黄君李

12/21/12: Definitely Not the End of the World (南宁翻译公司)

The Maya Calendar — it really doesn’t tell us the world will end 12/21/12. Image: Matthew Bisanz / Wikimedia Commons
So, here we are in December already. December 2012. You know what that means?
MAYA APOCALYPSE!
Got your attention? Good. Because if you think anything even approaching armageddon* is going to occur on December 21, 2012, you are 100% wrong.
Now, I’m not going to get into all the gritty details of where this notion that the world “will end” on 12/21/2012 arose. It more or less boils down to some confused ideas about the Maya** calendar and when it supposedly ends (or at least one period begins and another ends). There has been some research on the subject and it is anything but settled what exactly is in the Maya calendar and what, if any, significance 12/21/2012 might have (other than people love dates with pretty number sequences). There is no hard, unquestionable archeological evidence that 12/21/12 has much meaning in the Maya calendar or that even if it did, that it proclaims “we’re all doomed”.
However, if we (wrongly) assume that 12/12/2012 is the end of the world, then how will it supposedly happen? Most of the “theories” I’ve seen involve a lot of nonsense about (1) alignment of planets and the galactic center; (2) the close pass of some dark star or large planet to Earth (e.g., Nibiru); (3) complete random rubbish. So, as to try to quell some of the rumors out there, I thought I’d do a brief Q &A about the Maya Apocalypse because a lot of the ways the world ends involves earthquakes and volcanoes. Here goes:
Q: I’ve heard about the Earth, Sun, other planets and the galactic center aligning on 12/21/12. Will this trigger disasters on Earth.
A: There is not a single iota of evidence that large-scale planetary alignments cause changes in geologic events – like earthquakes and eruptions – on Earth. The only celestial bodies that could play some role – and there is some evidence that suggest that they may, in minor ways – are the Sun and the Moon. This is due to their relative close proximity (especially the moon) and their mass. I’ve covered some of this in my discussion of why the so-called “Supermoons” are silly and play no role in increasing/decreasing geologic events. What about the alignment with the galactic center? The center of the galaxy must exert some force on the Earth (and solar system) or we wouldn’t be orbiting it. However, beyond that fact that alignments like this happen all the time, the force that the galactic center exerts on Earth is ~0.00006x that of the Moon on Earth and ~0.00000037x that of the Sun, doesn’t it seem a little ridiculous to claim that the galactic center can change anything on Earth if the Sun and the Moon cause little-to-no effect on geologic events?
Q: What about the sun’s dark star companion and/or rogue planet Nibiru?
A: Here is where arguing with the Maya Apocalypse believers gets tricky. Nibiru, the rogue planet or dark solar companion, does not exist. However, just because something doesn’t exist doesn’t mean that it can’t get its way into the Mayan apocalypse lore. Now, if anything of the mass needed to cause any effects on Earth (see above) was approaching, someone would have seen it by now. It would have to be either much larger or much denser than the Moon to even jostle a faultline Even objects with very low albedo (reflectivity) can be seen from Earth, even if they are small, so how a large object approaching would not have been noticed and announced by someone – professional or amateur – makes its existence next to impossible. Now, you could claim that the world’s governments are forcing everyone, everywhere to cover it up and I can’t argue with that because it has no factual basis. If you are prone to believe such things, send me an email and I can let you in on some secrets I have about Roswell and HAARP.
Q: Could the disasters like they had in 2012 really happen?
A: HAHAHHAHAH. Oh wait, sorry, that was a real question? 2012 is as far from scientific fact as, oh, theWizard of Oz. Almost everything that occurred in 2012 can’t happen based on our understanding of the Earth – the plates can’t wander the Earth’s surface — moving 1000s of km overnight, neutrinoscan’t magically become microwaves (even during solar maximums), the magnetic field can’t magically change instantaneously, John Cusack can’t really drive a Bentley out of the back of crashing An-226 onto a Tibetan glacier and have everyone survive. Sorry.
Q: Isn’t the Sun at a solar maximum right now and a solar storm will wipe out all life on Earth?
A: The Sun does go through highs and lows of activity – and the next maximum is predicted to occur in 2013. However, the cycle is ~11 years long, so we have go through many highs and lows over humanity’s existence. Why the 2013 maximum (which, incidentally is after 12/21/12 … I checked) would be any different has no basis.
Q: I read that the magnetic field will “flip” on 12/21/2012 and earthquakes/eruptions will happen because of it.
A: Sorry, first off, magnetic reversals can’t just “flip” like a switch. Our understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field involves the motion of the liquid outer core, so changes in the magnetic field are likely gradual, taking thousands of years to occur. Also, there are likely no disasters that occur during the process of a magnetic field reversal. Over the last few million years, the magnetic field has reversed numerous times and no global cataclysm came each time.
Q: Isn’t there a fleet of spaceships coming to attack Earth on 12/21/2012?
A: Ok, so that is true. Oh wait, no, it’s not. Sorry folks, I can’t even get into science on this one because it has no legs on which to stand.
Q: So, should I be worried about endtimes on December 21, 2012?
A: No, not in the least. The Maya Apocalypse is just another in a long line of wild apocalyptical theoriesthat have likely be occurring since, well, the Dawn of Man. There have been so many false “endtimes” predictions that, as Riley Finn put it: “It turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse.“ If the end of world (and let’s be honest, most of this really means the end of humans) were to come from within the Earth or from space, we would like know about it well in advance (or, alternatively, have no warning whatsoever) with scientific evidence to back up the claims of doom. There are very real threats of potential asteroid and comet collisions with Earth that could end civilization as we know it. However, those do not happen magically because some Mayan carver decided he/she ran out of space on the calendar wheel.
Feel free to chuckle at the people who are seriously looking for bunkers to shelter in on December 21, 2012. So far, the Apocalypse Now crowd is hasn’t gotten one right yet (case in point: you exist). At least you know that science doesn’t fall for apocalyptic hysteria.
*Author’s note – These are acceptable ways that the civilization ends: asteroid/comet, climate, massive volcanic eruption, zombie pandemic, Daleks, the Master, the Mayor turns into a giant snake monster, Gachnar (although that would be a very tiny apocalypse), gateway to Hell opens over Los Angeles, Anubis, Tripods, Triffids, Ragnarok and possibly a Farnsworth Doomsday Device.

黄君李

(广西翻译公司www.gxglang.com 0771-2839077)

流出的照片显示，这款手机外形格外炫目，看起来很像是三星Galaxy手机和iPhone的进化版。消息人士透露，这款新手机拥有两种模式，可分别用于工作和私人用途，将对黑莓传统用户产生强大吸引力。黑莓能靠这款“iPhone杀手”咸鱼翻身吗？
科技博客BusinessInsider称已看到了最罕见的设备：欲与苹果公司（Apple）和谷歌公司（Google）一决雌雄的、全新设计的黑莓手机。
2012年年末，全新的黑莓10在越南网站Tinh Te上曝光。BusinessInsider的照片展示的据传是美国电话电报公司（AT&T）和威瑞森公司（Verizon）版本的黑莓手机。它与一部iPhone 5放在一起，外形格外炫目，看起来很像是三星公司（Samsung）的Galaxy手机和苹果手机的进化产品。
黑莓手机生产商RIM预计将于1月30日正式揭开新手机以及黑莓10你好！！作系统的神秘面纱。 BusinessInsider的内部消息人士透露，这款新手机的做工品质极高，它的功能将对黑莓传统用户产生强大吸引力，如拥有两种模式，可分别用于工作和私人用途。据称它的开机时间仅需一分钟。
截至2012年年末，RIM的状况与其长期以来的状况相比出现了向好的势头（相对而言）。这家公司第三财季的业绩显示，手机出货量低于分析机构的预期【690万部，而不是富国银行（Wells Fargo）预测的750万部】，同时失去了100万名订户。这个情况颇为糟糕，这也是绝大多数观察人士现在已经习以为常的消息了。有没有什么好消息呢？RIM提前一个季度完成了10亿美元的成本削减目标。它那痛苦不堪的裁员已经完成了75%。它意味着这家饱受挫折的公司目前状况良好，正准备进行公司有史以来最重要的产品发布活动。
如果它真的就是将于月底首发的手机，你认为黑莓现在有了与苹果一较高下的资本吗？

Blackberry''s "iPhone-killer" leaks

(南宁翻译公司www.gxglang.com 0771-2839077)

BusinessInsider is claiming to have seen the rarest of devices: new BlackBerries intended to take on Apple and Google head-to-head.
Images of the new BlackBerry 10 gizmo leaked from Vietnamese site Tinh Te at the end of 2012. BI''s photos, which show purported BlackBerry devices from AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) side by side with an iPhone 5, depict a super-sleek gadget that looks like the offspring of a Samsung Galaxy and Apple''s (AAPL) phone.
RIM is expected to formally take the wraps off the new device as well as the BlackBerry 10 operating system on January 30. BI''s tipster notes that the build quality of the phone is very high and that it has features that are likely to appeal to traditional BlackBerry customers, including the ability to use the phone in separate modes for work or personal use. It reportedly only takes one minute to boot.
RIM ended the year in a better position (relatively) than it has in a long time. Its FQ3 2013 results showed fewer handsets shipped than analysts had hoped (6.9 million versus an estimate of 7.5 million by Wells Fargo, for example) and lost about 1 million subscribers. That''s the bad news, which most observers of the company are used to by now. The good? RIM achieved its targeted $1 billion in savings a quarter ahead of time. Its painful staff reductions are about 75% complete. That means the battered company is in decent shape going into what will surely be the most important product launch in its history.
If these are indeed the devices debuting at the end of the month, do you think BlackBerry will have what it takes to compete with Apple?