Round 1: OzWeatherman vs nikiano - "2012"

The topic for this debate is "2012 is not the end of the world!"

"OzWeatherman" will be arguing the "Pro" position and begin the debate.
"nikiano" will be arguing the "Con" position.


Each debater will have one opening statement each. This will be followed by 3 alternating replies each. There will then be one closing statement each and no rebuttal.

There is a 10,000 character limit per post.

Any character count in excess of 10,000 will be deleted prior to the judging process.

Editing is strictly forbidden. For reasons of time, mod edits should not be expected except in critical situations.

Opening and closing statements must not contain any images and must have no more than 3 references. Video and audio files are NOT allowed.

Excluding both the opening and closing statements, only two images and no more than 5 references can be included for each post. Each individual post may contain up to 10 sentences of external source material, totaled from all external sources. Be cognizant of what you quote as excess sentences will be removed prior to judging.

Links to multiple pages within a single domain count as 1 reference but there is a maximum of 3 individual links per reference, then further links from that domain count as a new reference. Excess quotes and excess links will be removed before judging.

The Socratic Debate Rule is in effect. Each debater may ask up to 5 questions in each post, except for in closing statements- no questions are permitted in closing statements. These questions should be clearly labeled as "Question 1, Question 2, etc.

When asked a question, a debater must give a straight forward answer in his next post. Explanations and qualifications to an answer are acceptable, but must be preceded by a direct answer.

This Is The Time Limit Policy:

Each debate must post within 24 hours of the timestamp on the last post. If your opponent is late, you may post immediately without waiting for an announcement of turn forfeiture. If you are late, you may post late, unless your opponent has already posted.

Each debater is entitled to one extension of 24 hours. The request should be posted in this thread and is automatically granted- the 24 hour extension begins at the expiration of the previous deadline, not at the time of the extension request.

In the unlikely event that tardiness results in simultaneous posting by both debaters, the late post will be deleted unless it appears in its proper order in the thread.

Judging will be done by a panel of anonymous judges. After each debate is completed it will be locked and the judges will begin making their decision. One of the debate forum moderators will then make a final post announcing the winner.

In the Tournament, winners will be awarded 2 points for each debate they win.

All AboveTopSecret.com Terms and Conditions Apply at all times in all debate formats.

2012 is NOT the end of the world

Before I begin, many thanks to Chissler for setting up the debate tournament, the readers about to indulge in this particular debate, and of course my respected opponent.

The Opening Statement

The topic we are discussing is one that is both thought provoking and controversial, as well as becoming an increasingly well known one in mainstream society. Considering the vast number of different of 2012 doomsday webistes and material, it will also be a broad and vast topic to research.

Id like to begin with a rough definition of "The End of the World":

End of the World- an unpleasant or disastrous destiny

So with that in mind, I will be arguing that 2012 is not the end of the world. In this debate I will show several reasons why this is not going to happen, and I will also question the plausibility of it.

Secondly, I will also be explaining why the main reason for the 2012 theory, which is the Mayan calender, and how it has been grossly misinterpreted, resulting in the theory we know today.

..............................................................................................

Finally

As I currently have no socratic questions yet, I would now like to hand the debate over to my opponent to post their opening post.

Since my opponent has failed to post in the 24 hours after my opening post, I will continue with my first argument

The Mayan Calender
As I mentioned before, the 2012 doomsday prophecy centralises around the end of the Mayan calender on December 21st, 2012. This, in actual fact, is completely incorrect.

The Mayan calender is actually composed of several different calenders, which can be interlocked and combined to create a more complexed calender.

These are:

Tzolk'in: also known as the Maya sacred round, it lasts 260 days. This calender was important in determining religious and celebratory events within the Mayan culture.

Haab': Similar to the calender we use, it was composed of 365 days, starting on the winter solstice.

Long Count: Used to measure dates longer than 52 years (which was considered a lifetime in the Mayan culture)

The one calender we will focus on, the one that is the cause of the entire 2012 theory, is known as the long term calender.Just like the normal calender we follow today, the long term calender ends, and begins again.

There vare however several major differences. It was originally used to measure dates that would last longer the Mayan lifetime, using a 20 base character system. The western calender uses a 10 character system. Each of these 20 phases is known as a Tun. There are 2 smaller numbers which are used to specify smaller periods within the Tun, or to make the Tun. These are the K'in and the Winal. Each of these units resets to zero at the end of its respective phase.

Here is a simple version of 5 different units used to measure.

1 day= 1 K'in
20 days= 20 K'in = 1 Winal= 0.055 solar years
360 days= 18 Winal= 1 Tun= 1 solar year
7200 days= 20 Tun= K'atun= 19.7 solar years
144,000 days= 20 K'atun= 1 B'ak'tun= 394.3 years

As an exapmle of how it works, 28 days is interpreted as 0.0.0.1.8. The first character being the B'ak'tun, the second being the K'atun, the third being the Tun, the fourth being the Winal, and the last being the K'in. So in explanation, the last character being 8 is equal to 8 K'in, and one day. The second last being 1 winal, which is equal to 20 days....thus 0.0.0.1.8 equals 28 solar days.

Its a complex method to compare to our own dates, but according to scholars, the Mayan long term calender does not end on December 21, 2012. Considering it begun on August 11 3114BS, the assumption that the calender ends on the 21/12/12, is totally wrong.

Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 21, 2012 is simply the last day of the 13th b'ak'tun. But that is not the end of the Long Count because the 14th through 20th b'ak'tuns are still to come.

en.wikipedia.org...

www.pauahtun.org...

As my opponent has not yet posted in the required time, I will leave my first argument as a simple one. I also have no socratic questions for this same reason.

nikiano has missed 2 posts and thus forfeits the debate.

OzWeatherman will move to the second round.