No credit, no credit at all
I spent a good portion of the day on the couch, feeling rather low energy, and so had the TV turned on to something mindless, in this case the TV series "Ancient Aliens." I remember my mother having a copy of "Chariots of the Gods" in the house. The idea (in case you're unfamiliar with it) is that aliens visited Earth thousands of years ago and are responsible for many human technological wonders and advances, including amazing architecture, gargantuan statuary and so on. Erich Van Daniken's basic premise includes the idea that evidence of alien presence in ancient times is all over Mayan bas relief, Egyptian pyramids and so on. The episodes I watched this afternoon credited everything from bible stories to Nikola Tesla's personal brilliance to either the direct influence or the indirect guidance of extraterrestrials.
While all this is entertaining stuff, I find it remarkably limited in its vision. In short, if you believe that ancient aliens are responsible for things like the creation of Rapa Nui's moai, the building of the pyramids, and Tesla's amazing intellect, you discredit humanity entirely, our potential, our vision, our creativity. We are nothing in the grand scheme, worthy or capable of no genius, no inspiration, no vital spark unless it comes from elsewhere.
Now, it's true that Tesla believed in the possibility of life on other planets and even wrote about communicating with the inhabitants of Mars if they in fact exist. So do I, for that matter. But he roundly disagreed with the idea that he himself was anything special or otherworldly, as was hinted at during his lifetime. So to see these TV shows theorizing on that idea is not only kind of silly but in direct contradiction to his own convictions.
Van Daniken appeared in a couple of these episodes, bound and determined to be heard, completely convinced of his premise. He kept saying that his job was to make people think and question conventional approaches to archeology and history. And all I could think was that all of his premises were based on surmise and interpretation, not research, evidence and careful validation. As a result, he gives humanity no credit at all for its accomplishments, its growth and development, its own progress and brilliance. It is, frankly, insulting to the rest of us. (It's actually a rather neo-Republican perspective, as I think about it.)
Personally, I'd rather believe that we are the products of our own evolution and development, that we produced the masterworks of our world. The concrete evidence supports it. I won't say that I don't look forward to the day I can shake hands with extraterrestrials; I do, with great enthusiasm. But I won't give them credit for our accomplishments. Absolutely not.
While all this is entertaining stuff, I find it remarkably limited in its vision. In short, if you believe that ancient aliens are responsible for things like the creation of Rapa Nui's moai, the building of the pyramids, and Tesla's amazing intellect, you discredit humanity entirely, our potential, our vision, our creativity. We are nothing in the grand scheme, worthy or capable of no genius, no inspiration, no vital spark unless it comes from elsewhere.
Now, it's true that Tesla believed in the possibility of life on other planets and even wrote about communicating with the inhabitants of Mars if they in fact exist. So do I, for that matter. But he roundly disagreed with the idea that he himself was anything special or otherworldly, as was hinted at during his lifetime. So to see these TV shows theorizing on that idea is not only kind of silly but in direct contradiction to his own convictions.
Van Daniken appeared in a couple of these episodes, bound and determined to be heard, completely convinced of his premise. He kept saying that his job was to make people think and question conventional approaches to archeology and history. And all I could think was that all of his premises were based on surmise and interpretation, not research, evidence and careful validation. As a result, he gives humanity no credit at all for its accomplishments, its growth and development, its own progress and brilliance. It is, frankly, insulting to the rest of us. (It's actually a rather neo-Republican perspective, as I think about it.)
Personally, I'd rather believe that we are the products of our own evolution and development, that we produced the masterworks of our world. The concrete evidence supports it. I won't say that I don't look forward to the day I can shake hands with extraterrestrials; I do, with great enthusiasm. But I won't give them credit for our accomplishments. Absolutely not.