The Nevada Sagebrush

Barry Belmont

It’s the end. The end of all schooling for some, the end of a semester for others and the end of the world for us all, according to the current pop-hysteria surrounding the Mayan “prediction” that Armageddon will occur Dec. 21, 2012.

Actually what the Mayans “predicted” was that the 5,125-year cycle of their calendar would complete itself, just as I predict the end of 2009 will occur on Dec. 31.

The Mayans had three distinct calendars: a solar calendar that was 365 days long, a ceremonial calendar that was 260 days long, and a “long count” calendar. The first two cyclically synchronized every 52 years, whereas the long count linearly measured longer periods of time.

Mayan dates are expressed as a series of five numbers, each less than 20 (their mathematics was base 20, unlike our base 10), for example 12.18.14.17.19 (which happens to be the date I was born).

One Mayan time period, called a b’ak’tun, causes that first number to increase and lasts 144,000 days or about 395 years. It’s the same idea as our millenniums (think about when 1999 changed to 2000).

Now that you’ve had your Mayan calendar lesson, it’s important to know that the Mayans didn’t hold any special significance for Dec. 21, 2012 (or 13.0.0.0.0 for them), except that it is the end of the thirteenth b’ak’tun. Sure, carved Mayan calendars only went 13 b’ak’tun, but what were they supposed to do, carve an infinite number of them? Just because the calendar hanging on your wall ends in December doesn’t mean you think the world will end there.

Rather, the claim that the Mayans predicted the end of the world seems to be an invention of modern pop culture, more the plot to a movie than an apocalyptic forecasting.

Astrologists, not wanting to be excluded from end-of-the-world discussions, have jumped on the 2012 bandwagon and proposed that the “Age of Aquarius” will not come in 2600, 2595, 2654, 2150 or 2062 as previously stated, but rather in — you guessed it — 2012. Now why the Age of Aquarius should cause the world to end is anyone’s guess (the song’s not that bad).

In fact, this notion of the end of the world is not limited to only astronomical weirdos or astrological quacks. Many Protestant Christians believe the world will end in the form of what they call the Rapture, during which the righteous will ascend into heaven. The Millerites, now known as Seventh Day Adventists, for instance, predicted the Rapture would come in March of 1843, then in March of 1844, then in October 1844 and then, after being greatly disappointed, they stopped making predictions.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses at various times have claimed 1874, 1918, 1925, 1941, 1974, 1984 and 1994 to be the last years the world should ever know. Turns out all of these were wrong, but they kept guessing again and again.

While the 2012 end-of-the-world prediction is not nearly as insidious as many others before it, it highlights the need for critical and rational thought. There is no reason to sell all your life possessions because of a movie starring John Cusack.

Barry Belmont realized this is also the end of his column this year. See you in 12.19.17.0.13. Reach him at perspectives@nevadasagebrush.com.

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