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Yeah he is otherwise famous for his "alternative" archeology with books like Fingerprints of the Gods etc. Which by the way is a great book and although there i

Yeah he is otherwise famous for his "alternative" archeology with books like Fingerprints of the Gods etc. Which by the way is a great book and although there is a lot of outlandish claims I wouldn't say it's totally crazy. Nothing wrong with speculating and exploring non mainstream ideas. But I still think Lords of Poverty is a legitimate book and he had a lot of on the ground experience in Africa to observe how foreign aid is distributed and wasted. So I don't like dismissing his earlier work even if you find his later, let's say fictional work, dubious.

scandox 9y ago
My instincts about International Charity / NGOs are the same as yours. However I'm not willing to easily accept that instinct since it is potentially self-serving. I think that we have to consider if a book written in 1989 can still be considered useful information and we also have to consider the writer's commitment to intellectual and factual rigour.
- richardknop 9y ago
  Fair enough. But since your instincts are same would you not consider donating money directly to selected people in need you meet in real life or while traveling? Or going to do charity directly yourself to actually make a real change? I have friends who quit their jobs and went to third world countries and worked for charities on the ground for 6 months or so. This seems way better than giving money to some organization which claims it will spend it to help those people. Not sure if Occam's razor applies here but given how much money is being funneled to charities and foreign aid and how little has been actually achieved it seems likely to me that the money is being wasted, probably ending up in hands of corrupt local officials and strongmen most likely.
simonh 9y ago
I loved reading Fingerprints of the Gods, but it’s utter tosh. I’ve also seen him on TV shows and I wouldn’t trust a single thing in any book the guy has ever written. He shows complete and utter disregard for plain proof that any of his theories must be wrong. Any and all counter evidence is merely ‘one data point’ while even the flimsiest, most contrived point in his favour is strong or convincing evidence. He’s very entertaining and obviously a clever guy, but utterly unreliable.
- richardknop 9y ago
  Well, there is a sequel called Magicians of the Gods. I also wouldn't trust him too much but I'm willing to entertain interesting theories, nothing wrong with that. I especially liked his work on Sphinx erosion patterns in Egypt together with Dr Robert M Schoch from Boston University (and I am not saying we should overthrow the ancient Egyptian history based one factor like erosion pattern but it is intriguing). Another interesting thing is the newly discovered 11,500 years old Gobekli Tepe, which is really interesting. I enjoy reading stuff like this in my leisure time or during long flights. Doesn't mean I trust it completely of course ;)

scandox 9y ago

My instincts about International Charity / NGOs are the same as yours. However I'm not willing to easily accept that instinct since it is potentially self-serving. I think that we have to consider if a book written in 1989 can still be considered useful information and we also have to consider the writer's commitment to intellectual and factual rigour.

richardknop 9y ago
Fair enough. But since your instincts are same would you not consider donating money directly to selected people in need you meet in real life or while traveling? Or going to do charity directly yourself to actually make a real change? I have friends who quit their jobs and went to third world countries and worked for charities on the ground for 6 months or so. This seems way better than giving money to some organization which claims it will spend it to help those people. Not sure if Occam's razor applies here but given how much money is being funneled to charities and foreign aid and how little has been actually achieved it seems likely to me that the money is being wasted, probably ending up in hands of corrupt local officials and strongmen most likely.

simonh 9y ago

I loved reading Fingerprints of the Gods, but it’s utter tosh. I’ve also seen him on TV shows and I wouldn’t trust a single thing in any book the guy has ever written. He shows complete and utter disregard for plain proof that any of his theories must be wrong. Any and all counter evidence is merely ‘one data point’ while even the flimsiest, most contrived point in his favour is strong or convincing evidence. He’s very entertaining and obviously a clever guy, but utterly unreliable.

richardknop 9y ago
Well, there is a sequel called Magicians of the Gods. I also wouldn't trust him too much but I'm willing to entertain interesting theories, nothing wrong with that. I especially liked his work on Sphinx erosion patterns in Egypt together with Dr Robert M Schoch from Boston University (and I am not saying we should overthrow the ancient Egyptian history based one factor like erosion pattern but it is intriguing). Another interesting thing is the newly discovered 11,500 years old Gobekli Tepe, which is really interesting. I enjoy reading stuff like this in my leisure time or during long flights. Doesn't mean I trust it completely of course ;)