Click on the link below to have a look at the newspaper article in discussion :
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-06/science/31596966_1_calendar-lifetime-anxiety
According to an article published last Sunday (6th May, 2012) in the reputed Times of India newspaper, nearly 15% of the world thinks that the world will come to an end during the course of their lives, either at the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event. The belief in the credibility of the Mayan Calendar was accentuated by the makers of the film "2012", with their impressive special movie effects. Scientific misinformation about 2012 has been ramping up for a few years, with more than 200 books and 1,000 Web sites purporting to explain various doomsday scenarios The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012. Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Just as our calendars do not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period, however, just as our calendar begins once again on January 1, another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar. For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012. (Reference to http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html)- a credible source!
This myopic attitude of gullible, herd-mentality humans has in the past has allowed them to accept various theories such as 'the royal family of Britain, President Bush’s family as well as many other higher ups are actually aliens that are here to secretly take over earth', Michael Jackson is still alive, there is a mysterious being (named God) greater than anything else in the universe that created the earth etc. It is imperative for us as IB students and critical thinkers to use our reasoning skills to differentiate between 'reliable' and 'unreliable' sources, when we hear about similar bizzare "discoveries" in the future. In my opinion, this would be a great topic for the ongoing TOK oral presentations!
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-06/science/31596966_1_calendar-lifetime-anxiety
According to an article published last Sunday (6th May, 2012) in the reputed Times of India newspaper, nearly 15% of the world thinks that the world will come to an end during the course of their lives, either at the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event. The belief in the credibility of the Mayan Calendar was accentuated by the makers of the film "2012", with their impressive special movie effects. Scientific misinformation about 2012 has been ramping up for a few years, with more than 200 books and 1,000 Web sites purporting to explain various doomsday scenarios The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012. Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Just as our calendars do not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period, however, just as our calendar begins once again on January 1, another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar. For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012. (Reference to http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html)- a credible source!
This myopic attitude of gullible, herd-mentality humans has in the past has allowed them to accept various theories such as 'the royal family of Britain, President Bush’s family as well as many other higher ups are actually aliens that are here to secretly take over earth', Michael Jackson is still alive, there is a mysterious being (named God) greater than anything else in the universe that created the earth etc. It is imperative for us as IB students and critical thinkers to use our reasoning skills to differentiate between 'reliable' and 'unreliable' sources, when we hear about similar bizzare "discoveries" in the future. In my opinion, this would be a great topic for the ongoing TOK oral presentations!
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