Pretty much what I came up with is that each cycle in the Mayan calender is the end of a certain way of thinking. With this current cycle being called The World Cycle the train of thought is currently majorly focused on this planet with a slight outreach to other planets. The only issue is that there is still split views in many aspects as we all know (religion, politics, etc).

I think each cycle ends with a massive discovery or event as every prediction and prophesy has stated. I think the last cycle ended with the Sumerians discovering and observing their surroundings more meaning they expanded their knowledge and changed their way of thought. Religion back there I consider more of a form of a classification system for early humans.

Well within the last five cycles what has humanity as a whole done. Evolve, become independent, become more advanced, become intelligent. What haven't we done? converged our thinking and became independent being with a shared outlook to better our race and look towards the stars for answers.

So what would manage to do that? The only things I could think of is the discovery of the "god particle" or the discovery or visitation of alien life. Or an massive crusade/WWIII that kills the majority of all religious folk and religious centers (Jerusalem, The Vatican, etc), but I'm hoping for one of the first two as mass death isn't a very nice thought.

While I am probably wrong, hopefully I'm close because worldwide devastation doesn't sound fun.

Sadly the Mayan calendar doesn't end in 2012, but in 21?? something

I could have sworm the Mayan cycles are 5125 years. Some other groups cycles were 26,000, and anothers is 104,000 which all fall onto 12/21/2012 at 11:11am.

Let's say there are others who have translated from one calendar to our own to arrive at a different date.

Not that that matters when 2012 is the most popular apocalypse day

Well figure even if that date isnt dooms day it would still fall onto a transition period if you follow the pattern of cycles. Which still my prediction could still happen, its just not the end of the world.

Last Mayan transition was before 3000AD from what I can tell.

I just figured it out too, none of it means anything. Lots of people will call any day that has some vague premonition about it the end of the world. The Mayans made a calender, it ends in 2012 because thats how long their calender is. It's not because they went "Well we won't need a calender after that, afterall the world ends then".

What, didn't you hear? It's the date Nintendo will officially become d0med forever.

Dude it's nothing more than the end of a cycle in a calendar. The problem is people are lending waaayyy too much credibility into an old culture's mythology or the senseless speculation being done by wackos.

Like I said, it's nothing more than the end of a calendar unit and the beginning of a new one similar to a new millennium for us. There's no credible evidence to suggest the mayans as a whole believed anything would happen in 2012 considering references are scarce and contradictory.

All of this doomsday, new age, end of cycle stuff is all crap made up by people seeking attention or money.

The world ends in 6 days. Proof? My calendar doesn't go further than that.