Customer Reviews

Velikovsky and Establishment Science

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This special issue of KRONOS begins the demolition -- continued in "Scientists Confront Scientists Who Confront Velikovsky", which is still in print -- of the Cornell work (the title of which should be obvious).

These two issues of KRONOS were prepared in response to the published critiques, abuse, etcetera which were heaped on Velikovsky in what amounted to a public show trial -- conducted under the auspices of the AAAS -- familiar to those who have studied the Stalinist era.

This issue rebuts the hatchet jobs on Velikovsky which had been carried out by Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov, and features three papers by Velikovsky himself. This is alas out of print, but should be available in used book search engines.

His arguments have never been answered except by the use of straw men (i.e., by not actually answering the arguments, but misrepresenting those arguments in ways) and false statements. His decades long call for the careful use of scientific dating methods to confirm or disconfirm both his chronology and the conventional pseudochronology has been ignored.

At least one of those who have taken up the Glasgow Chronology has made some odd (and false) statements about Velikovsky, which makes me suspect they're not entirely familiar with his work. Nevertheless, these lesser lights are generally correct that the conventional pseudochronology isn't correct, and is off by centuries. Otherwise their alternative chronologies don't hold up except where they're in agreement with Velikovsky's.

For those who don't know and can't be bothered to find out -- Velikovsky has nothing to do with UFOs, Sasquatch, or extraterrestrial intelligence. He was not a charlatan. Various parties continue to use such ad hominem attacks against the polymath Velikovsky, who died over twenty years ago. Beware of such folk -- they're the kind who want to squash debate, eliminate dissent, and crush opposition, all the while professing to be protecting you.

For more details on Velikovsky, check out: http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/cat/velikovsky.htm

For more details on Velikovsky, check out: http://www.knowledge.co.uk/xxx/cat/velikovsky.htm

Immanuel Velikovsky is widely recognized among serious historians, pre-historians, geologists and cosmologists as one of the more arrant of charlatans. It is grossly misleading that this book should be included in any category other than myths, superstitions and hoaxes. It should certainly not be included with any list of books dealing with serious history or science. Only the most credulous sorts -- those who believe in extraterrestial visitations, spontaneous human combustion and such nonsense -- could conceivably take Velikovsky seriously. If Amazon allowed the rating I would give the book a minus 5 stars.