Why the World Isn't Going to End In 2012: From ZetaTalk to the Mayan Calendar
As we enter the year 2012, many people are beginning to worry about December 21, 2012. I am here to put the worrying to rest. I will explain why the end of the world is predicted to occur in 2012 and why these theories that are supposedly tied to the Mayan calendar are not accurate. I intend to educate the public on how these theories were created and debunk the idea that our world is going to end in 2012.
There have been rumors of pole shifts, extra terrestrials, planets hitting Earth and calendars coming to an end. Luckily, these ideas all have a traceable source that is much more ridiculous than you may think when you watch the news or see movies about the end of the world in 2012.
The media is the largest culprit in spreading fear concerning the end of the world. They have embraced viewers and speculators while attempting to boost their ratings, but fear not. The world is not going to end in 2012 and I'll tell you why.
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What is the 2012 Prediction?
If you have been living under a rock or have been lucky enough to have not heard about the hype behind the 2012 apocalypse, you may be wondering what all these people are talking about. Basically, in 2003, there was a huge conspiracy theory that a planet was headed toward our earth. Here is a quote from NASA regarding this subject:
The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012.
As you can see, when the prediction fails, people tend to postpone the event to avoid embarrassment. When it was postponed, scientists claimed that the planet was moving at a slower rate than predicted and they assumed it would come later, in 2012. But, why did they think this planet was headed toward Earth?
Nancy Lieder claimed on her website, ZetaTalk, that she could communicate with extra terrestrials. In 1995, she spread the word that because of an implant in her brain, she was the human representative of the Zeta Reticuli, a binary star system that is about 39 light years away from our home. Lieder said that she was chosen by those in that solar system to warn us about the planet Nibiru, also known as Planet X, and its ultimate passing through our solar system. She claimed that this event would cause our poles to shift, ending in devastating natural disasters that would ultimately bring the death upon all of Earth's inhabitants.
You may be wondering why this explanation doesn't have anything about the Mayan calendar in it. Well, that came later, when the GMT constant was created.
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The GMT Constant and the Mayan Calendar
The Mayan Calendar was created by ancient Mayans. Recently, the calendar was converted to the Gregorian Calendar that we use today. To do this, researchers used what they call the GMT Constant. This is a numerical formula named after early Mayan scientists, Joseph Goodman, Juan Martinez-Hernandez, and J. Eric S. Thompson.
Using this calculator, they translated the Mayan Calendar to the one we use now (with January, February, etc.). This constant was later proved not to be accurate do to the fact that the calculations didn't add up after the year 2012. These scientists argued that it was because there is nothing after 2012.
This argument has been blown out of proportion and is spreading fear throughout the world. The book, Calendars and Years II: The Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World, by Gerardo Aldana, a Chicano Studies Professor at the University of Santa Barbara, aims to prove the problems with the GMT Constant and also debunk the end of the world theory. He points out the issues with the calculations and predicts that we could be over 100 years off on our calculations of when the Mayan Calendar syncs up with the Gregorian one.
Why the World Isn't Going to End
Contrary to popular belief, the Mayan calendar doesn't necessarily end in a dark rift like some suggest. In fact, it doesn't end at all. The calendar on your wall ends every year on December 31st, but are you worried that January 1st won't come? No. So, don't worry about the end of the Mayan Calendar. It's not going to happen.
Similarly, the Gregorian Calendar was set to end on September 18th, 1618. Nothing happened then (or on June 15th, 1224, or on March 13th, 830) so, nothing is going to happen in 2012.
