Entropymancer said:
TheNtt said:
Entropymancer said:
Are there real scientists who are 2012 nuts?
Kind-of- but they're not the ones claiming the planet is going to be destroyed.
I've come across researchers who have spent their careers studying the Mayans- the ones that discuss 2012 claim it's about the evolution of mankind, or perhaps the universe. Which to me is much more intriguing than the sudden destruction of the entire planet.
But that's not science at all! Scholarly interpretation of the myths of an ancient culture do not constitute predictive scientific evidence regarding the timing of paradigm shifts. That "mankind or the universe will evolve in some unspecified way in 2012" is not a testable hypothesis. The folks claiming the human race will go extinct are more scientific than that, they're at least generating testable hypotheses!
Exactly. We can test and say whether it is likely or not that planet earth will be destroyed in 2012. That theory is bullshit, and we can show that. In regards to the evolutionary concept and Mayans, those who instantly dismiss it because of lack of scientific evidence are somewhat foolish in my opinion. As you said, it's not a testable hypothesis so dismissing it due to lack of scientific data does not make sense. What would make sense is if an individual took the time to learn about Mayan cosmology, mythology, and calendar making and formulated the opinion that the Mayan's thought or didn't think an evolutionary shift would occur at the end of the Long Count. It's totally subjective and only time will tell. It's just that some Mayan researchers have studied these things, and have proposed that maybe the Mayans were aware of the evolutionary patterns of the planet/universe. There are people who hear this and think, oh the Mayans definitely think an evolutionary change is on the way, while others say there is no scientific evidence for it and completely dismiss it. Whatever though, people can believe whatever they want- only time will tell.
From wikipedia (baktun 13 is the end of the Long Count calendar. Each cycle is 1 baktun.):
Maya references to B'ak'tun 13
The present-day Maya, as a whole, do not attach much significance to b'ak'tun 13. Although the calendar round is still used by some Maya tribes in the Guatemalan highlands, the Long Count was employed exclusively by the classic Maya, and was only recently rediscovered by archaeologists.[22] Mayan elder Apolinario Chile Pixtun and Mexican archaeologist Guillermo Bernal both note that "apocalypse" is a Western concept that has little or nothing to do with Mayan beliefs. Bernal believes that such ideas have been foisted on the Maya by Westerners because their own myths are "exhausted".[23][24] Mayanist Anthony Aveni says that while the idea of "balancing the cosmos" was prominent in ancient Maya literature, and some modern Maya affirm this idea of an age of coexistence, the 2012 phenomenon does not present this message in its original form. Instead, it is bound up with American traditions such as the New Age movement, millenarianism, and the belief in secret knowledge from distant times and places.[25] Mayan archaeologist Jose Huchm has stated that "If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea. That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain".[23]
What significance the classic Maya gave b'ak'tun 13 is uncertain. Most classic Maya inscriptions are strictly historical and do not make any prophetic declarations.[26] Two items in the Maya historical corpus, however, mention the end of the 13th b'ak'tun: Tortuguero Monument 6 and, possibly, the Chilam Balam.
www.dosenation.com
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