5 May 7138 - It's the end of the world!

OK, I don't really think the world is going to end on the 5th of May 7138. That's just when the next great cycle of the Mayan calendar ends. As anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows, the current cycle ends in December 2012, 23 December 2012 to be precise. Some people do seem to be getting into a bit of a tizzy about it.

I suppose it's understandable considering it's attached to the idea of the end of the world, but consider this:

"The Maya believed that time was cyclic and that at the end of a great cycle of 13 Baktuns, the world would be destroyed - only to be recreated for the next cycle." Mapping Time by E. G. Richards, p. 193

A few things to note:

1. A great cycle of 13 Baktuns is followed by another great cycle. This is how it is with every calendar cycle. They repeat. Regularly. The great cycle of the Mayan calendar is no exception.

2. The idea of the world being recreated seems to have been lost somewhere. The main focus for discussion of this date and the associated "event" is the end of the world. I have yet to come across anyone mention the world also being recreated, even though that is also part of the Mayan belief.

"But Drew, what does it matter if the world is recreated if everyone is dead because the world has been destroyed?"

That brings me onto point 3:

3. This whole kerfuffle arises from the Mayan calendar and Mayan belief. Since the Mayans are no longer around, what does it matter to most people what they believed? Why pick up on this one belief just because it's about the end of the world and the date happens to be in our generation?

I see no reason to believe that the world will end on 23 December 2012. Or 5 May 7138. Or any date anyone cares to name. Will the world end at some point? Apparently the sun is going to go supernova in about 4 billion years. That should do it. In the meantime, "plan as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die tomorrow".

Timestamps are GMT.