I already posited evidence on these forums that all the other times the Mayan calendar ended something horrendous happened to their civilization, but it got clogged with a number of very smug, very inarticulate skeptics before anybody who actually commonly contributes here really saw it (except Cthulhu, he's a smart guy and he posted there), and it was soon locked.
Which is unfortunate, because it hadn't been my purpose. I don't think the world is really going to come to an end in 2012 (well, it might, but South America will have little to do with it if it does). I also don't believe that the world is flat or that all life sprang forth exactly as we see it today. But I do believe in critical thinking, and falling into the belief in what scientists believe in without doing any research or giving it any thought simply because we trust scientists is the same as putting our belief in what priests believe in for the same reasons. Scientists work hard, so it behooves us to examine the work.
The main issue with theories like yours seems to me to be that there is no reason why only ancient Mayans and no other people would have been able to tell the future, as well as why it is that we still can't tell the future today.
Really? Thats the main one?
How about, that the Mayian "prophecy" was started by someone who wasn't an anthropologist, or archeologist, didn't have any accredited knowledge with Central and South American pre-Columbian cultures, but instead this was bequeathed to her from a ghost, while she was on an Acid trip. (She did have a phd, it was in Literature, if I recall.)
Or, that the Mayian sense of time, doesn't translate well at to a modern use of time, and isn't really at all compatible with the gregorian calendar. So, establishing any correlation with the future events of their Future History calendar, is speculation and guess work.
Or the Mayian calendar, isn't speaking at all about the end the world. Its just the end of their calendar. Its like claiming the world is happening now, because the 2011 calendar is almost over.
Mayian didn't predict the arrival of the Europeans, or their own genocide. Mayain prediction method (simplified), was just spilling corn on a calendar, and where the kernels fell, indicated where events were going to happen.
That anything that has come forward to 'collerbrate' this 2012 date, is in itself, unsubstantiated. Such as, but not limited to, Novel Time Ribbon Theory (Might be mis remember the name there).
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As for 'trusting' Scientist, its not trusting in Scientist. The people behind the work, doesn't matter. Its trusting in the methodology, and verification. The scientific theory (models, not guesses), that are brought forth come with years of research, and normally, harsh verification. The reason, why the trust is there, is because it works. It also isn't afraid to admit when its wrong, and correct itself.
I defer to them, because I'm a laymen. My personal expertise can only rise so far. I can exercise, critical thinking skills, and make myself knowledge, on what kinds of evidence is appropriate for what you're doing.
Mayian 2012 thing, boils down to an anecdotal evidence, while on a drugs. Incredibly weak, and has no third party collaboration.
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Topic: So I couldn't help but notice how close we are to 2012. (Read 11251 times)