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Reflective Discussion Questions

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Assignment 2 - Reflective Discussion Questions.docx

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The following website is scientifically based, and features an article debunking the 2012 doomsday myths.
In the article is discusses the fact that 10% of the population believed that the Mayan calendar ending on December 21, 2012, meant that the world was going to end. This is related to ancient wisdom. So many people decided to blindly follow an idea that was based on a calendar created by an ancient civilization. In debunking this phenomenon, it was even proven that the Mayans weren't trying to say that with the end of the calendar came the end of the world. This also relates to agenticity and the way people try to create meaning when and where it is unnecessary.
This website and article is from a credible source and the facts are taken from NASA, also extremely credible.

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According to a recent poll, 10 percent of people around the globe worried that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some spurious interpretations of the Mayans' long-count calendar predict.

The doomsayers cite several different potential agents of apocalypse, including a collision with the supposed rogue planet Nibiru, a catastrophic solar storm or an unfortunate planetary alignment.

But it's all nonsense, NASA assures us. Here's a look at some of the most prevalent 2012 doomsday myths, and some NASA-provided reasons why we shouldn't retreat into our bunkers.

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Don't Panic! Doomsday Myths Debunked by NASA

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According to a recent poll, 10 percent of people around the globe worried that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some spurious interpretations of the Mayans' long-count calendar predict. The doomsayers cite several different potential agents of apocalypse, including a collision with the supposed rogue planet Nibiru, a catastrophic solar storm or an unfortunate planetary alignment.

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The attached image is a book cover titled How to Survive 2012, written by Patrick Geryl, a huge supporter and believer in the Mayan calendar.
This book is based on theories and not facts, as is most of Patrick Geryl's findings. The red flag I would associate with this is ideological support. This is because Patrick Geryl had a multitude of supporters who were blind to his incompetence on this subject. I would also connect the reason for belief, agenticity, because Patrick assigns meaning to concepts which have nothing to do with the Mayan calendar.
Patrick Geryl has no scientific background and therefore is not a credible source of information.

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The video below is of Mayan calendar, end of the world, believers.
Similarly to Burgarach, it was also believed that Sirince in Turkey was also a safe place unaffected by the apocalypse. The red flag attached to this video would be red herring. Despite all of the fact and disproving of this phenomenon, believers were given a false sense of security, to distract from the fact that the end of the world was not coming. The evidence of this being a safe spot is unreal, and misleading.

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Mayan calendar believers prep for end of the world

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The following website features an article written about the town of Bugarach, which was said to be a safe spot during the 2012 apocalypse.
The reason for belief correlated with this is agenticity. Those who believed in the Mayan calendar resulting in the end of the world, also thought that this town was a safe zone due to the belief that aliens resided there. These people assigned an "agent", so unreal, just to have something to believe in.
There is no real evidence to prove aliens existed in this location, let alone any scientific proof that the world would end on December 21, 2012.

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"Peak of Bugarag" is a mountain which has for hundreds of years been known for its mysteries and alien activity. One interesting thing is the records of German Natzies doing diggings around this area.

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The image below is a photo that I actually took, of Mayan ruins known as Chichen Itza, which is located in Mexico.
These ruins are rich in Mayan history and displays the extent of the knowledge that the Mayans had/used.
The reason for belief associated with this photo is ideology. I believe it connects to ideology because Chichen Itza is a part of an ancient city/society, whose culture is still around today. This site is also a popular tourist location, proving how the culture effects us. The limited knowledge of the Mayan people effected us specifically through the Mayan calendar and lacks scientific credentials.

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The video shown below is a "How-To", on surviving the 2012 "end of the world".
I would attach red herring, as a red flag to this video. This is because I believe the intent is to make fun of and distract viewers from logical and critical thinking. There is no questioning of the event itself, just how to "survive it". The Howcast video also uses the emotions of people to prepare them for something that they haven't even scientifically proven is going to happen.

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The website article below features a report of the real fear evoked from the 2012 doomsday theories.
The article relates to the reason of belief, emotional connection. This is because it shows how peoples' emotions were so easily affected and swayed by this news. It also relates to the red flag, suppression by authorities, as many people also believed the government had a conspiracy to try and cover up the "2012 doomsday". The written article is from a credible source, but the phenomenon certainly preys on the fear, emotions, and gullibility of people.

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ON TV 2012: Countdown to Armageddon airs Sunday, November 15, at 7 p.m. ET on the National Geographic Channel. Preview >>

It's almost the end of the world, according to purported Maya predictions, and the 2012 apocalypse business is booming.

(See "2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked.")

Survival kits, documentaries, and nearly 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story are all on offer. And you could probably surf the Web from now until Armaggedon-tentatively slated for December 21, 2012-and still see just a fraction of the Web sites and products devoted to the topic.

But amid all the hype-including a viral marketing campaign for 2012, the disaster movie opening Friday-some people are developing honest "end times" anxiety that has experts seriously concerned.

NASA's Ask an Astrobiologist Web site, for example, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions-some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, a senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

"A lot of [the submitters] are people who are genuinely frightened," said Morrison, who thinks movie marketers, authors, and others out to make a buck are feeding some of the fears.

"I've had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn't want to be around when the world ends," he said. "Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn't have to suffer through the end of the world."

(MORE: "2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings.")

2012 Movie Just Entertainment

Part of the worry, Morrison says, is being fanned by a suite of Web sites created by 2012 distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The sites appear to represent scientific organizations, press releases, and 2012 whistle-blowers all intent on telling the "truth" about our upcoming doom.

Now all the 2012 marketing sites display clear disclaimers that the contents are "Part of the 2012 Movie Experience."

But those labels weren't there from day one, adding to the suggestion that the doomsday scenarios might have some truth behind them, Morrison said.

Sony Pictures spokesperson Steve Elzer argues that it's clear the film's marketing materials are tied to the promotion of the movie.

"When moviegoers see trailers or visit Web sites linked to our film," he said, "they know this is an entertainment experience, just as those who see materials created for Transformers understand robot aliens have not really landed or those who attend Twilight: New Moon know vampires are not actually among us."

2012: Is This the Way the World Will End?

In general, fear over the 2012 doomsday prediction is just another example of a scenario that has been repeated over the centuries, said University of Wisconsin historian Paul Boyer.

Baptist preacher William Miller, for example, convinced as many as a hundred thousand Americans in the early 1800s that the second coming of Jesus Christ would happen in 1843. It didn't, much to the Millerites' "great disappointment."

And Hal Lindsey's 1970s national bestseller The Late, Great Planet Earth suggested that the end could come in the 1980s. We're still here and so is Lindsey, who has since revised his theories.

(See pictures of other failed end-of-the-world predictions.)

"The crucial date always seems to be within a decade or so of the present, so that you have a sense of imminence, that it's going to happen soon," said Boyer, author of When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture.

A healthy distrust for authority fuels the fire.

Conspiracy theorists often believe that world governments and those "in power" know all about some impending disaster but are doing nothing to save the rest of us.

Now, thanks to the Internet, such theories can gain traction quickly and spread more widely than ever before. Yet something must account for the enduring appeal of an upcoming Armageddon. Perhaps it's knowing the future when others don't, or being one of the select few to solve impenetrable mysteries, Boyer said.

"For a lot of people I think it's almost kind of a parlor game. But there are also people who take it very seriously," he said.

"What strikes me is the total lack of historic awareness that people who get caught up in these things seem to exhibit. The most elementary look at history shows such a series of these episodes that are then proven false.

"Yet despite that, there always seems to be a market."

Maya 2012: Truth Better Than Fiction

Anthony Aveni, a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, has also seen the effects of 2012 hysteria firsthand.

"I got into an email dialogue with a high school student who was quite seriously concerned that the world was going to end," he said. "This person thought we were all going to die. That motivated me to write about it."

His book, The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012, is one of several attempts by experts to dispel the myths of the Maya apocalypse and instead focus attention on the facts about the ancient culture.

"It's a teaching moment," Aveni said. "If we allow people to fear 2012 and miss a great opportunity to learn about the Maya and their amazing culture, then we're not doing our job."

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2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings

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ON TV 2012: Countdown to Armageddon airs Sunday, November 15, at 7 p.m. ET on the National Geographic Channel. Preview >> It's almost the end of the world, according to purported Maya predictions, and the 2012 apocalypse business is booming.

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The image chosen is that of the Mayan Long Count Calendar, which is an astronomical calendar that marks a beginning and an end.
The photo relates to the red flag, ancient wisdom, as it was a basis and belief of the Mayan culture from years and years ago, yet the people of today still followed it. A reason for belief associated with the long count calendar would be Ideology. A mayan cultural belief which would lead one to believe in the "end of the world". The calendar isn't false, but a basis of time and understanding of the Mayans.

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The video below is a trailer from the movie 2012.
The red flag associated with this video, would be appeal to authority. This is correlated because the film 2012 demonstrates the destruction of the world on December 21, 2012 and features famous actors such as John Cusack. By creating a film such as this it allows viewers to be influenced into believing, in the apocalypse, based on celebrity endorsement. The movie uses peoples’ emotions and fears for entertainment purposes, it also uses false scientific evidence as the main storyline.

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Post #1 Title: Assignment 2: The Mayan Calendar, By Alisha Ross 

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Post #1 Title: Assignment 2: The Mayan Calendar, By Alisha Ross 