The PZ Myers article you linked isn't very good though. It would've been a lot better if he had poked holes in the 2014 presentation's argument that analysis "r

The PZ Myers article you linked isn't very good though. It would've been a lot better if he had poked holes in the 2014 presentation's argument that analysis "ruled out large unstable natural reactors", or its argument that the data was consistent with "fusion-fission explosions", or its argument that the explosions were necessarily airbursts. But, Myers admittedly doesn't have the expertise to do that. He could've consulted with another subject matter expert, but instead he decided to act as though the very notion of an ancient civilization on Mars getting nuked to extinction is prima facie absurd, and then ended his article with the kind of things you'd expect to hear from a Fox News anchor. And I say this as someone that thinks the chances of any advanced civilization having been on Mars at any point in the past, let alone getting nuked to death, is ... rather unlikely. PZ Myers is probably right, but in this case, it's only accidentally.