I am currently housesitting, and one of the bennies is that I get to use a high speed internet connection. So I was taking a look for video on the web, that I normally have to bypass. Among other things I’d be willing to tickle complete strangers for a chance to view a good copy of the movie made from the Guadalcanal’s capture of U-505. No such luck, yet. But, I ended up looking for “history” at the Google Video page, and found this. For a quick overview of what’s this book seems to propose, here’s the Wiki article.
My first question is: Does anyone really buy this?
The second question I have is a bit less antagonistic. How effective is this guy’s argument?
I’ve not really done more than skim the article, so I have no idea how compelling the full arguments might be, but I recall finding a website a few years ago proposing a similar theory, because, of course, there’s no way that the Bronze Age could have happened before the refinement of tin, since tin is part of the alloy that is bronze. If this is the same sort of logic, I’m not going to be very impressed.
And, of course, finally - how does this theory get around the problems with having a global conspiracy without global communications?
Not really noticably in the West. The usual claim, on the rare occasions I’ve seen it come up, is that this stuff is “big in Russia”. Whether it actually is or not, I’ve no way of judging.
From what I’ve seen, the argument is completely unconvincing, having to devolve into the usual handwaving bollocks, common amongst “alternative historians”, in order to dismiss carbon-14 dating methods and the like. Nor are his purely historical arguments remotely persuasive.
This article, which originally appeared in Skeptic magazine - and which I notice is linked to in the Wikipedia link - is a nice overview of the problems with his claims.
Amusingly, they didn’t quite manage to exclude all of the scientific methods. There remain astronomical methods. I haven’t (and won’t) run the numbers myself, but I strongly suspect that the ancient Mesopotamian records of Mercury, Venus, and Mars could not correspond to any date in the past millenium.
It would be worth $10,000 to do those calculations, of course, but I have no reason to expect that Fomenko et al would honor the bargain, which would mean time wasted trying to enforce the deal, added to the time wasted doing the calculations in the first place.
Maybe I don’t read enough crazy conspiracy-theories/alternative-histories, but that seems to be one of the most ridculous ones I’ve heard. Makes some Creationist or Atlantean arguements look almost rational.
I mean if your going to claim known history is rubbish and replace it with an alternative one at least choose a period so far back there is some doubt over the choronolgy invovled.
You should take the time to read through the Wiki article, because you’d gain valuable insights on the way some people debate here at the Dope.
Never, not once at any point in the rebuttal by Nosovsky and Fomenko, is any actual data on methods or procedures given, nor is any actual refutation of any of the multitude of contrary facts attempted. They merely assert, refer readers to other books, cite obsolete and inaccessible sources, duck all specifics, and obfuscate at a near manic level. “I believe” is their cry. “You nonbelievers merely malign.”
Once you see this delusional behavior in all its glory, you should have a much harder time accepting the very similar crackpottery attempted by people who are witnessing on behalf of their favorite theories, whether scientific, political, religious, or social in nature.