James W. Meritt Was Velikovsky deliberately lying, or was he just insane? This was taken f

James W. Meritt Was Velikovsky deliberately lying, or was he just insane? Organization: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory This was taken from a continuation of my evaluation of Velikovsky's book _Worlds_In_Collision_ as he proceeds through other books and talks. This is to demonstrate how little he improved and how much he tried to recon his previous incorrect/inaccurate/nonexistant "predictions" as the truth came out. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- I would like to thank the various members of the INTERNET and BITNET community of assisted me in proofing the document, providing numerous suggestions along the way. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Permission is given for this article to be copied and printed for non-profit use showing arguments concerning Velikovsky. Permission must be given for other uses. If you have any items which you believe should be included, please email me. ........................................................................ jwm@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu - or - meritt%aplvm.BITNET ........................................................................ Since my expertise is not in history, I shall mainly address those points made which have physical, astronomical, chemical, or general scientific basis and are addressed in "Worlds in Collision" or in Velikovsky's work which addresses his central thesis in that work. An occasional item (primarily involving mythology) will be included because I have been involved in the Latin mythology. (I lived in Italy and have been involved in various Latin clubs over the years.) Additionally, I am only going to be covering Immanuel Velikovsky's work itself - not what someone said he said. James W. Meritt &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& In Immanuel Velikovsky said: }I came upon the idea that traditions and legends and memories of generic }origin can be treated in the same way in which we treat in psychoanalysis }the early memories of a single individual. } [page 272] Surely this psychiatrist recognizes the fact that memories do not have to reflect reality. And since he should be aware of this fact within his own area of expertise, one would suspect deliberate misstatements. }...the volcano on the island of Thera exploded with almost unimaginable }force. } [page 276] It is a not uncommon opinion that this volcano was the CAUSE of the local disasters which Velikovsky describes. Good to see that he knew about it... And since he has demonstrated that he knew about it, his claims of "no other possible cause" are obviously deliberate misstatements. }carbon analysis of the wooden sarcophagi of Seti, Ramses II, Merieptah and }Ramses III, or the furnature and sacred boats of Thutmose III or }Tutankhamen, would yield dates 5 to 7 hundred years younger than those }assigned by adherents of conventional history. } [page 278] Interesting example of relying on tests not done, while simultaneously disallowing them when they are. This is an example of his omnipresent doublethink. }reversely magnetized rocks are a hundred times more strongly magnetized }than the earth's magnetic field could cause } [page 282] I cannot locate any recent support for this statement (supposidely made in "Science News", July 1949). A self-induced delusion on his part? }Chubb crater (northern Labradore)... covers an area of four square miles... }It must have been created by the impact of an asteroid... the asteroid }must have fallen about four thousand years ago. } [page 286 - 287] Velikovsky must have a rather small idea of what an "asteroid" is. Interestingly enough, he finds the large craters on earth formed by "asteroid" impacts, but the craters on the moon are suppose to be "bubbles". Doublethink? }age of oil is measured in thousands of years, not millions } [page 288] This is suppose to support his "recent" origins. What I find odd is that Velikovsky seems to miss that the radiocarbon is formed in the air and the date should be the date that the plant stopped taking in replacement carbon (i.e. died). If it came from extraterrestrial origins (as he is proposing) it should be dated at an infinite age, since there was NEVER any radioactive carbon (C14) incorporated from the atmosphere into any plants. This is a demonstration of his failure to understand precisely what he is addressing, or a deliberate misstatement on his part. }hydrocarbons have been identified in cometary tails by spectral analysis; }also carbohydrates (edible products) } [page 288] Water appears very abundant, there are traces of ammonia and methane, there is carbon monoxide and dioxide, atomic sulphur, CS, S2, H2S+, hydrogen cyanide, methyl cyanide, formaldehyde, and HCO. The sungrazers have shown potassium, calcium, iron, cobalt, nickel, and copper. No helium, neon, argon, nor krypton has been found. This is VERY nonedible (cyanide is a no-no), and the gases supposidely tagging along that should be in the atmosphere of mars and venus and earth (the heavy noble gases) are notably absent. For where he picked up this odd bit, Huggins found some bands in the comet's spectrum that coincided with "hydrocarbon" bands produced in the laboratory by spark discharge through ethylene (C2H4). The bands are actually radiated from the double carbon molecule C2. The spark has been found to separate the C2 from the H4. These bands are called the Swan bands of carbon. Velikovsky apparently didn't bother to read the entire experiment. No hydrocarbons. (BTW: This was the great comet of 1881. Huggins also identified the sodium yellow lines. This was in the infancy of spectroscopic examination of the heavens) Violet bands were found to arise from the unstable CN molecule - the stable form is called cyanogen. A deliberate misstatement, or a lie, or just ignorant? } (lunar craters from bubbles) } [page 289] As I said before: 1. Rock does not cool from molten to solid nearly fast enough to leave rings. 2. No combination of orbit and spin could have produced the current shape from a molten body. 3. The Apollo astronauts would have noticed this trivial detail. They didn't. 4. The rocks have been solid for millions, even billions, of years. 5. You get craters with impact on solids. No "semiliquid mass" is needed. In fact, you get very nice looking, and similar appearing, craters by impacting projectiles onto solids FAST (rail-gun fast). You even get that central peak. From the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: seven rocks were dated using the K-AR method. They yielded consistent dates of 3.0+/-0.7 X 10^9 years. Radiation exposure ages varied from 10X10^6 to approximately 160X10^6 years. This surface was NOT molten recently and the rocks were NOT "bubbled up" from beneath the surface. } (cosmic rays are caused by positive charges rushing towards a negatively }charged earth. Get real. There is no way earth has such an absurd electrical potential to serve as a particle accelerator to those near-light speeds. A slight exercise in mathematics would easily have shown this. }...Worlds in Collision, which claims only the effects to be expected }if a magnetic body like the earth should come very close to another magnetic }body } [page 297] You can't get a lot closer to the gas giants than the Voyager probes did without entering their atmosphere. Their motions were unaffected by a mystical magnetic field. }Jupiter...it appears probable to me it sends out radio waves as do the }sun and the stars. } [page 297] It doesn't. It does emit strong, nonthermal, polarized, intermittent radio emissions that are NOTHING like the sun and the stars. And of the actual distinguishing characteristics Velikovsky mentioned nothing. }gases on Uranus... have a smooth reflective surface. } [page 298] WOW!!!! A gas/vacuum interface that is optically smooth!!!!!! Not a prayer. }light reflected from the polar regions of Uranus to be polarized } [page 298] I scanned a lot on the optical observations of Uranus. There is a lot to be found relating to the light, but nothing in what I read on polarization. And if it were, there would be something. Does "phase angle" ring a bell? That was there... In Immanuel Velikovsky said: }I claimed that venus possesses a massive atmosphere, a high surface }heat, abnormal (disturbed) rotation, and hydrocarbon gases in its }atmosphere } [page 164] "massive atmosphere" = Cute enough, he also claims that it is the tail of it when it was a comet wrapped around it - the tail that would pass for a good vacuum if it were on earth. "high surface heat" = "venus is hot" Another precise prediction. Like those numerical estimates? oh, BTW: n 1940 Rupert Wildt published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal predicting a hot venus due to CO2 greenhouse efect. "abnormal (disturbed) rotation" = Interestingly enough, mars was suppose to have its 24 hour day because of its close passage to the earth. Since he couldn't see what venus's was, he cleverly didn't say. Guess he couldn't think that they would be consistent with his "theory". "hydrocarbon gases" = }I stipulated that hydrocarbons are present in condensed form (producing }a reflected spectrum). } [page 165] Odd, since just the previous page he said "gases". Perhaps he does not know the different phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma) just like he doesn't know different chemistries (hydrocarbons and carbohydrates) Besides which, in 1969 Plummer (with the university of Massachusetts) looked at the reflected spectrum of venus specifically for condensed hydrocarbons. He didn't find them. That was when the bug V shifted to gases - when his "prediction" measurably failed. }I located them in the upper (reflecting) layer of the clouds. } [page 165] Clever - first, say you cannot get a decent observation from space, then say you cannot from the surface, either. Safe bet. Unfortunately, they don't show up in the reflecting spectrum, either (as shown just above). }I maintained they are the sole constituents of the clouds. } [page 165] Unfortunately, he already said that some mysterious dust is there. Equally unfortunate, other chemicals have been ID'd there. }The evidence of the presence of hydrocarbons and their derivatives should }be sought in the deeper infrared... (3.4 - 3.5, 8-12 micron regions) }hot and oxydizing atmosphere of venus }[page 167] }... upper atmosphere is reducing... }[page 168] }... polymerized and therefore heavy molecules of petroleum hydrocarbons }are not necessarily present in the upper layer of the dense atmosphere. }[page 165] Talented hydrocarbons. When he wants them in the upper clouds they are in the upper clouds. When he wants them off into space and travelling to other planets (earth, for instance) they are free of the bounds of gravity. When he wants them to avoid the upper layer of the atmosphere, they are not necessarily present. When he wants them to be gases, they are. When he wants them condensed, they are. When he wants them to change to carbohydrates, they do. And back to hydrocarbons on demand. Immanuel Velikovsky's will must have more impact on these molecules than gravity, heat, chemical bonding,... }bacterial transformation of hydrocarbons into carbohydrates and }proteins }[page 168] Where? The lower atmosphere is lethal to any and all bacteria unless they can live in molten lead instead of water. The hydrocarbons avoid the cooler upper levels. Not to mention the minor detail that there is no indication at all that such bacteria exist. (not the conversion part - the part about evolving in a reducing hydrogen-helium atmosphere with ammonia and methane, then in a CO2 atmosphere) }the envelope of venus may well contain some ferruginous particles }and ash }[page 168] Ferruginous = iron containing. His "may well" should be "better", since that is what he based his "water to blood" spiel in Worlds in Collision. The odd part is that, if it were present in anything like those amounts, venus should appear red. It obviously doesn't. ash = burned cellulose containing material. Like, what burned? Got it! It is the remains of his "vermin" after being heated to "candescence"! }My claim regarding the presence of organic molecules in the atmosphere }of venus awaits future testing. }[page 168] It has been tested. None found. I suppose those clever hydrocarbon/ carbohydrate/gas/condensed/upper layer/not upper layer molecules are also clever enough to hide. }Venus is very, very hot (about 1000 degrees) }[page 169] Nice of him to provide any numerical estimate at all. Of course, waiting until AFTER it is measured on site gives one reason to wonder about the origins of this postdiction. }in rotating, it turns the same face to the earth at every inferior }conjunction. This "resonance effect" could indicate that venus passed }near the earth at some point in its path }[page 169] What it indicates is that it did not. For this resonance effect to be in place, venus would have to be in its current orbit for a significantly longer period than Velikovsky proposes. At that distance, earth and venus are not exerting a very significant tidal force on each other. Since venus has no moon, it gradually (under the effect of a REAL small periodic force) synchronized. This is not something that would happen quickly. If venus had been in another orbit, the period would have been different and it would not sync now. If it had passed close to earth, the tidal effects would have imparted a significant amount of angular momentum to venus and insufficient time would have passed (by now) to dampen it. }venus...body plastic or molten...molten crust...plastic rock }(attributes mountains to ground tides) }[page 169] There are mountains, for instance, of 13 kilometers high. That does not sound like a molten or plastic crust. It would have sagged like hot butter. Ground tides from what? There is no moon. Perhaps solar tides? But that would have these mountains migrating. Not an observed phenomena. Also, tides are caused in the same plane as the two bodies are in. Please note: There's a wide variation of altitude across Ishtar. The following table is taken from "Kliore, A. J., V. I. Moroz, and G. M. Kesting, The Venus international reference atmosphere, Adv. Space Res. 5, no. 11, 1985, Pergamon Press. (also: COSPAR Report JPL-D-2216)." Altitude Temp Pressure (km) (K) (bars CO2) Feature --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 743.0 98.12 "Average" lowland plains +3 720.2 81.09 Southern Lakshmi Planum +4 712.4 76.01 Northern Lakshmi Planum +7 688.8 62.35 Summits, Akna & Freya Montes +13 643.2 41.12 Summit, Maxwell Mons --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What we have here is a pretty rough mountain. No sagging evident. Also, this particular mountain is in the north polar region. No tides. }It must be noticeably cooling. In 1967 I offered this additional }crucial test of my thesis. }[page 169] It isn't I see no significant trend in the surface temperature of venus using the microwave brilliance values for the last twenty years. (reading chart prepared by David Morrison). And for those who want to argue over interpretations, note that Velikovsky said NOTICEABLY. It clearly is not noticably cooling or there wouldn't be a disagreement. In Velikovsky rights: }Venus' incandescent heat, its massive atmosphere (140 atmospheric }pressures!), its retrograde motion controlled by the earth; its }mountain-high ground tides... }[page 215-216] One hardly knows where to begin... Where is venus incandescent (besides, of course, in the minds and hearts of true Velikovskians)? 140 atmospheres is only off by 50% or so (and this is AFTER direct measurements) Motion controlled by the earth? Influenced, perhaps. Controlled? I am inclined to believe its primary, the sun, has a bit more to do with its orbit... mountain-high tides? Tides from WHAT? There is no moon. Ground has a lesser tidal bulge than water. The solar tide of water on earth isn't mountain-high. Also, astounding that these tides don't seem to move around the planet like the other tidal effects do... Mobile mountains... hehehehehehe } I maintain that less than three thousand years ago the moon's surface }was repeatedly molten and its surface bubbled }[page 216] From the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: seven rocks were dated using the K-AR method. They yielded consistent dates of 3.0+/-0.7 X 10^9 years. Radiation exposure ages varied from 10X10^6 to approximately 160X10^6 years. This surface was NOT molten recently and the rocks were NOT "bubbled up" from beneath the surface. }the moon has a weak magnetic field; yet its rocks and lava could }conceivably be rich in remanent magnetism }[page 216] Note the "could conceivably be". This is a good "plausable deniability" statement like he had just used. As an aside and relating to his magnetic points, the rocks brought back solidified in the presence of a magnetic field that was only a few percent of the present terrestrial field. It was NOT molten in the presence of a megagauss field. (from the Lunar Receiving Laborator results) }I would not be suprised if bitumens (asphalts, tar, or waxes) or }carbides or carbonates are found in the composition of the rocks, }although not necessarily in the first few samples. }[page 216] "would not be suprised" - so he can deny it as a "prediction" when it fails. the carbon compounds, results from the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: "A survey of organic constituents by a pyrolysis-flame ionization detector method and by means of a very sensitive mass spectrometer, provided an estimate of the indigenous organic content of the lunar samples. The values published give the organic content as under 10 parts per million.... No evidence of biological matter" "although not necesarily" - so he can always say we just haven't found those trickey molecules. Must be related to those hiding on venus... }In my understanding, less than ten thousand years ago, together with }the earth, the moon went through a cosmic cloud of water (the deluge) }[page 217] "In my understanding" - the same deniability dodge. (the deluge) - his words. Here we see the biblical basis. }...excessively strong radioactivity....from interplanetary discharges. } [page 217] An electron flow causing transmutation of the nucleii?!?!?!? No ____ing way. In ) Planets for Man Dole Our Evolving Atmosphere Is Anyone There? by Isacc Asimov Second Planet, Second Earth S. L. Gillett, Analog Dec 84 The Steady State of the Earth's crust, atmosphere and oceans Siever, Scientific American, May 1974 The Evolution of the Atmosphere of the Earth Hart, Icarus, 33, 23-39, 1978 Evolution of the Atmosphere and Oceans Holland, Lazar & McCaffery, Nature vol 320, 6 mar 1986 The Atmosphere of Venus Schubert & Covey, Scientific American, July 1981, p66 The Runaway Greenhouse and the Accumulation of CO2 in the Venus Atmosphere Rasool & Bergh, Nature, vol 226, June 13 1970 The Volcanoes and Clouds of Venus Prinn, Scientific American, Mar 1985 Venus, Near Neighbor of the Sun Isacc Asimov Structure of the Lower Atmosphere of Venus C. Sagan, Icarus 1, 151-169 (1962) Astronomy of the Ancients K. Brecher and M. Feirtag The Mystery of Comets Fred L. Whipple Geochemical exploration of the Moon and Planets I. Adler and J. I. Trombka The Planet Uranus: a history of observation, theory, and discovery A. F. O'D. Alexander The Planetary System Morrison & Owen Werelden in Botsing (Dutch) 1963 H. Freudenthal ........................................................................... references from Matt Briggs on venus's atmosphere: Dickinson, R. E. (1986). "Venus mesosphere and thermosphere, pt. 1, heat budget and thermal structure," Jounral of Geophysical Reasearch: 91 (70-80). Kasprzak, W. T. (1986). "Wavelike perturbations observed in the neutral thermosphere of Venus," Jornal of Geophysical Research: 93 (11237- 11245). Hou, A. Y. (1989). "Further studies of the circulation of the Venus atmosphere," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 46 (991-1001). Lacis, A. A. (1975). "Cloud structure and heating rates in the atmosphere of Venus," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 32 (1107-1124). Walker, J. C. G. (1975). "Evolution of the atmosphere of Venus," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 32 (1248-1255). ........................................................................... reference from Perry G. Ramsey: There is an article in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, June 1975 (in fact, the entire issue is about the atmosphere of Venus) by James Pollack and Richard Young describing a radiative-convective model of the Venusian atmosphere. ........................................................................... Articles relating to geomagnetism: Evolution of Overlapping Spreading Centers: A Sea MARC II Investigation MacDonald, K. C. ; Fox, P. J Stratigraphic Aspect of Paleomagnetic Studies of Bottom Sediments in Seas and Oceans Tretyak, A. N. ; Vigilyanskaya, L. I. ; Dudkin, V. P. Magnetic Anomalies and Sea-Floor Spreading in the Western North Atlantic, and a Revised Calibration of the Keathley (M) Geomagnetic Reversal Chronology Tucholke, p857-876 1979 Vogt, P. R. ; Einwich, A. M An Analysis of Near-Bottom Magnetic Anomalies: Sea-Floor Spreading and the Magnetized Layer Geophysical Jnl. of The Royal Astronomical Society v43 p387-424 1975 Klitgord, K. D. ; Huestis, S. P. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Parker, R. L. Magnetic Study of Basalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Latitude 37 N Geological Society of America Bull. v88 n70503 p637-647 May 77. Johnson, H. Paul ; Atwater, Tanya Geochronology of the Neogene Paleomagnetic Polarity Epochs Proceedings of the Congress (6th), International Union of Geological Sciences, Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), 4-7 Sep 75, v1 p303-305 Theyer, F. ; Hammond, S. R. A Revised Time Scale of Magnetic Reversals for the Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic Jnl. of Geophysical Research, v80 n17 p2586-2594, 10 Jun 75. Larson, Roger L. ; Hilde, Thomas W. C. Magnetic Lineations Observed near the Ocean Floor and Possible Implications on the Geomagnetic Chronology of the Gilbert Epoch Geophysical Jnl. of the Royal Astronomical Society, v28 p35-48 1972 Klitgord, K. D. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Normark, W. R. Evidence for the Opening of the South Atlantic in the Early Cretaceous Nature, v246 n5430 p209-212 23 Nov 73. Larson, Roger L. ; Ladd, John W. Faunal Extinctions and Reversals of the Earth's Magnetic Field Geological Society of America Bulletin, v82 p2433-2447 Sep 71. Hays, James D. Age of the North Atlantic Ocean from Magnetic Anomalies Earth and Planetary Science Letters 11 p195-200 1971. Pitman, III, W. C. ; Talwani, M. ; Heirtzler, J. R. Magnetic Reversals and Sedimentation Rates in the Arctic Ocean Geological Society of America Bulletin, v81 p3129-3134 Oct 70. Clark, David L. Palaeomagnetism of Deep-Sea Sediments International Dictionary of Geophysics, v2 p1134-1141 1967 Harrison, C. G. A. Magnetic Anomalies over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Near 27 Degrees N Science v157 n3791 p920-3 Aug 1967 Phillips, J. D. Reference for volcanic activity: The End of Atlantis ........................................................................... References for the tree-ring data: Scientists Hope Tree Rings Will Answer Questions About Past THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DATE: June 16, 1988 12:44EDT (Chris Stassen provided these) Scientists Confront Creationism_, L. Godfrey, Ed.; New York: Norton, 1983. p. 35 Timescale N. Calder; New York: Viking, 1983. pp. 28-29, 224, 271-273 Principles of Isotope Geology G. Faure; New York: Wiley, 1986. pp. 390-39 Science and Earth History A. N. Strahler; New York: Prometheus, 1987. pp. 155-158 Radiometric Dating, Geologic Time, And The Age Of The Earth: A Reply To "Scientific" Creationism Dalrymple, G. B.; USGS Open-File Report 86-110, 1986. pp. 39-41 The Unexplained: A Sourcebook of Strange Phenomina Wm. Corliss Science,133:729-735, March 17, 1961 Farrand, Wm. R. =================================================================== "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." - Albert Einstein ............................................................................. Clearly, the works of Velikovsky are the works of either a liar or an insane individual. By the way, since I presented evidence of things that he either DID know (by his own claims) or SHOULD have known (either due to it being within his field of training or easily derivable) AND things which he reverses his position to comply with his theory when the tests he claims should support him when they do not, AND deliberate misquotes, I suspect the former i.e. a capitalistic liar in in for the bucks.