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Mayan calendar: much ado about zero
Seeing that everyone from France to China is cashing in on the Mayan apocalypse, I thought that I might as well too.
My favourite Mayan mathematical fact is that their religious calendar consisted of two cycles running concurrently, a 13-day week and a 20-day week.
The first type of week was denoted by a number from 1-13, and the second by a named day.
Imagine if we had a similar system – say, a five day numbered week, and a seven day named week. The dates of the first fifteen days would be:
1 Mon, 2 Tues, 3 Weds, 4 Thurs, 5 Fri, 1 Sat, 2 Sun
3 Mon, 4 Tues, 5 Weds, 1 Thurs, 2 Fri, 3 Sat, 4 Sun
5 Mon, 1 Tues, 2 Weds, 3 Thurs, 4 Fri, 5 Sat, 1 Sun
This provides a cycle of 35 unique dates, since 5 x 7 = 35. The Mayans had a cycle of 260 unique dates, since 13 x 20 = 260.
When we wake up in the morning, our most important calendrical concern is which day of the week it is. Mondays feel different from Tuesdays, which feel different from Wednesdays, etc
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/alexs-…-explained
2012-12-21 11:06:52
Source: http://yeoldefalseflag.com/thread-mayan-calendar-much-ado-about-zero
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