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From: Tom McDonald <tmcdonald2...@charter.net>
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Subject: Re: Lucy FACTOID 101
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On 4/9/2012 2:06 AM, Jason wrote:
> In article<g1ggr.22304$Yx.20...@newsfe04.iad>, Tom McDonald
> <tmcdonald2...@charter.net>  wrote:
>
>> On 4/8/2012 1:45 AM, Jason wrote:
>>> In article<pcXfr.9004$jZ1.3...@newsfe13.iad>, Tom McDonald
>>> <tmcdonald2...@charter.net>   wrote:

<snip>

>>>> I guess it was only a matter of time before you brought von Daniken into
>>>> this. He was, and is, a charlatan of the first water, and one who
>>>> appears to have swindled even you.
>>>
>>> I did read one of his books.
>>>
>>>
>> Did you believe his swill?
>
> I believed some of the information that was in his book but not all of it.

Some of the information in his books is indeed factual. But not the 
parts where he takes a bit of true information (e.g. the recumbent Maya 
king with a world-tree dealie growing out of him) and makes a wild and 
clearly wrong deduction from it (i.e. that the recumbent figure was an 
ancient astronaut).

The sly thing von D does is to frame things in the form of a question 
when first presented (as in, 'could this reclining figure be an ancient 
astronaut?'); and then, a few pages later, assume that his question was 
answered in the affirmative (as in, 'since we know that the Maya knew of 
ancient astronauts....). So the original, piece of evidence is factual; 
the original question as to what it might mean is reasonable (if 
far-fetched); but the way he uses these facts and questions is not valid.

IOW, he lies. A lot. Floridly. But, since he bases his stuff on actual 
artifacts and reasonable questions, folks get tangled up in his lies 
without, often, noticing.

> I do believe it is possible that there may be life on other planets.

Of course. But von D's books won't help anyone figure out whether we've 
been visited by any intelligent aliens.

> God
> could easily have created life on various other planets. NASA must also
> believe it. I once saw a television show about that subject.
>
NASA thinks it's possible. But they don't base their thinking on the 
sort of swill von D, et al., spewed for the purpose of making a killing 
on the rubes.