5 Thing's I've noticed about... 12/21/2012

It's been almost a year since 12/21/2012, the day that the world was suppose to end... or change (depends on who you asked).

Now there was a lot that didn't happen that day that was suppose to, and there were certain things that day that did happen, just not what some people were expecting.

I've looked back upon what did happen that day, and I've come up with the five different things that I've noticed about that day and the whole doomsday prediction itself.

So here are five things I've noticed about 12/21/2012:

5. Nothing really important happen that day.

Well... not necessarily nothing per say, but in terms of the world shattering event that was suppose to occur (at least according to some people who mistook the ending of the Mayan calendar as being a Mayan prophecy foretelling the end of the world) nothing happened that day that was even worth bothering to remember.

The only thing that I really remember from that day is that me and several fellow skeptics laughed at all of those people who seriously thought the world was going to end that day, and the History Channel showing a bunch of programs about doomsday (because that is what the History Channel does).

Basically that's all that happened that day. Skeptics had a good laugh, the History Channel showed a bunch of BS (well a little bit more BS than usual) and that's it... well, that and fact that...

4. Millions of Doomers realized how stupid they were.

The amount of people who thought the world was going to end that day (or atleast something big was going to happen that day) was probably in the millions, most of which I'm pretty sure were relived that nothing happen (although I'm sure a few were disappointed, especially those who thought it would bring about some kind of human "transformation").

I say again that while I am pretty sure that most people who believed that the world would end that day were relived that it didn't happen, I'm also pretty sure that a lot of those people felt stupid for trusting some non-prophesy that a few people who were allegedly smarter than them completely mis-interpreted and got it into the public mindset in such a way that it ended up taking off like wildfire...

Ofcourse what probably made a lot of people feel stupid for believing in the 12/21/2012 end of the world prediction is the realization that...

3. It's not the first time a major doomsday prediction has fail.

The 12/21/2012 was not the first major doomsday prediction to fail, nor was it the first major one to create a kind of mass hysteria that caused people to waste their time and money on to prepare for, as well as possibly ruin relationships with the people in their lives. The 12/21/2012 prediction wasn't even the first major doomsday prediction of the century that failed. Infact it was the third major doomsday prediction of the 21st century that failed (the first one was the Y2K prediction, and the second one was Harold Camping's Rapture prediction of 2011).

Now I went to the Wikipedia page listing doomsday predictions (and these are just some of the more famous ones) and there were huge amount of them, and obviously they've all failed to come true. Infact I actually counted the number of doomsday predictions between the time I was born and the 12/21/2012 prediction, and according to the list the world should have ended atleast 47 times since my birth...

Now in my opinion the whole 12/21/2012 should never have been taken seriously in the first place. This is not only due to the sheer fact that doomsday predictions always fail, it's also due to the fact that...

2. It was pretty vague.

The people who believed in the 12/21/2012 prediction all agreed that "something" major was going to happen that day. It's just what that something was is where people who believed in that prediction disagreed with one another.

According to all of those who believed in the 12/21/2012 prediction that what was going to happen that day ranged from that we were suppose to enter a higher stage of consciousness, to that the world was suppose to be reduced to asteroids... and everything else you can possibly think of.

The main reason why so many people were claiming so many different things was that the Mayans themselves never said what was suppose to happen that day. Ofcourse the Mayans never actually said that anything was suppose to happen that day really.

The fact that nothing happened that day, combined with the vagueness of the "prediction" should have ended all of this doomsday stuff on 12/21/2012, but unfortunately...

1. The 12/21/2012 doomsday predictions didn't end on 12/21/2012.

While most people who believed that something was going to happen on 12/21/2012 have accepted the fact that this prediction was BS and that the world was never going to end, some people haven't.

There are actually a few people out there on Youtube and blogging sites who are claiming that the 12/21/2012 doomsday prediction was actually just the beginning of a process that was going to end several months later either with our transformation into higher beings, or destruction (depends on the person who is making the claims).

It shouldn't surprise anyone however that none of predictions came true either. Infact really the only thing about doomsday predictions that can be predicted is that they will fail.

5 Things I've noticed about... the show "Ancient Aliens"

Ever watch the show "Ancient Aliens", the History Channel show that claims that humans were visited by aliens in the past? Well I have, and there are some things that I have noticed about that show.

So here are five things I've noticed about the show "Ancient Aliens".

5. Their answer for everything is "Aliens".

According to the "experts" on that show, almost everything we have built in the ancient world was built by aliens.

It doesn't matter if it is a giant structure like the Great Pyramid of Giza, or some mundane but interesting object like the Baghdad Battery, or even something that was proven to be made in modern times, such as the Crystal Skulls, according to the experts on the show, they were all either built by aliens, or their construction was guided by aliens.

Heck, even our own existence is, according to them, the result of aliens messing with our genes a long time ago.

4. The "experts" have a "pics, or it didn't happen" type mentality.

All of the "experts" on that show apparently want exact details about how a megalithic structure was built, and if they don't have those exact details, they assume that aliens built it, not humans (where as with most scientists or archaeologists, it's the other way around).

This is somewhat similar to the phrase "pics, or it didn't happen" where when someone makes a claim on the internet that they did something pretty awesome, if someone is skeptical of the claim they will sometimes say "pics, or it didn't happen". Although some might argue that this is more of a reverse of that...

3. They get their facts way wrong.

Many of the "facts" that are presented on that show are just down right wrong. A great example of this would be many of the claims they make about Pumapunku that simply aren't true.

According to the show Pumapunku is 14,000 years old, when in fact it's closer to 1,500 years old. Also, according to show, the stone blocks at the site are basalt and granite. In fact the site was constructed using andesite and red sandstone.

2. The regular "experts" on the show are not experts in science or archaeology.

The show has regular guests on that claim to be experts in the field of ancient alien or astronaut theory. The problem with this is that not only is this not a legitimate scientific field, the regular guests on the show have no degrees in either science or archaeology.

Giorgio Tsoukalos doesn't have a degree in science or archaeology. Erich von Däniken, the person whom's book Chariots of the Gods? which the show is basically base upon, doesn't have a degree in science or archaeology either (or anything for that matter).

1. The whole theory that the show is base upon is racist.

One of the biggest criticisms of the theory itself (besides being nothing more than pseudoscience) is that it is in a way, racist.

The reason why the whole theory itself is accused of being racist isn't just because it's primary focus is on none European peoples, it's also because it asserts that people who are not as advanced technologically as what we are today are not capable of constructing massive, megalithic structures, simply because we would have a hard time constructing such structures with our technology. Some people would say that's pretty racist...

Pseudo-TV: Ten shows that promote non-sense

Over the years there have been a lot of television shows that promotes things that are either non-sense, or just bizarre (I myself even admit that I loved these types of shows) and even today these shows seems to be more popular then ever.

Not only has the amount of these shows seemed to have increased, the amount of topics these shows are based on has also increased as well. Everything from conspiracy theories to psychics are now covered on these shows, and not just ghosts and UFOs anymore.

Here are what I consider to be the ten biggest TV shows that promote non-sense:

10. Brad Meltzer's Decoded - History Channel

This show examines mysteries and conspiracy theories that in a way have become a part of American folklore. What makes this show unique from other shows that examine conspiracy theories is that after the investigation is over, Meltzer will sometimes comes to the real, or at least a logical conclusion.

9. Doomsday Preppers - National Geographic Channel

This show profiles people who are getting prepared for some sort of doomsday event, which they are not only certain will happen, but they are usually certain what type of disaster it will be (some even almost seem to be happily anticipating that it will occur). While some of the people on this show do appear to be some what rational, there are others that appear to need some sort of mental health treatment for their paranoia.

8. Finding Bigfoot - Animal Planet

This show follows a group of bigfoot hunters, and their attempts to find the legendary creature. The bigfoot hunters use multiple tools, such as night-vision technology and FLIR cameras, in their attempts to find bigfoot. In fact they do just about everything to find bigfoot... and still can't find him.

7. Haunted Collector - SyFy

This reality show follows demonologist John Zaffis as he travels around the country, investigating allegedly haunted homes and buildings in which the haunting may be being caused by a certain object, or objects, within the property. After Zaffis has "determined" what object is causing the haunting activity, he then usually removes object (which is usually pretty nice looking and expensive) at the owner's request, and puts it into his own private museum.

6. Chasing UFOs - National Geographic

This show profiles three people, one skeptic, one believer, and one not quite sure what to believe, as they travel the world investigating claims of UFO sitings, and trying to capture UFOs on video. Basically this show is not much more than your typical UFO hunting TV show that fails to prove that aliens are visiting the Earth.

5. The Dead Files - Travel Channel

Featuring psychic medium Amy Allan, and former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi, this show features the two conducting two "independent" investigations, first with Allan going through a walkthrough of an alleged haunted site (after her husband Matt goes through the place prior to her arrival to remove any objects that might "influence" her). During this time it is shown that DiSchiavi is interviewing people who have had paranormal experiences at the location of the investigation. The two then meet up and share the information they got. By all appearances this show seems to be nothing more then an attempt to prove that psychic powers are real.

4. Ghost Hunters - SyFy

One of the longest lasting shows on TV about ghost hunting (and one of the longest lasting shows on SyFy) this series flows members of "The Atlantic Paranormal Society", or TAPS for short. Often times they will debunk soft targets that are easy to debunk in an attempt to seem credible, yet don't bother to debunk things that are tougher to debunk for those who don't have enough knowledge into what might be causing such activity. This show has also spawned several spin offs.

3. Long Island Medium - TLC

The show follows Thersea Caputo, a woman from Long Island, New York, who claims to have psychic powers and can talk to dead people. The show showcases her randomly going up to people when she claims to feel a "pull" towards them. After talking to that person and asking them questions for several minutes (which looks an awful lot like a cold reading) she finally gives that person a message that she claims is from one of their loved ones from beyond the dead.

2. Ancient Aliens - History Channel

This show is one of the most criticized shows on TV, and with good reason. The show and the people on it do nothing more then promote pseudoscience and suggest that our ancestors were a bunch of idiots who don't know how to build complex structures or tools. The show and the people on it uses deceptive means, misunderstandings, and shoddy research in order to try to prove their claims. Most of the claims on this show have been dis-proven and discredited a long time ago.

1. Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura - TruTV

The only show that beats out Ancient Aliens in terms of non-sense and deceptiveness. Many of the subjects on this show have also been dis-proven or discredited. The show has one skeptic on it (versus four who are not) in what I suppose is an attempt to make the show at least seem some what credible. The only thing this show is really good for is scaring people into believing things that aren't real, and making conspiracy theorists feel their paranoid beliefs are justified.

Ancient Aliens Debunked (The Movie)!

Ancient Aliens is one of the most popular shows on the History Channel. It is also one of the most controversial television shows as well, not only for the fact that it is accused of promoting pseudoscience and pseudo-history, and that many of the claims made are the result poor research and false assumptions, and it has even been called deceptive.

In this the new online documentary about the show, internet talk show and podcast host Chris White shows how many of the claims made on "Ancient Aliens" are not true, and are either the result of not doing proper scientific and archeological research, or are outright false:

Also, please feel free to go to the Ancient Aliens Debunked website and find out more information.

Also, for further reading, please go to the Ancient Aliens Debunked page on Illuminutti.com.

ECT Follow up: Ancient Aliens Cover-up: How Myths are Created

On a previous blog post I wrote about Ancient Alien theorists believe that not only have aliens visited us in the past, but that they also believe that information that would prove this to be true is being covered up.

Besides the fact that you really couldn't cover up something, the stories that are told by ancient peoples you really can't take at face value and say that it's entirely true.

Ancient alien theorists tend take myths way to literally, and that ancient humans were basically trying to best make sense of what they saw, and in a sense, this is true. The problem is that ancient alien theorist believe that these myths are maybe only two or three hundred years older then when they were first written down. In  reality these myths are probably several thousands of years older then when they were first written down. The simple matter of fact is that we have no idea just how old these myths really are. Even if those myths were only a couple of hundred years old before they were written down, it still doesn't mean that the details didn't get messed up along the way.

The most likely reason that these myths started in the first place was that they were a way to explain natural events in a way that makes sense to prehistoric man. Because back thousands, or tens of thousands of years ago, we didn't have the science or knowledge or technology to find out just how nature really did work, so people started to make up stuff, but in a way that makes sense to them and fits their reality.

These stories, or explanations, whichever you wish to call them, gets told to other people, and they go out and they tell other people, and then those people go out and tell other people, and so on and so on.

The problem with passing down stories from mouth to mouth back then is the same as it is now, and that details get forgotten, and so a person adds their own details. By the time the myth actually gets written down,  it's nothing like the original. Even when it is written down, one person might write it down one way, and another person might write it down differently. Just take a look at the story of Medusa for an example of that.

Another reason some of these myths were created was that they were an ancient form of propaganda.

Ancient people would sometimes create these stories about how their enemies were tyrants who feed people to monsters, and/or they no morals. The story of the Minotaur is a prime example of this.

It seems to me that ancient alien theorists are doing exactly what prehistoric man did, and that is that they are seeing things that they can't explain, so they're just making up stuff that in their minds makes sense to them, and fits their reality.

Pseudo... Television

Ten years ago if you watched The Learning Channel, you could actually learn something from that television channel. Ten years ago if you watched the History Channel, you would actual see some real history lessons on that channel. Now if you get something useful and thought expanding from either channel, you've caught them on a special day.

It seems like so many channels that once presented actual stuff that's worth learning about, is now presenting mostly pseudo-science and conspiracy theories.

Where once crap like this mostly only showed on SyFy, is now quickly taking over networks who's original purpose was to show real science, and real history.

Now it seems that all these channels show either "reality" shows, or shows containing fringe science that a legit scientist would not touch with a ten foot poll.

Every one of these science networks is guilty of this, from shows about psychics, ghost hunting, UFOs, conspiracy theories, cryptozoology, the Apocalypse, pseudo-history, ancient aliens, and the list just goes on and on and on...

And The History Channel is the worst offender of them all, because just about everything I listed above, is on it's main line-up, or shown in re-runs.

In fact, finding a show on that channel with real history on it is about as rare as finding music on MTV (or what's called music, since many people don't consider it to be music).

I blame us, the people for this, since these networks give us what we want instead of what we need, and what we need is to expand our minds in the right direction.

Yes, I know that history and science are boring to some people, but I've always felt that real history and real science, once you've started to really learn the stuff, is allot more interesting then the fake stuff that's pedaled as being real.