The end of the Mayan calendar..

[Josh Thatguy]

Anybody besides me ever get the feeling we (Earth, that is) are a lot like Jim Carrey's character in the Truman Show movie? The more I watch the slow-but-steady self-destruction of the planet while all the factions and fractions take themselves so seriously, the more I'm convinced that there are so many space aliens laughing with pity at us from afar. I feel like there's probably hundreds of channels of lesser-species-in-action they can watch for entertainment, and we're just one of dozens who have doomed themselves to self-destruction by way of raping the only planet we have to sustain us, playing with powers far beyond our reasonable control (you can't have a do-over with a nuke), and murdering ourselves time and time again in the excuse of defending a religion or, as Neil Peart said so wisely through Rush a long time ago, "in the name of a piece of dirt."

And the aliens get bored with us, switch the channel, and try to find something less predictable.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Josh Thatguy

Anybody besides me ever get the feeling we (Earth, that is) are a lot like Jim Carrey's character in the Truman Show movie? The more I watch the slow-but-steady self-destruction of the planet while all the factions and fractions take themselves so seriously, the more I'm convinced that there are so many space aliens laughing with pity at us from afar. I feel like there's probably hundreds of channels of lesser-species-in-action they can watch for entertainment, and we're just one of dozens who have doomed themselves to self-destruction by way of raping the only planet we have to sustain us, playing with powers far beyond our reasonable control (you can't have a do-over with a nuke), and murdering ourselves time and time again in the excuse of defending a religion or, as Neil Peart said so wisely through Rush a long time ago, "in the name of a piece of dirt."

And the aliens get bored with us, switch the channel, and try to find something less predictable.

Actually, I doubt that humans can destroy the planet. There have been at least two (more like five) worldwide extinction episodes that have wiped out most species on earth. One occurred just before the rise of the dinosaurs (the Permian extinction), and one was their demise (the Cretaceous extinction). The world will be just fine long after humans are gone, which they most likely will be at some point in time. However, it would be nice if we didn't screw things up for us and the rest of the current species.

Anyway, if there's another extinction, I think it would be cool if the next batch of "intelligent" beings were exoskeletal. Or maybe ocean-dwellers. Or both.

[mjac28]

Funny, I was just talking to one of my unicorns about this very thing man are people crazy.

[Josh Thatguy]

... and yes, we continue to take ourselves too seriously ... ... and we pretend every one ELSE's ideas are insane ...

[mjac28]

And for the record my unicorn has completed his first month at ITT Tech so he's no idiot thank you.

[SactoBass]

Do we humans actually have that much conceit to think that the universe knows about our silly trivial human-made calendars? (unfortunate answer is: yep).

Sheesh. We are so full of ourselves. So self important.

The universe KNOWS NOTHING AND DOESN'T CARE about anything we self-absorbed humans have invented (such as silly superstitions and deities, a bunch of different calendars that are thousands of years off from each other [drrr], shoes with lights in them at the mall, etc. etc.)

It is truly amazing what tripe we humans have managed to conjure up over the millenia. But hey...if it provides our easily led minds with entertainment, then cool. Have fun with it.

I just look forward to December 22 when the "end-of-the-worlders" say "oh...um...uh...er...wait...hold it....no no....we just found our math error (hehe)....it wasn't actually supposed to be Dec 21, it's another day...we'll get back to ya." Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[Josh Thatguy]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

I just look forward to December 22 when the "end-of-the-worlders" say "oh...um...uh...er...wait...hold it....no no....we just found our math error (hehe)....it wasn't actually supposed to be Dec 21, it's another day...we'll get back to ya." Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

And I'm looking forward to around September of next year, reaping the benefits of stock dividends in whatever babyfood-and-diaper company shares I buy with my xmas money this year.

There's a whoooooooole lotta hump-while-you-still-can procreating going on right now, I'm sure.

[Pacman]

How did this get in Miscellaneous?

Non music-related posts go in Off Topic. Moved.

[Smokin' Toaster]

Originally Posted by Pacman

How did this get in Miscellaneous?

Non music-related posts go in Off Topic. Moved.

Gee Pacman, the end of the world deserves at least "Miscellaneous" status. I mean, if it happens, it will certainly not be off topic for anyone!!

[casualmadness]

Originally Posted by MarkMgibson

Perhaps the world did end in August and this is the afterlife? God decided "more of the same" was a deserving punishment.

I concur.

[DwaynieAD]

confused how circles work?

[slobake]

Originally Posted by Tituscrow

What you are all forgetting, is that the Mayan calendar actually failed to take account of leap years. The world actually ended about 4 years ago.

I thought I was the only one that noticed that. daed ruoy tou gnirB

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by Tituscrow

What you are all forgetting, is that the Mayan calendar actually failed to take account of leap years. The world actually ended about 4 years ago.

The Mayan calendar is lunar, there for a leap year is not needed as with a solar calendar

[NWB]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Actually, I doubt that humans can destroy the planet. There have been at least two worldwide extinction episodes that have wiped out most species on earth. One occurred just before the rise of the dinosaurs (the Permian extinction), and one was their demise (the Cretaceous extinction). The world will be just fine long after humans are gone, which they most likely will be at some point in time. However, it would be nice if we didn't screw things up for us and the rest of the current species.

Anyway, if there's another extinction, I think it would be cool if the next batch of "intelligent" beings were exoskeletal. Or maybe ocean-dwellers. Or both.

Actually, at the current rate of species extinction, some biologists delcare that we are in an extinction period right now. Using geologic time-scales, this seems plausible.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by NWB

Actually, at the current rate of species extinction, some biologists delcare that we are in an extinction period right now. Using geologic time-scales, this seems plausible.

Possibly, but I'm talking about catastrophic extinctions. Over 90 percent of all species that have ever lived are extinct.

[fmoore200]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

Do we humans actually have that much conceit to think that the universe knows about our silly trivial human-made calendars? (unfortunate answer is: yep).

Sheesh. We are so full of ourselves. So self important.

The universe KNOWS NOTHING AND DOESN'T CARE about anything we self-absorbed humans have invented (such as silly superstitions and deities, a bunch of different calendars that are thousands of years off from each other [drrr], shoes with lights in them at the mall, etc. etc.)

It is truly amazing what tripe we humans have managed to conjure up over the millenia. But hey...if it provides our easily led minds with entertainment, then cool. Have fun with it.

I just look forward to December 22 when the "end-of-the-worlders" say "oh...um...uh...er...wait...hold it....no no....we just found our math error (hehe)....it wasn't actually supposed to be Dec 21, it's another day...we'll get back to ya." Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

If the universe is self aware, is that not the same as a 'silly superstition and deity'?

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by TheEmptyCell

There certainly are Mayan's (Yucatec being the proper term, not some ancient white colonial assh**e term) in Mexico that are trying to revitalize the religious beliefs and language of their ancestors.

Actually, Mayan is the correct term for the approximately 6-8 million Mayan language speakers currently living in the Mexico/Guatemala/Belize.

Yucatec is Mayan language that is heavily spoken by Mayans in the Yucatan. Other still spoken Mayan languages include Huastecan, Ch'olan, Mamean, and Quichean.

Originally Posted by TheEmptyCell

Please, go read an anthropology text on this, and stop spreading misinformation.

I'd recommend starting with things like:

Yucatan Before and After the Conquest - Friar Diego De Landa
The Conquest of New Spain - Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Reading the Maya Glyphs - Michael Coe and Mark Van Stone
Incidents of Travel in Yucatán - Stephens and Catherwood

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

Actually, to my understanding, that's not that far from the truth. As I've heard it, the calendar says NOTHING about the world ending on Dec. 21, 2012, that just happens to be the last date on the calendar. The meaning that it's the end of the world is just an interpretation that some modern day idiots put on it.

It's not even the last date on the calendar... it's just the point where we come round to the same date (13.0.0.0.0) that the Mayans claimed for the start of the world... we've just completed 13 b'ak'tuns.

Numerous Maya inscriptions have been found which reference dates significantly past 2012, including one a Palenque which references the year 4772 AD.

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by Shakin-Slim

HAHAHAHA. Yeah, cause a society that old should have had the ability to heal themselves from disgusting, infected Spaniards, right? With an immune system that wasn't capable? It had nothing to do with their intelligence. They had one of the greatest civilisations this world has ever known.

The classic Mayan civilization had already disintegrated long before the Spanish arrived.

The Classic Maya collapse occurred around 800-900AD (earlier in the South, later in the North) and had nothing to do with the Spanish.

[Russell L]

Still here.