History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

pretentious diatribe
Disturbing
Deconstructing TV and the Loss of the Natural World
A critique of the Anti-Intelligence machine
Let it sink in...

The Age of Missing Information
Bill Mckibben
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 081297607X
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

“Highly personal and original . . . McKibben goes beyond Marshall McLuhan’s theory that the medium is the message.”
——The New York Times

Imagine watching an entire day’s worth of television on every single channel. Acclaimed environmental writer and culture critic Bill McKibben subjected himself to this sensory overload in an experiment to verify whether we are truly better informed than previous generations. Bombarded with newscasts and fluff pieces, game shows and talk shows, ads and infomercials, televangelist pleas and Brady Bunch episodes, McKibben processed twenty-four hours of programming on all ninety-three Fairfax, Virginia, cable stations. Then, as a counterpoint, he spent a day atop a quiet and remote mountain in the Adirondacks, exploring the unmediated man and making small yet vital discoveries about himself and the world around him. As relevant now as it was when originally written in 1992–and with new material from the author on the impact of the Internet age–this witty and astute book is certain to change the way you look at television and perceive media as a whole.

“By turns humorous, wise, and troubling . . . a penetrating critique of technological society.”–Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Masterful . . . a unique, bizarre portrait of our life and times.”
–Los Angeles Times

“Do yourself a favor: Put down the remote and pick up this book.”
–Houston Chronicle

Customer Reviews:

pretentious diatribe.......2005-12-10

What kind of an experiment was this cable watching thing supposed to be? The guy goes on a hike and imagines he comes back full of some eternal "wisdom" and then sits down and watches TV for 1700 hours straight, and comes to the conclusion that the 1700 hours of TV watching were not particularly rewarding...! give me a break! well duh-of course watching tv for a month straight isnt rewarding!
Its amazing that people sit down and write big books making these sorts of obvious points. In the end mcKibben succeeds in shining a damning light on our culture - not through his "experiment" but by publishing the book. A culture, where people can pretend to be clever intellectuals by making the kind of social experiments and delvering the kind of half baked "insights" as McKibben does, is in serious, serious trouble.

Disturbing.......2005-12-09

This book is a meditation on the effects of television on society. After living in an area with no TV reception for a few years, McKibben embarked on massive project to try to understand what information television conveys and how this affects society. He had a very novel approach for this project: he identified Fairfax County, Virginia as having the greatest number of cable TV channels at the time (almost 100), so he recruited a Fairfax volunteer for each channel to record the entire day's broadcast on a video cassette recorder. The day chosen for the recording was May 3, 1990. On the day the tapes were being recorded, McKibben went hiking near his home in the Adirondacks, and kept a careful journal of all his observations up on the mountain. Then, for the next year, McKibben watched the TV tapes of May 3, for 8-10 hours a day, taking notes and analyzing what kinds of information they contained. In this book, he reports on the kinds of messages that were being spread through the broadcasts, and contrasts this to what he learned by observing the natural world on the mountain. The methodology may sound a little trite, but the project was very well executed, and McKibben leaves us with many disturbing points to ponder.

Some critics of TV say that TV is bad because watching all the violence on TV makes people, especially children, violent. Others point out that the gratuitous violence is lamentable, but worse is the fact that watching TV contributes to hyper-consumption. McKibben takes the criticisms of the media to a much higher level. In this extended essay, he points out how much TV plays a role in how we see the world, how we expect it to work, and how the essential mismatch between the TV version and reality leads to unhealthy expectations or apathy. He argues that TV has become a guiding force of unparalleled strength, but where is it guiding us to? As he points out "Why do we do the things we do? Because of the events of our childhood, and because of class and race and gender, and because of our political and economic system and because of `human nature'-but also because of what we've been told about the world, because of the information we've received....What you do day after day is what forms your mind." If you spend your days watching TV, you are relinquishing control of the forces that will guide you to the broadcasters, whose interest is purely commercial, not helping you or society to be better.

McKibben notes out how stories repeated during childhood contribute to one's system of ethics. In older societies, such tales were told by elders around the campfire, or read by parents to young children. But since the 1940's, the TV has taken over both the role of the campfire and the trusted elders. Instead of being brought up on moral or Biblical tales, today's children are raised on a fare of endless re-runs, from the Brady Bunch to Leave It to Beaver, to Gilligan's Island. Some of these shows contain moral lessons that we might deem acceptable, but they can lead children to develop unrealistic expectations of the world (McKibben reminds us that no one is ever shown working on the Brady Bunch, not even Alice the maid). The only show I watched with great regularity as a child was MASH, and as McKibben pointed out the moral lessons conveyed by the program, I realized that I had indeed incorporated exactly these elements into my value system, a fact which I find very disturbing. What other legacies did early TV watching with leave me?

Although the chapters of the book are arranged by the time of day during the 24 study period, each one also has a topical focus. For instance, McKibben points out how nature programs distort watchers' expectations of life in the natural world, leading us to believe that every moment will be filled with rare thrills. He discusses the focus on money collection rather than on spirituality in much of the religious programming, and points out the inherent distortion of TV news in giving equal time to both slow news days and big events. He also meditates on the loss of knowledge of the real world and practical skills, such as the ability to predict the weather by reading the sky or to grow and prepare one's own food. All in all, the book contains much to ponder or discuss.

Deconstructing TV and the Loss of the Natural World.......2002-07-26

If you became stranded in the wilderness could you build a fire without the aid of matches or a lighter? If your car breaks down can you fix it? Could you build a house or even a cabin? Do you have the necessary knowledge to grow a garden or recognize the difference between Nightshade and Snake Root? Fifty years ago the capacities required to carry out these tasks was common for many, but in today's age of technology many of the information required to carry out these tasks is considered by many to be nothing more than outmoded folk-knowledge, as trivia of a time long past.
However, the bits of knowledge that are required to carry out these ostensibly simple activities, McKibben argues, represent just a sampling of the vast storehouse of knowledge that humans, particularly those in industrial societies, have been losing since the advent of television and the dawning of what has become known as "the age of information."

In this enlightening book McKibben examines whether this "age of information" is indeed a manifest feature of modern society and calls into question whether or not that which is transmited to us through television is useful information at all. In an attempt to answer this difficult question he carries out a substantial experiment whereby he compares a full day of cable television programming-all 24 hours of all 93 channels-in Fairfax, Virginia, to 24 hours spent camping alone atop a mountain in the Adriondacks.

In so doing McKibben illustrates the considerable limitations of the media as a conduit for useful information, which is, paradoxically, a symptom and result of the very feature that makes it so appealing to so many: its seemingly endless variety. The consequences of such an overload of information that tv represents is its implicit resistance to continuity as it represents an endless stream of unconnected and disparate bits of information. This may be a good thing for advertisers and corporations that want you to buy their products or quickly forget the latest scandals, but it is decidedly dysfunctional to the acquisition of useful knowledge, which is precisely the point that Mckibben is trying to make against the conventional wisdom of most. The outcome of this type of hyper-structure has far reaching affects on our society and contributes significantly to the increasing loss of community that has been a feature of America since the late fifties and early sixties. As Mckibben ponts put, the result of this more mobile, individually patterned society has only been achieved at the cost of the corresponding human estrangement from nature and our place within the biospheric community, which as we have seen has serious consequences, not only for Americans, but, for all humanity.

The Age of Missing Information is an important book that calls for the attention of anyone concerned with the disintegrating state of the environment and corollary loss of community that has resulted from this alienation. For those who are concerned about these mounting problems McKibbens book will surely invoke a reevaluation of the image of television in our society and the type of viewer/consumer it openly seeks to create. But, most importantly this book brings attention to the often extreme sacrifices that are made and the high costs of this media addiction.
---Hayduke66

A critique of the Anti-Intelligence machine.......2002-07-22

In this rather short book(250 pages)there is much to lament.
Bill Mckibben volunteered to undergo the torture of watching every program that filled the 90+ channels in a 24 hour period in Fairfax,Virginia in May of 1990.This required 90 volunteers (to tape their specific channel for 24 hours)to make his project a reality.

As he begins to go through the 90 odd tapes full of dreck it is not surprising that Mckibben finds a wasteland populated by infomercial hucksters,inane blather on talkshows,endless streams of commercials hawking an endless train of useless garbage.None of this is anywhere near as disturbing as the fact that there seems to be nowhere in the world of television where intelligent debate,contextual information or even a concern with thoughtful dialogue about anything ever makes an appearance.It is apparent that tv itself is inherently useless except for the business of selling product and images.Jerry Mander,in his book_Four arguments for the elimination of television_ goes into much greater depth than does Mckibbon on this subject.

The best observation of the entire book may be that tv constantly recycles the images,stories and shows of the last 40-50 years.What is insidious about this is that a generation that has grown up on tv is likely to have a vastly more limited grasp of history.If the young are swamped by the history of a short 50 years as though the world hardly existed before 1950,hasn't then the education process become that much more difficult?The decline of education has become so precipitous in the last 4-5 decades that standards have had to be lowered time and time again so that a large chunk of students don't flunk.It is the same now with teachers,who have sicced the NEA on school districts across the country that try and administer proficiency tests to make sure students are being serviced by competent teachers.If public school students of today had to meet the criteria of 70-80 years ago it is very unlikely that most would be able to do it.What does it say that 3/4 of Harvard students now graduate with 'honors'or that you now automatically get points on the SAT test for merely signing your name?Mckibben hints that we've had to dumb down our educational standards precisely because tv has to some degree impaired the learning process of the young,specifically in the areas of attention span and grasping concepts that haven't been sufficiently Sesame Streetized(dumbed down).

For Mckibben,and I have to agree wholeheartedly with him,the greatest danger our nation,civilization and Democracy faces is the coming generations that have been marginally educated and have no concept of how our nation and Democracy was brought about and maintained.If the populace of the future is made up mostly of ignorant,ahistorical,consumer drones with no concept of how a civilization is made possible and what it takes in order to maintain the precious gains of civilization then aren't we looking into the abyss?If the curiosity,wonder and meaningful dialogue and understanding that makes the continuation of a viable society possible is buried under the shallow,banal,couch-potatoed,freeze-dried spectacle that is consumerist culture and the culture of ignorance that tv can't help but foster,then what are the chances that such a society and populace can survive and thrive?

Let it sink in..........2002-07-12

This book is definitely a must for the general population, but we all know they will jsut forget about after they watch 50 hours of TV a week and drive around in their expensive BMW. So I'll cut to the chase. This book is what is needed and it brings up numerous points about the general laziness of society and the bad influence it is. And a week after I finished this book, what the author was really trying to say hit me. Read this book if you value your sanity and want to truly have a glimpse into how bad the world is. It confirmed all of my thoughts on the problems of the world. Well worth the time to read it.

Average customer rating:

THE AGE OF MISSING INFORMATION
Bill McKibben
Manufacturer: Random House 1992
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NREDN0

Average customer rating:

Age of Missing Information
Bill McKibben
Manufacturer: Random, House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5Y7CS

Average customer rating:

The Age of Missing Information
McKibben
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V917PW

Average customer rating:

The Age of Missing Information
Bill McKibben
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

The Age of Missing Information. (book reviews): An article from: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics

Average customer rating:

The Age of Missing Information. (book reviews): An article from: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics
Jeffrey B. Kurtz
Manufacturer: International Society for General Semantics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, published by International Society for General Semantics on March 22, 1993. The length of the article is 503 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Age of Missing Information. (book reviews)
Author: Jeffrey B. Kurtz
Publication: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1993
Publisher: International Society for General Semantics
Volume: v50 Issue: n1 Page: p114(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Offering business information users strategies for identifying and evaluating no-cost online information sources, this guide emphasizes techniques for recognizing biased and untrustworthy web sites. Information users are directed to the most useful and targeted sources of company histories and overviews. These include corporate sales and earnings data, SEC filings and stockholder reports, public records, market research studies, competitive intelligence, industry analyses, staff directories, executive biographies, statistics, survey/poll results, conference proceedings, press releases, news stories, and hard-to-find information about small businesses and niche markets. Demonstrated are concepts such as precision searching, which enables business searchers to quickly find the specific information they need. Also discussed are critical-thinking skills and the art of asking the right question. A 10-point checklist that allows users to systematically evaluate web site reliability is included.

Customer Reviews:

A fine guide internet researchers will find essential .......2005-02-10

In The Skeptical Business Searcher: The Information Advisor's Guide To Evaluating Web Data, Sites, And Sources, business information expert Robert Berkman identifies the tools and methods for evaluating no-cost online information sources in a fine guide internet researchers will find essential to understanding business site values. Researchers will learn how to gain access to everything from company histories and corporate earnings data to SEC filings and public records of all kinds --and how to recognize the underlying bias and misinformation potentials of any source.

The Skeptical Business Searcher: The Information Advisors Guide to Evaluating Web, Data, Sites and Sources [A book review from: Information Processing and Management]

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The Skeptical Business Searcher: The Information Advisors Guide to Evaluating Web, Data, Sites and Sources [A book review from: Information Processing and Management]
A. Mutshewa
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Information Processing and Management, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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