Fotografía de autor
10 Obras 152 Miembros 2 Reseñas

Sobre El Autor

Henry H. Bauer is a professor emeritus of chemistry and science studies and dean emeritus of arts and sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute State University (Virginia Tech). The author of numerous books, including several that examine scientific heterodoxies, he lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Obras de Henry H. Bauer

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ukjent
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male

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I first came across Immanuel Velikovsky’s books in 1951 when as an impressionable 20-year-old; I was serving in Labrador in the US Air Force. I read his “Worlds in Collision.” Right afterward I read his “Earth in Upheaval” and “Ages in Chaos.” These books certainly made an impression on my young mind, and apparently on many other people also. Velikovsky, well educated and erudite, but a psychiatrist rather than an astronomer or a geologist, challenged many opinions then held by the scientific community.

He tried to prove that Venus once had an erratic orbit that caused it to almost collide with Earth. It missed the Earth, but caused catastrophic disturbances. Then it almost collided with Mars, disrupting Mars' orbit and causing Mars to almost collide with Earth, again with catastrophic consequences. Velikovsky appealed directly to the untrained general reader, like myself, bypassing the specialists. His opinions about the Solar System's stability differed very much from opinions that were then accepted. His articulate prose made his books best sellers. However, his methods so offended the specialists that some of them tried to ban publication of his books.

The brash action of those who tried to ban his books shocked many people, especially students preparing for careers in the physical sciences. Later, NASA exploration of the Solar System confirmed some of Velikovsky's opinions. Because of these events, Immanuel Velikovsky gained worldwide fame, a nemesis for those who opposed him, an inspiration for those who believed him.

Henry Bauer, almost fifty years later wrote “Beyond Velikovsky: The History of a Public Controversy.” Bauer used quotations, letters and excerpts from articles and ventured his own opinions. He claimed to be open-minded and fair to Velikovsky, but Bauer made several statements that show even he shares the same bias the scientific community had fifty years earlier. Velikovsky offended scientists, even Bauer, by bypassing the standard procedure of publishing one thesis at a time for the scientific community to evaluate.

Standard procedure would have each thesis published separately so the scientific community could critique and add to them point by point. Velikovsky bypassed the scientific community by writing directly to the general reader. In effect, he upstaged the scientific community in their own field. Bauer states "In this house (of knowledge) that astronomers knew so well, there was a door of possible catastrophe that they never noticed. Velikovsky did the most infuriating thing in the world. He, a stranger, walked through this door." The animosity of some scientists ran deep.

In my readings, I have seen Velikovsky belittled in many scientific books, and yet, some of his widely ridiculed claims turned out to be correct, like the surface temperature of Venus being 800 °F, radioactivity on the moon, and the Earth’s magnetosphere. Because of the long standing controversy about Velikovsky, Henry Bauer wrote to set the record straight. Being an established and respected professor of chemistry himself and author of many scientific papers, Bauer is well qualified to speak for the scientific community.

Although Bauer is still critical of Velikovsky, his book presents a well-researched and thorough account of the main elements in the controversy about Velikovsky. The reader can view a broad overview of what was written by the scientific community and what some famous scientists did in public forums with Velikovsky to refute his claims. If you have ever heard of Velikovsky and wondered what the controversy about him is about, this book is well worth reading.
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Denunciada
MauriceAWilliams | Dec 25, 2014 |
A useful introduction to the Loch Ness Monster controversy, but also an excellent case study of how science works. My two favorite chapter titles: "Bad Reasons for Believing" and "Bad Reasons for Not Believing."
 
Denunciada
ABVR | Apr 17, 2006 |

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10
Miembros
152
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#137,198
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3.8
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2
ISBNs
21

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