Friday, April 8, 2011

Fractal Time - Review

Gregg Braden's Fractal Time: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age is what I consider a quasi science/self-help book that investigates the possible ramifications of the "2012 world's end" predictions. The main precept is, Does the past hold the blueprint for the future? Braden reasserts many times that the 2012 date is does not predict an Armageddon. He presents cosmologic data that pretty much confirms that earth is a part of fractal time—a moving piece in cycles that have been going since the universe was formed. December 2012 is when the earth will reach end of an oblique circling of the sun that has encompassed 250 centuries. December 2012 also marks when the earth begins its long trip anew. This cosmic trek has been noted in several ancient records from several continents, most notably the 3,000 year old Mesoamerican calendar. The first part of the book details information about how the 2012 date was ascertained from these ancient, often stone-tablet, tomes.

Braden, a former computer systems designer, also presents the theory of the Time Code, and how the small cycles within the big universal cycle can be calculated. These small cycles affect the environment, world politics, and even a single person’s life. This theory is nicely laid out with formulae and several examples; an appendix at book's end has even more step by step detail.

The science part was interesting, and I've perused several of the online sites listed in the references for more information. The "calculate your cycle" part didn't hold my interest as much. I find it more a remarkable mystery that the ancient astronomers and astrologers were able to perceive this movement of the earth—a vast cyclical trek that modern scientists, with computers, space telescopes, and so on, are just now comprehending. Regarding the future, I'm sort of a "whatever" type person, and the idea of trying to determine the not-yet-arrived-at good or bad features of this life’s cycle, doesn't appeal. But for those interested, Braden's book has some unique and well presented ideas.

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