Miracles of the Gods: A Hard Look at the Supernatural by Erich von Däniken (review)

Books 157 Portraitof Nature The World assee0 by ModernScience.Alan Cottrell. Charles Scribner’sSons,New York, 1975.263pp.. illus. $9.95.Reviewed by James A. Goldman* With a proficiency expected of one who has been required to explain quickly and clearly a wide range of technical matters to British government officials, Cottrell does succeed admirably now in providing the general non-scientific reader with a vivid contemporary description of science.The perspectives provided by physics,chemistry, biologyand cosmology are integrated into a ‘portrait of nature as seen by science’. The concepts of space-time and of relativity, atomic and subatomic physics, quantum theory, chemical bonding, molecular geneticsand physiologicalpsychology are some of the major subjects discussed. The author’s intention is also to emphasize the inherent beauty and ‘breathtaking structure’ of nature as revealed by scientific research. As a portrait is ordinarily considered to be a record of certain aspects of a particular human being as perceived by another, so similarly a ‘scientificportrait’ is but a limited picture, even when augmented by knowledge deriving from psychology, linguistics and logic. There is a form of human understanding that lies outsideof the grandest scientificsynthesis. Itensues from the arts and from literature, ‘. . .the great novelistswith their insight into human nature, . . . Rembrandt and Michelangelo, and . ..the musicians who express human feelings directly. This kind of understanding, although not cast in scientificterms, at its best is intenselyperceptive and exact, as we all know by direct personal experienceof itseffects’(p. 230).With the scientificpicture notand perhaps never-being complete, the probability of its being ‘possibleoneday to paint the worlds of the arts and sciencesall in the same picture’ is not very considerable. To a marked extent, Cottrell is optimistic about the ability of humans to acquire a progressively greater scientificunderstanding of nature. Intrinsic to human nature is that relentless curiosity to ‘seekenlightenment about the world and our placein it, and to be exhilerated by its magnificent and challenging answers’. Readersof Leonard0 who arelooking for a skillfullycomposed portrait of contemporary scientificknowledge, together with an accurate depiction of the scientificethos, will find this account worthy of their attention. MiraclesoftheGods:A HardLook attheSupernatural. Erich von Daniken. Souvenir Press, London, 1975.237 pp., illus. f3.75. Reviewed by P. T. Ldsberg** Von Daniken is well-known for his books Chariots ofthe Gods, Return to the Stars, etc. Indeed it is said that 30million copies of his books have been sold. I have read only this one, but I understand that it developsthe ideas of his earlier ones. His basic premise is that extraterrestrial beings visited the Earth and created mankind thousands of years ago in their own image and as ‘knowledgedepots’. So it is easy to see visions, because they are induced in our minds by these god-like creatures. Miracles are their assertions that they exist. A handy by-product is the explanation of genius as ‘the ability to open a highly-trained brain to extraterrestrial energies’ (p. 1 9 4 ) . ‘Faster than light communications produced oscillations in the sub- or supra-consciousnessand .. .produced representations of peace, love and security. . .’(p. 1 9 9 ) .‘Thought moleculesin the brain arecircuits . . .’(p. 1 9 0 ) .We are also treated to the first photograph taken of a vision of Mary (a white shape above a temple), which should not have been published, for, as von Daniken points out, its authenticity has not been investigated. The trouble with these ideas is that they are not in accord with the current scientific knowledge, for example faster-than-light communication. Advances in knowledge are made by building on, or even amending, existing theories by very detailed and painstaking work. Romantic ideas tossed lightly into the pool of *Div. of Continuing Education and Extension Services, New York City Community College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11201,U.S.A. **Dept. of Mathematics, The University, Southampton SO9 5NH, England. / our complex and subtle knowledgewithout relating to it in many details sink without a trace and the ideas of this book belong to this category. I therefore say to the millions of readers of von Daniken’s books: ‘Have fun, but don’t believe a word in them!’ The Chemistry of Consci-. Richard B. Fisher. Barrie & Jenkins...