2012 doomsday - why it gained so much attention? - 1

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When I heard that world is going to end in 2012, I wasn’t surprised. I am aware of many doomsday predictions in the past and thought this also is just like them. But I was proved wrong. Breakthrough Science Society had arranged a program where scientists addressed about 2012 doomsday events that are predicted and explained why science does not support them. Then as I went through different media programs, newspapers, and net I found 2012 doomsday prediction is different from others in one significant aspect. This time it is coming up with a tag ‘Scientific’ attached to it. Scientific prediction of 2012 doomsday!! In current society many agree that the belief on doomsday predictions based on numerology, astrology, religious saying, scriptures, and literature is limited. Also most are aware that they can’t create much hype backing up such predictions nowadays because they most likely receive straight comment, ‘ah…leave it. There is no evidence for that. It’s all gimmick.’ I don’t completely disagree that the hype based on unscientific sections still works on large section of the society but it hasn’t reserved the same respect as in the past. Now, it is different. People are saying, ‘Scientists themselves are saying it will happen!! Some large planet called Nibiru is colliding with earth, magnetic pole reversal is happening, blah blah blah. So, now what are you going to say for that?’ The common people who won’t even understand what Nibiru is, what magnetic poles are, and what galactic alignment means cannot possibly counter attack it? And then they see 2012 doomsday Hollywood movie. Many won’t even understand for the catastrophe what reason is given in the movie. They just see the look-real impact of it. It forces us to think, ‘is there not a single possibility of it happening?’ So many sources are predicting it, all pointing at a single day! Is that just a coincidence? So it is more likely that either they ignore it because they can’t help it from happening, they can’t escape from it if it happens, and because they don’t understand what all is happening and what all science is saying about it, or they are going to believe it!!

This thought made me decide to sit and write this article. But before starting I asked myself. What am I trying to write here? Is it just another page with list of doomsday theories and counterarguments? I want to go bit deeper into the subject like dealing with ‘why people believe it’ and ‘why people want to create this fear’. It is not just enough to list the theories and prove them wrong because tomorrow someone comes up with his own theory. There, I hope, this article will help.

I just briefly go through the points that are connected to the doomsday prediction. Later we can take up different questions.

How it started?

When people talk about 2012 doomsday they mention Maya Calendar. The Mayan calendar ended exactly on 21^st Dec 2012. That raised just too many question among people. Why? Why it ended on 21^st Dec 2012? While I appreciate they questioned it, it seems they just couldn’t go and try to find for the answer. Instead they just created the answer!! The world is going to end so no point in continuing the calendar!

The fact is, in Mayan calendar system the 13^th b'ak'tun [1 b'ak'tun=144000 days which is a great cycle like millennium] will be ending on 20^th Dec 2012. As it started in 3114 BC, if you do some basic math calculation you will find this date. Now starting from 21^st Dec 2012 14^th b'ak'tun will start.

And for the question why it ended on exactly that day, why they did not continue with 14^th b'ak'tun calendar, I will give you the answer if you tell me why did you born exactly at the time you are born. That’s it. There is no point in discussing on things that make no sense. I have a year planner with me. As it doesn’t continue with 2011, it doesn’t mean I must die by the end of this year!!

Though this Maya calendar thing doesn’t have any scientific basis for it, it succeeded in being a potential hysteria maker. It started with this and then many innumerable theories started tampering themselves to predict doomsday is going to happen on 21^st December only!

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