danydandan, on 01 November 2009 - 07:05 PM, said:
I,ve been thinking all day
When PlanetX or Nibiru( or wat ever) fails to show up
Will sitchen apologise for unleashing this crap on people
And what will all the people who believe his ''theory'' have to velieve in then .What will they say , will we see a mass suicide?, a new theory to believe in ,because it is a believe , its a theory of faith there is no science backing up is claims
Will the people pedaling this ****e apologise too.?
Interesting thoughts. I wouldn't count on refunds or apologies! Since this recent trend started in 1968 (von Daniken), there have been a seemingly endless stream of these hucksters (Fell, Hancock, Sitchin, et.al). Many are actually reminiscent of mid 19th century mentality. Remember the "Lost Race" supposedly responsible for the North American Effigy Mounds? Similar psychology.
So I would speculate that another highly dubious proposition is waiting in the wings, ready to fill the void when the current series have run their course.
Birmingham and Eisenberg's thoughts on the matter are noteworthy;
"The popularity of Fell's version of diffusionism can be viewed as part of a general late-twentieth-century trend in which many myths of pseudo-science (UFO's for example) are gaining respect, as reflected in tabloids, magazines, books, and popular television programs. The trend was so worrisome to noted astronomer and popular science writer Carl Sagan that he devoted one of his last books to the phenomenon. In his passionate argument for a rigorous scientific perspective, Sagan warned that a people that cannot distinguish among mythology, pseudo-science and real scientific evidence stand to lose control of their basic freedoms."
"The reasons for this disturbing antiscientific trend are undoubtedly numerous and complex. Probably, like the resurgence of religious fundamentalism, they are based on the need to believe in simple truths and explanations in a world that is becoming more technologically complex and less understandable" (Birmingham, Robert A. and Eisenberg, Leslie E. 2000:61)