Patheya

Potus - but that's the thing... 'they' say (and again, I'm not a mayan scholar) that they did foresee their own end... and the Spanish... that's what makes them so.... errr... interesting...

naylor182

As far as I'm aware, the Spanish didn't wipe out the Mayans. They destroyed the Aztec and Incan civilisations, but the Mayans mysteriously disappeared before Cortes' landing at Veracruz.

naylor182

Ah, the above was pretty wrong as it happens.
The Spanish did indeed subjugate the Mayans (as in the Mayan peoples and city states) but the ideal of one Mayan civilisation was destroyed prior to the Spanish invasion of the Yucatan. By the time the Spanish landed, the "Mayans" were squabbling city-states rather than one civilisation.

Haha, ignore me whilst I argue with myself...

Patheya

I appreciate your honesty in your two faces....
not many can admit to it.

but then, imagine they are 'right'...... just imagine... what will happen?

Lucius

Patheya,

Meteorite strike? That's a good bet. There are many every year. None have been large enough AND "well-aimed" enough to do any good. And by "good" I mean harm. What good are meteor strikes unless they're large enough AND "well-aimed" enough to alert us to the fact that the universe is "trying" to render us extinct?

I seriously doubt that any meteor strike will be EXACTLY and PRECISELY terrible enough to wake us all up from our complacency, our "we've got better things to spend our money on right here on earth" mentality. It'll probably be a little too small and be shrugged off; or a little too large and we won't have anything to worry about ever again - but only after months of suffering.

Pizzadude

Oh oh! I did my big essay on this subject! I should know a lot about it.

The Mayans believed the world was shaped by their gods. Time was divided into 5 periods of 25.000 years. At the time of the making of this calendar they were living in the fourth period (one of feminine energy) as do we now. They predicted the coming of the fifth period at the time their calendar ends. Seeing as their days were just a wee bit shorter (or longer I forget), it might very well be Jan. 1st 2013 that this might happen. In this fifth period of enlightment everything is in perfect balance. It is a period of equality. It is composed of both masculine, and feminine energy. The world will be at peace. Many doomsayers just notice the "calendar ends" part and think the world ends with it and forget all about the fifth period part

Coincidentally NASA and other scientists have predicted a depolirasation (north becomes south and vice-versa) in the same period of time. This depolirasation thing has been going on as long as the earth exists, and this will actually affect our daily lives. But nothing bad that we can't fix like.

These were, in short, my observations and in now way represent my view on the matter. Just so you know^^

Patheya

Lucius -I'm reading a great book at the moment... its called Affluenza by Clive Hamilton. I believe it could add wood to your fire. It is about Australian, but can be for all of us in the west .

ahh, pizzadude - someone who seems to know a bit more about the topic. Thanks for your contribution!

Lucius

Patheya,

Thanks for the extra wood. Of course there is something unsavory about consumerism as such. One aspires to be more than a production/consumption unit. But what can I tell you? People are funny. Conspicuous consumers realize that conspicuous consumption only has its desired effect on those similarly affected. And some people just like gadgetry. The idea that avoiding extinction might entail a massive conversion of the global economy away from "upper middle class pretensions" to research and development is more apparent than real.

(I know guys who have dropped what I regard as a "small fortune" on fishing or golf. Yet when they come over and see that I own "a few" hundred books, they are incredulous. After all, the city library system has over 2 million volumes and the university's over 7 million. And you can read them for free! Plus, after you return them they don't take up space in your house.) (Of course I didn't buy all those books new.)

Pizzadude,

I had been given to understand that the planet's polarity reversals take thousands of years to accomplish, and that after having wandered around for however many centuries, the poles could just stay the same instead of having flipped. But during the interval, the aurorae borealis and australis take their shows on the road.

Patheya

Lucius - I'm going to write a personal post about affluenza's positive points. Avoiding my over usage of alliteration... I have a problem with it.
'is more apparent than real' -you threw me off the horse here....
The production line does have to stop... as it is functioning today...we just don't have the resources to feed India and China the toys we in the west play with... and they are starting to demand them... It seems to me, real... but I only know what the readers and commentators of environmental scientists tell me...

Pizzadude

Lucius - The polarity's reversal may very well take thousands of years to accomplish, but it may also be a matter of seconds. No one really knows because no one was around the last time it happened. It is indeed more likely that it does take that long, but we won't know for sure until it actually happens. And it would be funny during the interval to see the Northern and Southern lights above the equator :P