Straight Facts on 12/21/12

I have already heard in person and seen on Facebook enough bullshit about 2012 that I feel like a few facts might help you readers strike down the stupid in a little cheat sheet here.

Quick notes for 12/21/12:

1. As a people, they are the Maya, not the Mayans.
2. As a people, they still exist as a culture, despite the Spanish.
3. The Mayan calendar does not "end" any more than our calendar ends on Dec. 31st.
4. Calendars are cyclical, ours and theirs. What happened today was a transition to the new (14th) b'ak'tun (or 13.0.0.0.0) on the long count calendar.
5. One b'ak'tun is 144,000 days, so it's kind of a big deal.
6. The Maya NEVER predicted cataclysm on this turn. That was a fairly recent construct of an intersection of New Age ideas, conspiracy theory, and popular culture.
7. A full set of 20 b'ak'tun (piktun) will occur October 13, 4772. HUGE deal. Still: no end of days.

So tonight, raise a glass to the Maya and the new b'ak'tun. But be careful out there friends: there are a great deal of misinformed people looking for an excuse to ignore all consequence. Cheers!

The Maya Madness

Tomorrow is 12/21/12 as we date in the US. Tomorrow will not end us any more than the cycle we look at in blocks is really a circle from December 31st to January 1st. On the WAY outside, it might usher in an age of enlightenment, but there won't be anything massively destructive going on.

But many people will think that. Our popular culture has pushed this idea far enough that I fear for one thing: stupid human action.

Have a drink, celebrate the Maya cycle. But be safe, my friends.



(Sorry, the absence is just me sorting things out. The blog is not dead, just on a bit of delay.)