If you’re convinced by the fear mongering nutjobs that the world will end on 12/21/2012, please consider this;
The Mayan calendar consists of many different cycles that work together. These include the long count, the calendar round, the short count, and the 819 day cycle among others. The dating system that doomsday entrepreneurs use is the long count. The long count is made of several cycles that work like an odometer. For Mayan era dates, as well as modern dates, five cycles need to be used. From the largest to the smallest they are –
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B’aktun = 20 k’atun
K’atun = 20 tun
Tun = 18 winal
Winal = 20 k’in
K’in = 1 day
An example of a long count would be 9.15.10.0.0. There a 9 b’aktuns, 15 k’atuns, 10 tuns, and no winals or k’ins.
The long count that is supposed to be the end of the world is 13.0.0.0.0. The day before is 12.19.19.17.19. The main significance of 13.0.0.0.0 is of course the number of zeroes.
However, the long count does not end at that point. There are many cycles beyond the b’aktun that can be used to describe any date. The are several instances of extremely large dates used. Coba Stela 1 has a long count that adds up to 41,943,040,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. Also, Macanxoc Stela 1 has a long count in the initial series that is 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13 .13.13.13.0.0.0.0. Their is no limit to the long count other than the size of the writing surface used and the patience of the scribe.
The last time the Mayan calendar rolled over to 12-0-0-0-0, which was on September 20, 1618.
The time before that was 11-0-0-0-0 which was on June 17, 1224 AD.
The time before that was 10-0-0-0-0 which was March 15, 830 AD.
The time before that was 9-0-0-0-0, which occurred on December 11, 435 AD.
What will happen in the year 2012, when the Mayan calendar rolls over to 13-0-0-0-0 will merely be another roll-over in a Mayan 394 year cycle, and it will happen again in the year 2406, and this will keep on happening for millions of years. Nothing is going to be any more significant in the year 2012 – relative to the Mayan calendar – than was significant during the last roll-overs in the years 1618, 1224, 830, and 435 AD.”
Also check out this highly insightful, science based approach, by Penn and Teller which debunks many if not all of the prohpets that predict the end of the world.