The History Channel has been airing a two-hour documentary on the prophecies of Nostradamus and how they might relate to 2012. It is another in the growing heap of information, theories, fears, warnings, enlightenment and anxiety about the year 2012, so perhaps it's time I throw in my two cents.
I have never put much stock in the supposed Mayan prophecy that 2012 will mark the end of the world, the end of an era or however you want to view it. I mean, haven't we been through this countless times? Some predicted May 5, 2000 as doomsday because the planets were in rough alignment. Then there was the hysteria over the millennium and Y2K. And of course various religious cults have named date after date when the world would surely end, all of which came and went without so much as a hiccup.
2012 will be no different. Yes, the subject is selling a lot of books, drawing large audiences for talk radio and counting up lots of hits on websites, but I think that's the most drama we'll get out of 2012. It, too, will come and go without a major shift on the planet. Don't we all really know that?
Those promoting the 2012 changes have thrown out a wide range of possibilities for what might happen - everything from a literal end of the world, to dramatic social, economic, political and climatic upheaval, to a "spiritual awakening," which, of course, could mean almost anything.
WHY 2012?
And what is it based on? Primarily, it's based on an ancient Mayan "long count" calendar, carved on stone, which according to calculations ends on December 21, 2012 and marks the end of a 5,126-year era. Without a doubt, the ancient Mayans were remarkable mathematicians and astronomers, but can we really take this "prophecy" seriously? First of all, it's not even a prophecy. It happens to be when their long count calendar ends. Why should that hold any significance for us?
The second reason proponents of this coming apocalypse say it is on its way is that in 2012 there will be an alignment of sorts with the center of our galaxy. Because the Earth wobbles slowly as it rotates (once about every 26,000 years) the sun will appear to rise in alignment with the center of the Milky Way. Interesting, yes, but there seems to be no cosmological evidence of any kind that this should have an effect on our planet, physically, socially or even spiritually.
The third reason touted is that the sun is scheduled to be at a "solar maximum" in that year, a time when sun spots and solar flares are very active. This kind of activity really can cause problems. Such activity can disable and damage satellites and can have a dramatic effect on the Earth's weather. The schedule is based on past patterns of such activity, but we have no way of knowing whether it will happen in 2012, and if it does how severe it might be.
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