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Tongue in cheek is the best way Payson Sheets, a CU-Boulder anthropologist, tries to explain the supposed Mayan calendar prophecy of doom and gloom or spiritual enlightenment, depending on which side of the calendar fence you sit on. A specialist in ancient societies of Mesoamerica, Sheets knows a tad bit about Mayan culture and has this to say about what will happen on Dec. 21, 2012.

"I might surprise my academic colleagues a little bit by saying there actually will be a perceptible, maybe even significant change, from December 21 to December 22. And that is a change of one number 鈥� 21 to 22," says Sheets, with a smile evident in his voice.

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of end-of-the-world beliefs to which cataclysmic or spiritual transformative events will occur on Dec. 21. That day is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan long count calendar. But according to Sheets, it鈥檚 not the end of the calendar, it鈥檚 only the end of what is called a 鈥楤鈥檃ktun, a millennium of sorts, of which there are 19.听

鈥淲e will be in the 13th B鈥檃ktun for about 400 years. New Agers listen in -- if you want to worry people in 400 years get them worried. But, don鈥檛 get them too worried because the Maya just put in what? From 13 they go to 14, and they go to 15, then go to 16. So how long do we have to wait until we get to the 19 th B鈥檃ktun? Well that鈥檚 a few thousand years away,鈥� Sheets said.听

He also would like to point out that if there were a prophecy connected to the calendar it would most likely be a good omen instead of a cataclysmic event due to the number 13.

鈥淟et鈥檚 say the that the Maya actually did a prophecy, that there are big changes 鈥� they didn鈥檛 -- but let鈥檚 say they did. 听It would go from the 12th B鈥檃ktun to the 13th in the Mayan calendar on the 22nd of December. 13 is the luckiest number of all Maya numbers. There are 13 components to the heavens and good things happen from the heavens. So if anything related to the Mayan calendar happens, why, things are going to better not worse.鈥�

Even though many scholars from many disciplines have dismissed the idea of the Mayan calendar prophecy, Sheets is not surprised that people put stock in it. He says remember the Harmonic Convergence from the late 80s or the Y2K scare.

"It doesn鈥檛 seem to take an awful lot to trigger prophesies of disaster. The Harmonic Convergence was happening and a number of 鈥楴ew Agers鈥� took people to Mayan archeological sites and said 鈥榖oy, hang on, it鈥檚 going to be big. This will be the only place where we survive.鈥� Well, they survived but so did everyone who didn鈥檛 go to a Mayan site. Y2K generated huge amounts of concern and then people woke up on January 1 and looked around and noticed that things were pretty much like they were the day before.鈥�

He says a number of what he refers to as 鈥淣ew Agers鈥� have contacted him about the calendar asking if there is any proof to the prophecy. After telling them there鈥檚 nothing to the myth and yet they still don鈥檛 believe him he says he makes them an offer.

Sheets continues, "What I鈥檝e done is that I鈥檝e offered to everyone of them a bet and they can choose any amount of money they want. I will match it. And they bet something catastrophic is going to happen at midnight or thereabouts on the 21st of December. Want to know how many people have taken me up? I have yet to have one cent!鈥�

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Long Count Stela by , image used under Creative Commons licensing.