2012 Theories

Terence McKenna’s Timewave Zero theory is one of many popular theories about what might possibly occur on 12 21, 2012. Granted, the fact that he may have tailored his date to coincide with the end of the Maya(n) calendar’s current cycle is a pretty reasonable explanation as to why this theory is becoming widely accepted.

Essentially Timewave Zero is based on the results of a computer program that McKenna developed as part of his formulation of Novelty Theory. Essentially McKenna posits that the amount of “novelty” occurring in the Universe will increase or decrease in relation to time. According to this theory the Universe is designed to both increase and decrease Novelty, or newness. He posits that this newness can be modeled as a wave that indicates when, if not where, Novelty will increase or decrease. This model is supposedly capable of tracking significant events in history, though considering it’s a cosmological model, one has to wonder what kind of event actually has historical significance from a cosmological viewpoint.

This model apparently has an asymptote in 2012, or as McKenna called it a “Singularity of Novelty.” While reports vary as to whether or not the model initially coincided with the 12 21 2012 end date of the Maya(n) calendar cycle, by the time McKenna died this was the “official” time that theorized singularity would occur. But what would a Singularity of Novelty actually entail?

That is a hard question to answer, as the theory itself essentially claims that such an event would involve everything possible happening all at once. If his theory is accurate the world as we know it, hell the Universe as we know it, would be radically and fundamentally altered. But there is good news, according to Timewave Zero, the period after would be an “Age of Peace.” Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that if such a cosmic shift did occur that anybody would be particularly bothered by it. Everything, existence itself, would be fundamentally changed by the event. Concerns about anarchistic post-apocalyptic survival would not only be unnecessary but irrelevant.

Terence McKenna was a brilliant man, but it is important to remember that much of his Novelty Theory was based on his own experimentation with psychedelic substances such as psilocybin mushrooms. Not to discount the possibility that altered states of consciousness might lead to better understandings of the Universe and how we fit into them, it is important to remember that such states can just as easily lead people into believing that they are being chased by mythic beings or speaking to God. (McKenna himself felt that he was able to hear the voice of Logos, an essentially benevolent God like entity while under the influence of these substances, who in fact helped him develop his Novelty Theory.)

The cynic in me has a hard time believing that the ideas proposed by the Timewave Zero theory will come to pass. However, even if they do, there does not seem to be any way to avoid the consequences, or even a reason to worry much about what they will be. On the other hand, if Timewave Zero is not accurate, there are plenty of dangers to the human species from both natural and man made events that we must all prepare for. If Timewave Zero does not deliver an Age of Peace, it is up to all of us to usher in such a time of prosperity ourselves.