Nice post alex. I was just going to hop in here and say about the same thing. The mayan calendar is a FINITE SYSTEM of interlocking rings. They predict a major change in the world but do not say that the world will end. Considering the increasing speed of global events this is a very legitimate prediction.

The status quo of international relations sat relatively unchanged after the Treaty of Westphalia for almost 200 yrs before democracy became widespread, then WWI showed that a global war could occur. WWII proved that east-west relations subvert to those of differing ideologies, then the Cold War proved to tear apart all peaceful means earlier. The end of the cold war ushered in an era of global peace with no obvious enemy and then of course 9/11 made international terror public enemy number 1. Some think that 2012 could be an end to nuclear proliferation or a completely international economy, ushering in global peace, others think that it will be the beginning of WWIII, either way it will be a new world. You all can blame Obama for everything come 2012, dont worry.

If you want to look into it more, I highly recommend checking out the Palinque ruins in the south Yucatan, it is the site where they have found the most mathematical data relating the stars and calendars. Beautiful jungle scenery as well as an excellent museum discussing the calendar, and also the Mayan equivalent of the finding of King Tut's tomb (Pakal for those who care).

Just because the people were ancient does not mean they were any dumber, they just had different tools and skillsets.