Commentary: Hello and goodbye, 2012

This past New Year's, I wasn't sure if I should celebrate or say goodbye to my dear friends. The world is predicted to end in 2012 because of the Maya calendar ending, and the History Channel sure does a great job presenting terrifying evidence about the Maya prediction.

Many graduating seniors may be wondering if they'll even have a chance to use their degrees before doomsday creeps in and ends the world as we know it. Of course, it's impossible to accurately predict the future, but as humans, we are always trying to plan every detail of our lives, marking our calendars for appointments, meetings, birthdays and even doomsday.

Ann Freter-Abrams, anthropology professor at OU, specializes in Mesoamerican archaeology, Maya settlement pattern and Maya domestic economy, just to name a few. She provided some expert insight into the 2012 doomsday fright, which she said is amplified by Western interpretations. "The Maya calendar represented a sacred relationship to their world and was of everyday symbolic importance," she said. "In this case, the doomsday concept is misplaced. The Maya calendar simply renews or starts a new cycle."

According to an article published in USA Today, many disagree about what will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the Maya calendar finishes a 5,126-year era and restarts at year zero. Some are predicting "widespread catastrophe," while others are anticipating a "restoration" or new beginning. Astronomers contribute to the doomsday mystery, noting that "the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years" during this year's winter solstice.

With doomsday theories coming to us in books, documentaries, fictional movies and television, it can be hard to determine truth and accuracy.

"Historical data is very hard to fast-forward accurately into the future; there are just too many variables which can change," said Freter-Abrams. "What historic analysis can teach us is what happened in the past and under what conditions, so that we can learn from those events and understand the processes which influenced them… assisting us to find better solutions in the future."

OU senior Madison Stephens expressed little paranoia about the world ending this year. "I don't think the world is ending, and I think the 2012 prediction is not well-founded. They were able to take a broad prediction and link it to the apocalypse," she said. "I don't think it's any more realistic than a daily horoscope.

Stephens giggled and added, "On New Year's Eve, though, my friends and I toasted to making 2012 the best year possible just in case we do die."

For those who fear the end is near, Freter-Abrams pointed out that we're better equipped than past civilizations to overcome obstacles. "The collapse of the Maya civilization occurred because of the same human-induced issues we face today: deforestation, soil erosion, malnutrition, changing climates disrupting agriculture, warfare and political upheaval," she said. "Today, we possess different technologies to help us solve them."