14 February 2012

The end of the world: Newton vs Maya

If you are already packing for the December event predicted by the Mayan calendar, you may want to reconsider the urgency. It appears that the Maya scientists were a bit hasty:

The end of the world will be coming in just another 48 years, in 2060, according to the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, who died in 1727. His calculations were not based on mathematical principles or the laws of physics, but instead on the Christian Bible and the Book of Daniel from the Hebrew Bible.
...
Newton dated the end of days from the crowning of Charlemagne as Roman emperor in the year 800 C.E. and based on information in the Book of Daniel, which he believed projected an end of days 1,260 years later, in 2060.
So, if you planned to unload your vintage Shelby Cobra and spend the proceeds of the sale in wanton debauchery till December 21, hold your horses. You 401K and IBM stock may have more time to mature yet...

0 comments: