Re: Impact Scenario/New Ref.

[Tom Holtz <tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov>]

>While well-grounded in the hard sciences, he acknowledges a debt of
>inspiration to science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (who wrote the
>foreword), as well as the cultural methodology of Immanuel Velikovsky, if
>not his theories.

How about changing the last bit to read "the cultural methodology of Erik
von Daniken"?  After all, although he and Velikovsky have radically
different conclusions about the nature of the universe, the both start from
the same premise (i.e., that almost all peoples except for Greeks, Romans,
and post-classical Europeans have no imagination of their own).

>Moreover, he suggests that about 5,000 years ago the Taurids burst into a
>period of meteor storms and Tunguska-like explosions that inspired the
>building of Stonehenge(!) and the pyramids of Egypt.

Did you ever notice how nobody invokes cosmic explosions (or ancient
astronauts) as the inspiration for the Parthenon, or the Colosseum, or
Gothic cathedrals?

>To quote "The X-Files," THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE.

Nah, I think Babylon 5 has it right: the Shadows are behind it all.

                                
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.                                   
tholtz@geochange.er.usgs.gov
Vertebrate Paleontologist in Exile                  Phone:      703-648-5280
U.S. Geological Survey                                FAX:      703-648-5420
Branch of Paleontology & Stratigraphy
MS 970 National Center
Reston, VA  22092
U.S.A.