdas]

Dont worry, we still got time till 3676 when the Nostradamus said it will end.

If the mayans were so good at predicting stuff, how come they couldn't predict their own extinction?

actually, they did. Or wiat, that was atztecs. They predicted that gods would come form across the ocean and the end of the world will happen. Well we came and slaughtered them.

 

[YodaUnleashed]

WE'RE SAVED!

 

[R Man]

Actually, the Mayan 'year' is roughly five days shorter than our modern calendar year, being 360 days for mathematical consistency. The Mayans strived to form the perfect calendar by association days not only with the Sun, but also positioning of the stars, comets, etc. With that in mind, accounting for something like a leap day would only mess up their mathematical axioms anyway, so they didn't incorporate any.
What's more, their calendar ends roughly 63 million years from now anyway and even then you could still go on counting their greatest unit of time (that 63 million solar years), like we do with our own years.

Incorrect. At the end of the Mesoamerican Solar year there were five 'unlucky' days at the end of the cycle. The Aztecs considered these days to be very unlucky. What the Classic period Maya though is anyone's guess.

I'd also like to point out that there are several theories as to what Mesoamericans did about the leap year. Some suggest that every four years, they would have six unlucky days. Or perhaps every fifty two years they would have several days (12 to 13) that were not counted which would re-align the calendar. Though once again, we don't know for sure.

actually, they did. Or wiat, that was atztecs. They predicted that gods would come form across the ocean and the end of the world will happen. Well we came and slaughtered them.

Not true. The alleged 'prophecies' were actually a Franciscan invention caused by a misunderstanding of Mesoamerican terminology. The Mexicans called the Spanish 'Telues' which the Spanish mistook for gods. It actually has a variety of meanings, including 'strange' or 'mysterious'. Or it could be a recognition of their status. It wasn't helped that Aztecs would often nickname people after their deities.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Did people still actually believe in this? If so, convenient eh?

 

[Paladin Anderson]

So I wonder what the next "doomsday" is going to be. We seem to have one every year anymore. We'll continue to have them as long as people are stupid enough to believe it giving the doomsayers publicity and money.

Coincidentally... I have unearthed evidence that zombie dinosaurs will rise from the depths of the earth to feast on our brains in the year 2013! Listen to my words and give me your money oh idiots of the world!

 

[Lugbzurg]

But, But...But what was on the Disks?

You mean the world really isn't going to end?

When did we start trusting the predictions of ancient civilisations anyway?

Since they started writing them down.
http://www.providencebiblefellowship.org/home/140005880/140005880/expository%20teaching%20bible%20church%20virginia.jpg

Well, actually, I should point out that no one on Earth knows when the "end times" will be.

The Bible actually brings this up. There is a point for the Earth something like this predicted in this book. However, it does in fact say that there will never be a person on the entire planet who will know when the "end times" will be... up until it actually happens.

A calandar ending is not a prediction. It's a size limit. We have these on our computers, don't we?

 

[Roganzar]

*Maya 2000 years ago*

Mayan: Hey uh...can we talk?

Calendar maker: Yeah, what up?

Mayan: It's about your calendar. It's great, and you do a great job, but you're 2000 years ahead. Think you can just, you know....stop for now?

Calendar maker: But if I do, people may misinterpret it and get hysterical about the end of the world! We can't have that!

Mayan: We'll deal with that when the time comes...

*Present day*
Hysterical moron: OH MY GAWD! END OF THE WORLD BECAUSE THE MAYAN CALENDAR ENDS!!

Me: *Facepalm*

The fact that some people need evidence to put the end of the 2012 world into doubt is, in itself, horrifying.

Damnit I wanted to do that bit.
But, yeah, this is basically how I bet that played out.
Well, until Dec. 21st I'm still making jokes about it. Don't believe it, but still going to make jokes about it.

 

[Tarkand]

But, But...But what was on the Disks?

You mean the world really isn't going to end?

When did we start trusting the predictions of ancient civilisations anyway?

Since they started writing them down.
http://www.providencebiblefellowship.org/home/140005880/140005880/expository%20teaching%20bible%20church%20virginia.jpg

Well, actually, I should point out that no one on Earth knows when the "end times" will be.

The Bible actually brings this up. There is a point for the Earth something like this predicted in this book. However, it does in fact say that there will never be a person on the entire planet who will know when the "end times" will be... up until it actually happens.

A calandar ending is not a prediction. It's a size limit. We have these on our computers, don't we?

I'm pretty sure we'll know days, if not week or even month or years ahead of time when the world ends.

We'll detect that big rock hurling from space at us (or whatever is your favorite doomsday scenario), we just won't be able to do much about it.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Good to know, hopefully this will shut some people up on the matter. If not, then... I guess I'll have to point and laugh when December 21st passes...

 

[newdarkcloud]

So, hang on.

Ancient civilisation apparently predicts our imminent demise.
Shortly before we reach this doom-date then an archeology dig that we've had for a while uncovers new evidence that suggests that we might not have to die after all...

I suppose we should be glad that the dig isn't called the Crucible project...

NO!

No. No. No.

That joke was bad and you should feel bad. *Curls into the fetal position*

 

[The_Darkness]

So, hang on.

Ancient civilisation apparently predicts our imminent demise.
Shortly before we reach this doom-date then an archeology dig that we've had for a while uncovers new evidence that suggests that we might not have to die after all...

I suppose we should be glad that the dig isn't called the Crucible project...

NO!

No. No. No.

That joke was bad and you should feel bad. *Curls into the fetal position*

I'm sorry, I just call them as I see them...

Although, if this leads to a follow-up discovery of a Mayan recipe for a drink that can be blue, green or red but always tastes the same... I'll stop now.

 

[Waaghpowa]

The fact that some people need evidence to put the end of the 2012 world into doubt is, in itself, horrifying.

Technically, the Mayan calendar didn't actually end.

From what I understand, the Maya believed time was cyclical, and marked by a "galactic cycle", which starts and ends when the progression of the equinoxes makes a complete revolution. In other words, when the Earth, Sun and galactic core are all in perfect alignment, which happens approximately once every 26,000 years.

The Mayan calendar for this cycle ends 12/21/2012, but then it starts right back up again in the new cycle. Basically, the Mayan used the progression of the equinoxes as a (significantly) larger version of a year. All this hysteria about it is functionally equivalent to our descendants finding the gregorian calendar and being convinced Dec 31 of any given year is the last day of all time.

I do remember reading about the Mayan perception of time being cyclical. Though what I was getting at is how willing people are to believing something/someone's supposed predictions of "the end". Seems to be mostly blind faith kind of people who believe a lot, like those people who thought that the rapture was going to occur last year May I believe.

I just don't get how people can believe in the "end of the world" so easily with no evidence, but would dismiss evidence to the contrary.

 

[Something Amyss]

Wasn't the world supposed to end a few months ago or something since the Mayans never accounted for leap year? Or the Gregorian calendar in general?

EDIT: WAIT! You guys, I totally get it now. Look at your calenders, they all go up to December 2012... BUT NOT TO 2013!

That means the world will end when December ends! Since there's nothing after December 2012! I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!

No, it ends in January 2013 (Most calendars are 13 month)

See, the downside here is that now people will be talking about the Mayan Apocalypse for another 1.K years.

 

[Thetwistedendgame]

Doomsday got postponed? Again?

 

[K4RN4GE911]

It's world-ending-situations like these that make me take a segment of lyrics from the song Dez Moines by The Devil Wears Prada to heart.

We've all sung of the end.
But who? Who truly understands it?!

Plus, not to spark a religious debate, but doesn't the bible literally say that no one man, race, or civilisation can predict the endtimes? That's what I remember from Sunday School, at least.