4 ms·

The Bearded Gods Speak (1971)

18 points by bayonetz 12y ago

dalke 12y ago
Thor Heyerdahl, author of that piece, is well known for his diffusion hypothesis. His work with Ra and Kon-Tiki shows that migration was possible with even early technology. It doesn't mean it happened, or that the hypothesis has any truth to it. (FWIW, I enjoyed his books about the two journeys, and his book on Easter Island.) The idea of an Egyptian/Aztec connection is often categorized as "hyperdiffusion", and has the unfortunate tendency to highlight similarities, without estimating if there were independent origins, or investigating differences. See http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2010/11/04/thor-heyerdahl-and-hyperdiffus/ http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2010/11/04/thor-hey... for a more modern commentary on Heyerdahl. Hyperdiffusion is nearly abandoned by academic research, for lack of evidence.
- bayonetz 12y ago
  It "feels" so compelling; a thought provoking read nonetheless. You are right though, just finished the Kon-Tiki works and dove into some of the other related stuff like this and no one seems to bother much with Hyperdiffusion. Of course, that was skepticism was pretty much how Heyerdahl was received before he made the Kon-Tiki voyages, no?
- A_COMPUTER 12y ago
  The irony of writers like Rundkvist lumping Heyerdahl in with frauds like Von Daniken is that Von Daniken's theories were predicated on the assumption that "primitive" peoples didn't have the ability to accomplish such achievements, and critics of Heyerdahl predicated their criticism on the same assumption. He also didn't make any truly ridiculous leaps of plausibility that the ancient astronauts theory requires. Hyperdiffusionism doesn't have any adherents today because there wasn't enough evidence to sustain it, and inside the confines of the scientific method Heyerdahl was not a scientist. But for the life of me I don't understand the continued pathological need of people to disrespect the man and his accomplishments.
teilo 12y ago
I thought this was going to be about Unix administrators.
- bayonetz 12y ago
  I hear you, man. That's why I intentionally changed the title to "Ever wonder about Egyptian / Aztec connections?" so people would understand what it was roughly about since the real title is so opaque. A moderator apparently did not appreciate my intentions.

18 points by bayonetz 12y ago

dalke 12y ago

Thor Heyerdahl, author of that piece, is well known for his diffusion hypothesis. His work with Ra and Kon-Tiki shows that migration was possible with even early technology. It doesn't mean it happened, or that the hypothesis has any truth to it. (FWIW, I enjoyed his books about the two journeys, and his book on Easter Island.) The idea of an Egyptian/Aztec connection is often categorized as "hyperdiffusion", and has the unfortunate tendency to highlight similarities, without estimating if there were independent origins, or investigating differences. See http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2010/11/04/thor-heyerdahl-and-hyperdiffus/ http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2010/11/04/thor-hey... for a more modern commentary on Heyerdahl. Hyperdiffusion is nearly abandoned by academic research, for lack of evidence.

bayonetz 12y ago
It "feels" so compelling; a thought provoking read nonetheless. You are right though, just finished the Kon-Tiki works and dove into some of the other related stuff like this and no one seems to bother much with Hyperdiffusion. Of course, that was skepticism was pretty much how Heyerdahl was received before he made the Kon-Tiki voyages, no?
A_COMPUTER 12y ago
The irony of writers like Rundkvist lumping Heyerdahl in with frauds like Von Daniken is that Von Daniken's theories were predicated on the assumption that "primitive" peoples didn't have the ability to accomplish such achievements, and critics of Heyerdahl predicated their criticism on the same assumption. He also didn't make any truly ridiculous leaps of plausibility that the ancient astronauts theory requires. Hyperdiffusionism doesn't have any adherents today because there wasn't enough evidence to sustain it, and inside the confines of the scientific method Heyerdahl was not a scientist. But for the life of me I don't understand the continued pathological need of people to disrespect the man and his accomplishments.

teilo 12y ago

I thought this was going to be about Unix administrators.

bayonetz 12y ago
I hear you, man. That's why I intentionally changed the title to "Ever wonder about Egyptian / Aztec connections?" so people would understand what it was roughly about since the real title is so opaque. A moderator apparently did not appreciate my intentions.