Last updated on 2009-02-25.
Truth
It has been said that truth passes through three stages: ridicule, violent opposition, and acceptance. This credit has been given to German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer:
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Ridicule with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson
A few days ago I came across a video regarding a 2012 prophecy that was a perfect example of the first stage of truth. This video is of Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist, answering a question regarding Planet X and/or Nibiru, I’m not sure which since the original question is not included in the video.
Arrogance: Humanity’s Main Flaw
It appears that since we all appreciate good humor and need a little more laughter in our lives this video has gone viral online. But let’s go beyond the humor and analyze some of the critical points Mr. Tyson tries to make. He states:
“Oh yes, yes, there is no such thing as planet Nin.Bi.ru or whatever they said. It’s just fiction. And they site sources that site NASA sources, they don’t site NASA. Check the websites, you’ll see.”
Our understanding and definition of the solar system, our galaxy, and our universe is continually changing. For example, Pluto was originally classified as a planet but in 2006 it was reclassified.
“From its discovery in 1930 until 2006, Pluto was considered the Solar System's ninth planet. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, many objects similar to Pluto were discovered in the outer solar system, notably the scattered disc object Eris, which is 27% more massive than Pluto. On August 24, 2006, the IAU (International Astronomical Union) defined the term ‘planet’ for the first time. This definition excluded Pluto, which the IAU reclassified as a member of the new category of dwarf planets along with Eris and Ceres.”
So far we have been able to identify and list numerous objects in our solar system, but that does not mean that we have completely mapped it. For example, the gravitational boundary of our Solar System is believed to be defined by the Oort cloud, “although no confirmed direct observations of the Oort cloud have been made.” So what Mr. Tyson really meant to say in this interview was that according to our definitions and our limitations, we have as of yet not been able to identify any new object that we can classify as a planet or a dwarf planet, therefore any discussion of Planet X or Nibiru as astronomical objects thought to exist based on indirect scientific evidence should be considered hypothetical.
The absolute dismissal by Mr. Tyson of the possibility of finding any new objects in our solar system is quite arrogant; but then again, arrogance is one of humanity’s main flaws.
Defining the 2012 Prophecies
Mr. Tyson continues:
“And it’s all related to the doomsday predictions of the year 2012. Yes, that’s what you’re getting at, that’s what’s behind your question ISN’T IT? Yes. Yes. Yes. You want to know if the world is going to end on December 21, 2012.”
As was stated previously, the common theme for almost all 2012 Prophecies is that at some point our present civilization will be transformed or destroyed, either from within or without.
2012 is not just about a doomsday, Planet X, or Nibiru, even though some remain focussed on these possibilities. 2012 prophecies are diverse, they range from an economic collapse to a singularity, from the collapse of the ecosystem to a shift in human conscience, from the emergence of a new world order to peak oil, from fulfilling the Hopi prophecy to the end of the Mayan calendar, from timewave zero to quantum computing, and everything in-between and beyond.
The reason that 2012 is an important year is because many philosophies and prophecies have their date of realization around this period. Calling those that believe our society is about to go through a major metamorphoses wacko, and lumping them all with those who believe in Nibiru, is equivalent to calling every religious person on this planet Christian, everyone that is spiritual holy, and all atheists crazy. It’s very short sighted and ignorant.
The Solar System and the Milky Way
Mr. Tyson sums up his limited understanding of 2012 as:
“Because the same website that tells you about Planet X, this secrete planet that has its strongly elliptical orbit that will come into our zone in 2012 and knock earth off its axis, combined with on December 21, 2012, that the center of the galaxy, the sun and the earth, will come into perfect alignment and the excess gravity will then also tip earth off its axis and it will be the end of the world as we know it. This is what these webpages will tell you.”
“Turns out that if you go to December 21 and look at the star charts, It’s True, the center of the galaxy, the sun and the earth will come into perfect alignment. It will. It’s true. It’s true. What the site does not tell you is that happens every year on December 21. They left that out of the account. So it’s a fun work of fiction.”
This is the comment that made me feel obligated to make this post and scold Mr. Tyson.
“It takes the Solar System about 225–250 million years to complete one orbit” of the Milky Way galaxy, “so it is thought to have completed 20–25 orbits during the lifetime of the Sun and 1/1250 of a revolution since the origin of humans.”
“In addition, the Sun oscillates up and down relative to the galactic plane approximately 2.7 times per orbit. This is very similar to how a simple harmonic oscillator works with no drag force (damping) term. These oscillations often coincide with mass extinction periods on Earth; presumably the higher density of stars close to the galactic plane leads to more impact events.” Now why would Mr. Tyson, who has worked for NASA, not mention this?
This oscillation can be explained as follows: “Our solar system rises above and dips below the galactic plane (like a sine wave) … think of it as two waves of different frequency. Every so often there will come a time when the two are in phase for a beat or two, but this only lasts for a moment and then they're out of phase again. Depending on the frequencies, this can happen every few seconds or, as is the case with the position of the earth, sun, and center of the galaxy, every 26,000 years.”
Interesting isn’t it?
Final Comment
The information presented above is just being provided for discussion purposes. I hold no firm belief, other than that we need to come out of the dark ages, and that we are in the midst of World War III, which officially began in 2006, the most significant feature of which “is that the target of war is no longer so much a state institution as it is the citizenry of states. Since this majority is working class, World War III is really a war upon the working class, designed to increase the rate of its economic exploitation.”
I do, however, agree with Mr. Tyson on one very important issue “the earth will be here before, during, and after 2012,” or so I hope.
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