Well we were talking in class and my teacher stated her opinion on the whole end of the world 2012 thing. And it went something like this. "It is just the end of their calendar"...."When it starts over again"..."it would be like if later down the road our culture was to die out for some reason"..."and somebody was to find one of our pre-made calendars with the year 2019 on it"
I know there's something wrong here but I can't put my finger on it. Anybody care to point out the flaws in this theory?
and how can that be possible unless you had a telescope a few billion years old???
I believe I can shed some light on that. Based on this article, we can infer that the Mayans had ways of making stellar observations and predictions. If it is vague, try the many links it offers. It is wikipedia after all.
but how could you ever ever tell?? even today we can't figure out the speed our branch of the Milky Way turns, or how long it takes!
you would need a perfect image of the sky at X point, somehow remember it over possibly millions of generations, and then recall the exact same moment from a faded memory! it just simply isn't possible, as a lot of stars are out of reach of their light ever shining upon the earth.
This is how astrology is, SirNoobalot. The study of space. You have to start somewhere.
you would need a perfect image of the sky at X point
Clear skies are fairly common.
somehow remember it over possibly millions of generations and then recall the exact same moment from a faded memory!
History. The only reason why we can recall it is through documentation of the data.
it just simply isn't possible, as a lot of stars are out of reach of their light ever shining upon the earth.
Well, the whole thing about 2012 was their prediction that the planets would be aligned. I'm sure they weren't paying much attention to normal stars when referring to this topic.
but there wasn't anything to record it accurately on D: sure you can draw on a stone tablet or whatever, but it would be near impossible to document every single star, at X time before there wa a time system, and look every day at it and track every little star's movement across the sky...
before there wa a time system, and look every day at it and track every little star's movement across the sky...
There was no need to. We all know that the Earth rotates every day and once that rotation is complete, it ends up in the exact spot. It would only needed to be recorded every so often, because of revolution, the tilt of the Earth's axis, etc.
but still D: how could you accurately record the spinning of the Milky Way? if we don't even actually know what our own galaxy looks like, and the galaxy is all continuously spinning, then how could you ever tell a difference??? no you can't use a landmark star as there isn't any large nearby galaxies/ stars out of system.
2012 it's not exactly the end of their calendar, it's the end of one calendrical unit. It's the end of the fourth world, according to a Maya book we are living in the fourth world. There will be an other cycle. The Maya people thought there was one before this, and that implies they were comfortable with the idea of another one after this.
The 2012 phenomenon it's nonsense, it's based on ignorance and misinformation.
but still D: how could you accurately record the spinning of the Milky Way?
I don't know. But I know they know XD
if we don't even actually know what our own galaxy looks like, and the galaxy is all continuously spinning, then how could you ever tell a difference??? no you can't use a landmark star as there isn't any large nearby galaxies/ stars out of system.
I'm pretty sure they couldn't go THAT far. Again, the whole controversy is from the alignment of the planets of the solar system, which is close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
There may not be a landmark star, but there is a familiar star that can be used as a "direction" of sorts. The North Star. Biggest, brightest star in the sky, save for the sun. They take the information from X, wait for a while, take the information from Y, wait a while, take the information from Z, and write down any changes. With the limited technology of the Mayans, this was surely difficult, but they had ways...ohhh, they had ways...
What your teacher said is true. I learned a bit about maya civilization and they created the calander upto 2012 only. I bet nothing happens in 2012 if happened.........then we will be the luckiest peoplle who saw earth destroying in front of our eyes!
"It is just the end of their calendar"...."When it starts over again"..."it would be like if later down the road our culture was to die out for some reason"..."and somebody was to find one of our pre-made calendars with the year 2019 on it"
Thats very close to what is actually true. The Mayan calander doesn't actually end in 2012, this period or whatever they call it does. Their calander includes more than years months or days, it has other longer measures of time, some of which they tied into serious changes in the world.
So what you guys are saying is that my teacher is right.... if you met my teacher you wouldn't think that she's old enough to teach..... So the Mayans just got tired of making calendars and said, well I'm tired, let's stop. Who wants a coconut?? Yeah or whatever they ate. =)
The teacher is probably right. Just because the calendar on my phone only lasts until 2100, doesn't mean that is when the world will end, its just as far as we can predict.
I have heard many crazy stories of 2012. But there is one problem. The world won't end. The only event that will happen on December will be a world wide panic.
So the Mayans just got tired of making calendars and said, well I'm tired, let's stop.
No, they didn't. Their calendar is an endless loop of various cycles. All having varying lengths of time and all with different meanings. The one ending on Dec 21, 2012 is the longest(I think), and it corresponds with cataclysmic change, not the end of the world.
