Recap

The Velikovsky Debate

Physicist James McCanney and NASA astrobiologist Dr. David Morrison debated the merits of Immanuel Velikovsky’s theories of a chaotic universe, which detail how the planet Venus passed by Earth before it came to its current position. Morrison noted that Velikovksy wasn't a scientist and his ideas displayed a basic lack of understanding of chemistry, physics, and astronomy.

While McCanney conceded that some of Velikovsky's ideas were clearly wrong, he argued that a number of his basic concepts held validity. Specifically he thought the scenarios of how a planet could be captured, and the rapid evolutionary changes associated with catastrophism were groundbreaking.

Velikovksy hinged his theories on the idea that global catastrophes had taken place in the last 6,000 years, yet Morrison said there is no evidence that such events took place during that time frame. McCanney countered that the dating of past events is difficult to pin down. A Fast Blast survey found 53% of the respondents put stock in the Velikovsky material, while 47% sided with Morrison's point of view.

Morrison was also critical of McCanney's notions about the electrical nature of the solar system. Dozens of instruments in space have found "no net charge in the solar wind," he said. A spacecraft is not grounded, so it can't measure its own electrical field, McCanney replied.

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Spotlight on Velikovsky

Immanuel Velikovsky was the author of a number of controversial books, including the 1950 bestseller, Worlds in Collision. From his study of ancient texts and mythology, he concluded that Earth had had catastrophic encounters with a number of planets in our solar system in the recent past. For more information, visit pages from knowledge.co.uk and Wikipedia.

Illustration by Josh Crockett ©2005