Chariots of the Gods - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jelorian · 11-19-2003, 04:23 AM

Anyone here a Erich Von Daniken (sp?) fan?

You have to really have an open mind when reading his books.

Good stuff and some of his theories make a lot of sense. Some are way out there.

A lot of what ifs, but man its cool to just wonder....

auswegian · 11-21-2003, 12:20 AM

Personally, I think that there is an undercurrent of condescension in 'Chariots of the Gods' theories. People go and see some fabulous ruins, think "Wow, these are amazing. There's no way such primitive people could have built these without advanced help. It must have been aliens." I think this sort of view is erroneous. Humans can do amazing things, even primitives.

I am more enamoured to theories of "ancient aeronauts" rather than alien visitors. The idea that, thousands of years ago, our ancestors may have possessed advanced technology, and then lost it, is far more fascinating than meddling aliens building things out of stone to wow the natives. Of course, I am still highly skeptical about the concept, and don't believe it to be true...but I'm not ashamed in finding them insufferably kewl.

Jelorian · 11-21-2003, 06:09 PM

I would have to believe in the existence of other civilizations. Whether they meddled in our affairs way back has still yet to be proven. But they must be out there. Even if they don't have the technology for space travel. The universe is so vast that IMO, its almost impossible for intelligent life to NOT exist elsewhere. The same vastness of the universe also makes things harder to find other intelligent life cause of the distances involved. Who's to say that there isn't another planet like ours with intelligent life, its just they are in their "bronze age" while we are at ours. Who knows. Its still fun to think about.

Its really amazing what our ancestors could do. Some of the structures they have built can't even be duplicated today with our modern machines and technology. It would be fascinating to find out once and for all how they built the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Machu Pichu, etc.

As far as having advanced technology and then losing it? Very possible. It could happen to us today. All it would take is a war big enough to wipe out our factories, refineries, etc. Then you'd be stuck with knowing how to built a radio/car/microwave but you couldn't cause you wouldn't be able to aquire/make all the materials. Just like that line from the movie "The Day After", primitive man fought with sticks and stone, after world war 3 we'd be back to fighting with sticks and stones again.

Thanks for your comments.

auswegian · 11-22-2003, 10:43 PM

Oh, I certainly enjoy speculating about extraterrestrial civilization, and I do subscribe to the "life rich" view of the universe, I just take a grain of salt when applying it to the ancient world. There are very interesting artifacts, such as the cave paintings of 'Wandjina' spirits in Northern Australia, and parallels around the world, which do resemble a certain stereotypical view of ETs.

As for recreating ancient structures, well we can do it. If necessary, we could easily recreate most of them with modern technology, the idea that we can't is largely a myth. The work of the archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl is interesting, as he was able to use local labourers and primitive techniques to satisfactorily recreate an Easter Island statue. The ancients had some ingenious tricks up their sleeves at times, but so do we moderns.

And as for ancient advanced technology, I would suggest having a read of the ancient Hindu text the Mahabharata. Though mythology, many of the descriptions of the war between the gods almost resemble modern warfare as viewed through the eyes of the superstitious.

11-19-2003, 04:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jelorian Upright	Chariots of the Gods Anyone here a Erich Von Daniken (sp?) fan? You have to really have an open mind when reading his books. Good stuff and some of his theories make a lot of sense. Some are way out there. A lot of what ifs, but man its cool to just wonder....

11-21-2003, 12:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
auswegian Crazy Location: Perth, Australia	Personally, I think that there is an undercurrent of condescension in 'Chariots of the Gods' theories. People go and see some fabulous ruins, think "Wow, these are amazing. There's no way such primitive people could have built these without advanced help. It must have been aliens." I think this sort of view is erroneous. Humans can do amazing things, even primitives. I am more enamoured to theories of "ancient aeronauts" rather than alien visitors. The idea that, thousands of years ago, our ancestors may have possessed advanced technology, and then lost it, is far more fascinating than meddling aliens building things out of stone to wow the natives. Of course, I am still highly skeptical about the concept, and don't believe it to be true...but I'm not ashamed in finding them insufferably kewl. __________________ "Look, I'm pretty relaxed for a guy who just lost money on a rave. And who's currently speeding down the highway drunk off my tits. And I'm being chased by someone in a blue Corolla. Woohoo! I just ran a red light!"

11-22-2003, 10:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
auswegian Crazy Location: Perth, Australia	Oh, I certainly enjoy speculating about extraterrestrial civilization, and I do subscribe to the "life rich" view of the universe, I just take a grain of salt when applying it to the ancient world. There are very interesting artifacts, such as the cave paintings of 'Wandjina' spirits in Northern Australia, and parallels around the world, which do resemble a certain stereotypical view of ETs. As for recreating ancient structures, well we can do it. If necessary, we could easily recreate most of them with modern technology, the idea that we can't is largely a myth. The work of the archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl is interesting, as he was able to use local labourers and primitive techniques to satisfactorily recreate an Easter Island statue. The ancients had some ingenious tricks up their sleeves at times, but so do we moderns. And as for ancient advanced technology, I would suggest having a read of the ancient Hindu text the Mahabharata. Though mythology, many of the descriptions of the war between the gods almost resemble modern warfare as viewed through the eyes of the superstitious. __________________ "Look, I'm pretty relaxed for a guy who just lost money on a rave. And who's currently speeding down the highway drunk off my tits. And I'm being chased by someone in a blue Corolla. Woohoo! I just ran a red light!"

11-21-2003, 06:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jelorian Upright	I would have to believe in the existence of other civilizations. Whether they meddled in our affairs way back has still yet to be proven. But they must be out there. Even if they don't have the technology for space travel. The universe is so vast that IMO, its almost impossible for intelligent life to NOT exist elsewhere. The same vastness of the universe also makes things harder to find other intelligent life cause of the distances involved. Who's to say that there isn't another planet like ours with intelligent life, its just they are in their "bronze age" while we are at ours. Who knows. Its still fun to think about. Its really amazing what our ancestors could do. Some of the structures they have built can't even be duplicated today with our modern machines and technology. It would be fascinating to find out once and for all how they built the Pyramids, Stonehenge, Machu Pichu, etc. As far as having advanced technology and then losing it? Very possible. It could happen to us today. All it would take is a war big enough to wipe out our factories, refineries, etc. Then you'd be stuck with knowing how to built a radio/car/microwave but you couldn't cause you wouldn't be able to aquire/make all the materials. Just like that line from the movie "The Day After", primitive man fought with sticks and stone, after world war 3 we'd be back to fighting with sticks and stones again. Thanks for your comments.