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.

Information Theory, Evolution, and The Origin of Life

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Dr. Yockey Scores Again!
Information Theory as a Foundation of Biology
Explaining Evolution in Terms of Digital Information Flow
Until Amazon removes them...
Interesting history. We wanted even more theory!

Information Theory, Evolution, and The Origin of Life
Hubert P. Yockey
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521802938

Book Description

Information Theory, Evolution and the Origin of Life presents a timely introduction to the use of information theory and coding theory in molecular biology. The genetical information system, because it is linear and digital, resembles the algorithmic language of computers. George Gamow pointed out that the application of Shannon's information theory breaks genetics and molecular biology out of the descriptive mode into the quantitative mode and Dr Yockey develops this theme, discussing how information theory and coding theory can be applied to molecular biology. He discusses how these tools for measuring the information in the sequences of the genome and the proteome are essential for our complete understanding of the nature and origin of life. The author writes for the computer competent reader who is interested in evolution and the origins of life.

Customer Reviews:

Dr. Yockey Scores Again!.......2006-12-07

This book, which is the long awaited follow-up to Information Theory and Molecular Biology, is another tour de force in a long history of such insights from Dr. Yockey. As the former head of the U.S. Government's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Yockey has a demonstrated history of squashing austensibly scientific ideas that superficially make sense, but when given the acid test are found entirely wanting. This book is replete with such deconstructions and they are much needed as they pertain to the current origin of life debate. Let me cite a few examples:

Perhaps formost among them is the idea that life arose from some Urschleim (primeval slime). Not only does Yockey show that this theory cannot be true, he explains exactly why, using mathematical certainty. First, he shows, applying Information theory to Crick's Central Dogma, that because the flow of information can only pass from larger encoding alphabets to smaller ones, but not the other way around, it is impossible for the information which fills the genetic code to have proceded from proteins (the smaller alphabet) to DNA/RNA (the larger alphabet). Ergo, it is equally impossible for any proteins-first theory of life origin to be correct - simply on that basis. Because what matters is not so much the DNA itself, in the scheme of life's continued existence, but the information it contains!

Next, he offers what may be the best summation of evidence in print to show that there simply is no scientific basis whatsoever to conclude that anything like Darwin's "warm little pond" ever existed. But he goes much further, taking evidence from fossil records as to the nature of the earth's atmosphere during the time the Urschleim was presumed to exist, Yockey shows that it is simply not possible chemically for earth to have had the atmosphere that it did and for those ponds to exist. The upshot being, according to cellular biologist and Nobel Laureate Christian Du Duve, without those ponds, the chance of any natural origin of life is zero.

Another strength of the book is the facility with which he ties the procedural activities of the genome to information theory, specifically Shannon's Law. The importance here is his insight into the nature of codes. He begins by demonstrating that the genetic code, in its present optimal form, could not have had a natural origin simply because not enough time has existed since the beginning of the universe to allow for it's actuality strictly in terms of processing.

He furthers this with the following quote from one of his earlier works: "The calculations presented in this paper show that the origin of a rather accurate genetic code, not necessarily the modern one, is a pons asinorum that must be crossed to pass over the abyss that separates crystallography, high polymer chemistry and physics from biology.(Yockey, 1981, 1992)" Then quoting from the book directly thereafter, "The paradox is seldom mentioned that enzymes are required to define or generate the reaction network, and the network is required to synthesize the enzymes and their component amino acids. There is no trace in physics or chemistry of the control of chemical reactions by a sequence of any sort or of a code between sequences. Thus, when we make the distinction between the origin of the genetic code and its evolution, we find the origin of the genetic code is unknowable."

However, Yockey is not arguing for some kind of theistic event. In fact, he takes great pains later in the book to demonstrate that he does not support any theistic conclusion. From his perspective, while it is provably true, based on mathematical certainty, that the genetic code did not have a natural origin, because the universe has demonstrated no ability whatsoever to formulate any kind of code, let alone something as sophisticated as the genome, it cannot be assumed ipso facto that a supernatural event is the only other choice. Because there is no scientific evidence to support that possibility, Yockey is completely unwilling to postulate such, even in off-the-record conversations.

To further distance himself from any hint that he supports Intelligent Design (ID) with is work, he takes-on one of the icons of ID, Dr. Michael Behe, and his theory of Irreducible complexity (IR). The way in which he attempts to show that Behe's theory does not work is to formulate IR as a kind of Gordian Knot that, if Behe is correct, is not computable. Because he can show that Behe's model is computable, he believes he has shown Behe's theory to be incorrect in principle.

However, his complete misunderstanding of Behe's theory leads him to disprove something Behe did not theorize. Behe's IR does not refer to a mathematically unsolvable puzzle, but to a kind of engineering dilemma for which there is no functional step-wise construction. Mechanisms for which there is no gradual, step by step approach to their completion, where every single step is itself a working model, are termed Irreducibly Complex. In other words, IR refers to any mechanism wherein all the parts necessary for its function are similtaneously extant because no partial iteration of the mechanism will function in any way.

I would use the example of a car engine. There is a net of engine parts required for the engine to run. Below that net assembly of parts, the engine will neither start nor run, even in principle. So while an engine is constructed sequentially, none of those sequences, short of a complete engine, will function, as is required by Darwinian gradualism.

Behe uses a simpler example, the mouse trap. His theory states that if you remove any one of the simple parts, it is impossible for the trap to function. The net result of Behe's theory is that IR makes it impossible for any mechanism so possessed to evolve in a gradual way because all the parts have to be there at the start for the mechanism to work. On the other hand, Darwinian Gradualism requires that every step be not only an advancement in function, but a competitive advantage that allows the creature superior ability in the war for continued existence.

Though Yockey confuses Behe's theory with the mathematical version of irreducibly complexity, to his credit, as the aforementioned quote from his book, regarding the impossibility of a network creating enzymes when enzymes themselves must first exist to make the network creating enzymes work [a classic Catch 22], he recognizes the irreducibly complex problem to which Behe refers. As such, while he discusses the it in completely different terms, his own example recognizes, as Behe theorizes, that it is impossible for such mechanisms to come into existence by some natural means.

That little flap is however, of no consequence in the panarama of Yockey's book. Everything he has written on the subject of this book has become a must read for anyone who wants to be completely up to speed on the origin of life question. His original insights are powerful precisely because he goes beyond supposition and hypotheses cum theories, to show with the certainty of mathematical law, why some things cannot be. As a consequence, whenever amathematical biologists finally decide to stop arguing about matters that have already been definitively determined, and consult the wisdom and insights of one of a physicist who is one of the 20th century's great scientific minds, they will devour this book.
John Tomlinson, MA, CHt

Information Theory as a Foundation of Biology.......2006-03-23

The previous book of Hubert P. Yockey, 'Information theory and molecular biology', published in 1992, was unfortunately out of print for many years. Publication of 'Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life' makes available much of its material. The scope of the new book has moreover been broadened to encompass the hot topics mentioned in the title.

The academic world is divided into narrow compartments, each having its own methods, language, habits and gurus. Communication between them is made difficult by the lack of a common language so they most often ignore each other. When a concept from one of them eventually penetrates another one, it often assumes a superficial form which leads to misunderstandings. Although this may sometimes be better than plain ignorance, it results in rooting prejudices wrongly believed to hold true in other disciplines, and they live long for lack of proper internal criticism. Yockey is at the antipodes of this parochial system. His life-long efforts have been intended to convince biologists that information theory, a discipline originating in communication engineering, is the proper tool for dealing with molecular biology, hence should be at the heart of biology as a whole. He possesses to a high degree the needed didactic talents, as well as an extreme rigor in vocabulary and reasoning. Not only Yockey transcends disciplinary barriers, but also the famous divide between the 'two cultures'. His extremely broad scholarship is not purely scientific, but also historical, philosophical and literary. All chapters of the book bear in epigraph quotations from poets as well as from scientists or philosophers of all times, always wonderfully relevant to the subject matter. Similarly, many excellent quotations pepper the text. Yockey obviously does not think that scientific rigor demands dullness. On the contrary, the book is written in a witty and often caustic style. It abounds with historical anecdotes and comments, often intended to rehabilitate forgotten authors of major concepts or discoveries and to denounce usurped fames (one may disagree with some abrupt judgements).

As an engineer, I am convinced that information theory is the proper tool for dealing with molecular biology. Indeed, genomes communicate the genetic message as sequences of symbols (that these symbols are molecules does not mean they are relevant to chemistry only), and information theory is precisely the science of communication by means of symbol sequences. As a mathematical science, its results consist of theorems which can be thought of as predetermined forms which need 'only' to be filled with biological matter. But Shannon, the founding father of information theory, warned us that this task is far from trivial: 'Seldom do more than a few of nature's secrets give way at one time. [...] A thorough understanding of the mathematical foundations and its communication application is surely a prerequisite to other applications. I personally believe that many of the concepts of information theory will prove useful in these other fields [i.e., social sciences] but the establishing of such applications is not a trivial matter of translating words to a new domain, but rather the slow tedious process of hypothesis and experimental verification.' (from 'The Bandwagon', 1956, in 'Claude Elwood Shannon collected papers', edited by N.J.A. Sloane and A.D. Wyner, IEEE Press, 1993, page 462). Although Shannon made these comments about social sciences, I think that they perfectly apply to biology. Yockey's efforts are precisely aimed at letting biologists understand how relevant and potentially rewarding to their discipline is information theory.

Besides it presents compelling arguments in favor of the use of information theory in biology, the book also considers biological evolution and the origin of life. Since the genome is the medium which transmits the hereditary information through time, information theory is relevant to evolution just as it is to genetics. The book also critically reviews the many scientific and philosophical hypotheses about the origin of life, and shows that none of the alleged scenarios is likely to properly describe the events that actually occurred. The origin of life may well remain unknowable. Similarly, the mathematicians know since Gödel that propositions may be undecidable so, within a given system of axioms, it may be impossible to prove true results. The algorithmic information theory explains why it is so in a surprisingly simple manner: it results from the necessarily finite amount of available information. That the origin of life may remain a mystery forever is the bad news of the book. The good news is that information theory enables dealing with life phenomena by 'measuring, counting and weighting together with reasonings from postulates or axioms', a sentence which is quoted from Socrates at the very beginning of the book. Using information theory, biology can thus reach the status of a quantitative science. Biologists did not yet realize their luck, however. The book bears in epigraph a quotation from Niccolo Machiavelli who very lucidly states how difficult and dangerous it is to '[...] initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has ennemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order'. Yockey's extraordinary book leaves by no means its reader lukewarm and is in itself a big step towards the new order. Although it is mainly intended to biologists, this book can be fruitful to the general reader who is interested in evolution and the origin of life. There are somewhat technical developments, in either information theory or molecular biology, but they are few and can be skipped. An appendix dealing with information theory, a glossary and an index are provided to help the reader.

Gerard Battail

Explaining Evolution in Terms of Digital Information Flow.......2006-01-11

This book has the very ambitious task of introducing the general reader to the current thinking regarding evolution, the origin of life on Earth, and the question of life on Mars, Europa and elsewhere in the universe.

Dr. Yockey shows that DNA is the genetic information system that compares in almost every aspect with digital data manipulation. DNA represents a code, a program if you will in computer terms that directs life. It also provides for the replication of life, and its evolution into changing forms over time.

The book is aimed at the non-specialist. It is not a text, but a kind of narrative history of significant developments in biology at a fundamental level. There is some mathematics in the book, but it is not a requirement that this be totally understood. The math serves as a proof of the statements he is making.

The book includes a chapter 'Does evolution need an intelligent designer?' This has caused some 'intelligent designers' to use Dr. Yockey's work in support of their argument.

Dr. Yockey concludes however, that there are some things that we just don't know and that: 'The fact that there are many things unavailable to human knowledge and reasoning, even in mathematics, does not mean that there must be an Intelligent Designer.'

This is a very enjoyable book to read. It is well written and clearly shows an intelligent approach to the problem.

Until Amazon removes them..........2005-10-12

Readers should note that the two reviews below dated 1999 and 1998 are for Yockey's 1992 book, not this 2005 one. Once Amazon deletes those reviews, Amazon can delete this one as well.

Interesting history. We wanted even more theory!.......2005-05-20

Hubert Yockey has long studied life's programming from the perspective of information theory. His sceptical conclusions about origin-of-life theories are often cited by proponents of creationism / intelligent design (ID). But in his new book, Yockey is sceptical about some of their theories, too. For example, against Michael Behe he says that protein sequences cannot be irreducibly complex (p 179).

Regarding ID he comments that, according to information theory, "Once life has appeared,... genetic messages will not fade away and can indeed survive for 3.85 billion years without assistance from an Intelligent Designer" (p 181, 184). Okay, but the most interesting aspect of evolution is not the survival of old genetic programs, but the apparent invention of new ones. Does information theory explain how new genetic programs might be composed de novo? Can the process be observed or modeled? An informed discussion of this issue is sorely needed. Yockey's silence about it surprises and disappoints us.

As he ranges widely through the history of evolutionary theory, Yockey often wants to set the record straight. Specifically, several theories and experiments were known already, before the scientists who got credit for them came along. Furthermore, "Darwin did not believe in a 'warm little pond'..." (p 120), and "Oparin was very close to Lysenko" (p 153). If you are interested in information theory and biology, you will probably be edified by Yockey's scholarship in this book.

Evolution, Thermodynamics, and Information: Extending the Darwinian Program

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Evolution, Thermodynamics, and Information: Extending the Darwinian Program
Jeffrey S. Wicken
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195043189

Book Description

This groundbreaking work approaches evolution as an expression of physical laws and thermodynamic theory. It explores the relationship between the molecular processes of evolution and the physical laws that govern biological organization, seeking to explain how the ability to change developed
in the earliest organisms and how it is perpetuated today. Dr. Wicken explains how genetic information is organized, how it evolves, and how the chemical and physical properties of the genetic molecules control the type and extent of change possible. With broad implications for scientific
methodology, the work outlines a research program that fuses thermodynamic and Darwinian concepts, and integrates literature on the origin of life with evolutionary theory within the context of developmental biology and ecology. Biologists, geneticists, chemists, physicists, and philosophers of
science interested in evolution will find this book to be stimulating reading.

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