'Worlds in collision' is among the most popoular alternative historical narratives. Heretic or visionary, Velikovsky has been quoted by numerous researchers and condemned by numerous pundits.
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When the Emperors New Clothes and an Arthur CIA Clarke screen play combine.
Author of numerous controversial books on ancient history, Velikovsky is considered a visionary by some and a heretic by others. Born in 1895, he was compelled by discrepancies in religious texts in much the same way as Zecharia Sitchin. Both were educated in Rabinnical studies and both perceived there to be major gaps in the historical narrative. Sitchin chose to work outside of the need for verifiable evidence in the realms of fiction. Velikovsky specifically worked on the interpretation of existing documentation and historical records. His 1950 book 'Worlds in Collision' has been unanimously rubbished as pseudo-history by the conventional academic world.
However his predictions concerning the topography of Venus shocked critical thinkers into a robust reappraisal of his work. The most challenging aspect to 'Worlds in Collision' concerns the violent ejection of Jupiters core (Venus) sometime in the past. According to Velikovsky's research on ancient iconography and cave paintings, humanity all over the globe witnessed the new addition to the Solar system coming far too close to Earth. In essence, his theory states that not only has Earth been periodically battered by the Perseid meteor shower, but also by Venus and Mars. After it's ejection from Jupiter, Venus apparently collided or came into very close contact with Mars. As a result the atmospheric and magnetic interaction cause enormous electrical arcs to rip across the surface of both. This accounts for some of the legends in antiquity concerning great apparitions in the skys above Earth. The cratering by electrical arcs have been reproduced by researchers in laboratories and the correlation to planetary craters is difficult to ignore.
His theories have been accepted by many credible authors and also taken forward by researchers such as The Thunderbolts Project. Nobody can argue with the fact that most of what we know about our local Solar system is utter conjecture. The reputation of groups such as NASA have come to be blatantly disregarded (by many) due to their history of using artists impressions to communicate most of what they release. The theories of Velikovsky and his successors paint an entirely different picture of our tiny corner of the galaxy. The extrapolation of his theories indicate that the interaction of Mars, Venus, Saturn and our solitary Moon created imagery in the sky which inspired many cultures. The 'Cosmic Wheel' has been interpreted by many as representing what became the globally recognised, pre Christian symbol of the cross.
Whether Velikovsky was entirely accurate in his theories is of decreasing importance. He has inspired so many credible researchers and authors that he is accepted as being a trailblazer in the world of archeo-astronomy or astro-archaeology.
