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          Erich von Daniken's "Chariots of the Gods?":
                    SCIENCE OR CHARLATANISM?

       by Robert Sheaffer (Box 10441, San Jose, CA 95130)

        (First published in the "NICAP UFO Investigator",
        October/November, 1974. Reprint rights granted to local
        Skeptics' groups.)



Was  God an ancient astronaut?  Do centuries-old legends of  gods
and heroes tell of space travelers who came to earth from distant
parts of the Cosmos?  Are some of the ruins of antiquity remnants
of great airfields. the favored landing sites of extraterrestrial
craft?

"Yes!," writes Erich Von Daniken in his runaway bestselling book,
"Chariots of the Gods?" This phenomenally successful book is now
in  its  forty-fourth  printing,  with over four  million  copies
currently  in print.  Von Daniken's sequels to this  book,  "Gods
from  Outer  Space" and "The Gold of The Gods" are  also  selling
well, as are flocks of imitations.

The  popularity  of  such  a sensational  theory  should  not  be
surprising.  Immanuel  Velikovsky created a similar  stir  almost
twenty-five  years  ago  with the publication of his  "Worlds  in
Collision", suggesting that the present state of the solar system
can be explained by a series of spectacular cataclysms among  the
planets.  It  has  been  over twenty-seven  years  since  "flying
saucers"  burst  into  the public's  awareness,  and  UFOs  still
continue  to  generate excitement  and  controversy.  Sensational
hypotheses  such  as these generate such levels of interest  that
they  tend  to  become  self-sustaining,  quite  apart  from  the
question of whether they are true.

Established  science has always shied away from  such  remarkable
claims.  "It  took courage to write this book.  and it will  take
courage  to read it",  says Von Daniken.  "Even if a  reactionary
army  tries  to dam up this new intellectual flood,  a new  world
must be conquered in the teeth of all the unteachable in the name
of truth and reality." (Presumably the reader here is expected to
shout,  "Right on!") Does science avoid Von Daniken because it is
afraid  to face up to the truth?  Let's examine some of his  many
claims,  to see if they are serious scientific theories,  or mere
humbug.

On  page  9,  Von Daniken serves up a  "basic  rocket  equation,"
derived  by  one Professor Ackeret,  purporting to show how  time
slows  down for space travelers who zip along at velocities  near
the  speed  of  light.   This  is  an  important  consequence  of
Einstein's  theory  of relativity.  Yet a quick  glance  at  this
"rocket  equation" shows that it isn't an equation at all!  Every
equation  is  a  mathematical statement of the  equality  of  two
quantities:  this  equals that.  But his "equation"  contains  no
equal  sign,  and hence it cannot be a real equation;  it must be
intended  as  window  dressing,  since it  serves  no  legitimate
mathematical purpose.  Yet that is not the only absurdity in this
non-equation.  A term in the denominator is multiplied by a  very
strange   constant:   ONE!   Did  Professor  Ackeret  think  that
multiplication  by one was a necessary step in his  calculations?
Von   Daniken   himself  must  have   known   better,   as   even
schoolchildren  learn  that any number times one  equals  itself!
There are,  of course,  many legitimate equations which deal with
this  aspect of the relativity of time.  Why then has Von Daniken
selected  such  an obvious humbug to support  his  "scientific  "
claims?

What is the history of our earth-moon system?  ". . . a satellite
was  captured by the earth.  As it was pulled toward the earth it
slowed  down  the speed of the earth's  revolutions.  It  finally
disintegrated and was replaced by the moon." (p. 19)

Proof of this theory,  he writes,  can be found in the symbols on
the  Great  Idol  in the Old Temple at  Tiahuanaco,  one  of  his
favorite archeological Wonders.  Supposedly this message,  dating
back 27,000 years,  tells of how this satellite emeritus made 425
revolutions  around  the earth a year,  which was then  only  288
days.

If  the earth formerly circled the sun every 288  days,  Kepler's
third law implies that the earth must have been at that time much
closer to the sun,  almost where Venus is now. Are we expected to
believe that during the great Ice Ages the earth was some  twenty
million  miles closer to the sun than it is today?  On the  other
hand,  if the year remained unchanged but each day is shorter, we
are     faced with another difficulty:  since the     year is now
365 days, the earth's rotation     is faster than in 25,000 B.C.,
not  slower     as Von Daniken claims.  How could a     satellite
slowly  spiraling  earthward pull     both  earth  and  satellite
farther  away from     the sun?  Where are the fragments of  this
disintegrated moon, and where did our     current moon come from?
Von Daniken     gives no answers.

On ancient Egyptian astronomy:     " ... why a Sirius calendar? .
. . If Sirius     appeared on the horizon at dawn at the     same
time as the Nile flood, it was pure     coincidence ... this very
interest  in  Sirius  seems rather  peculiar  because  seen  from
Memphis, Sirius can be observed only in the early dawn just above
the horizon when the Nile floods begin." (p.64-65)Reader,  beware
- we're dealing with one who knows the art of deception!  Sirius,
he  neglects to mention,  is the brightest star in the  sky.  His
claim  that Sirius was hardly visible at all to the Egyptians  is
simply false.  Sirius, in fact, is visible from anywhere on earth
except the extreme North Polar region, and observers in Egypt see
that  star  higher  in the sky than we do here  in  the  northern
United  States,  where  it  dominates  the sky  on  crisp  winter
evenings.

There  is no dark mystery behind the development of  the  Sirius-
based  calendar  in  Egypt. The priests there  noticed  a  simple
regularity:  each  year, when that brilliant  star  first  became
visible  in the morning sky, the Nile flood began. Does this  not
prove  that  the  Egyptians  had contact with  a  race  of  space
travelers?

On  the  mysteries  of the great Pyramid     of  Cheops:  "is  it
coincidence that the     area of the base of the pyramid  divided
by  twice  its  height  gives  the  celebrated      figure  Pi  =
3.14159?" (p. 77)

Here  our  slippery trickster has made a    claim which  is  easy
enough  to  understand,  but  its refutation  requires  a  higher
level of mathematical sophistication,     which is all the better
for  letting  the      deception  go  unnoticed!   Without  going
into  too much detail,  let us observe that     the famous number
Pi  is what is called     a "dimensionless   constant":  it is  a
pure      number,   with  which  no  units  of  measure       are
associated.  However,  the  ratio  of an area to height  is   not
dimensionless,  hence      such  a  ratio  cannot  yield  Pi.  By
choosing      our units carefully,  we can obtain the      number
3.14159,  but  the  ratio  will not     really be  Pi,  which  is
independent of any     units of measure.  If we measure the  same
pyramid,  Von Daniken style,  in inches,      feet, and yards, we
will  obtain three     different ratios.  Choose your own  units,
and  the  ratio can be made to equal any     number at  all!  Von
Daniken  writes  that      the pyramid of  Cheops  "has  inspired
hundreds of crazy and untenable     theories". Not satisfied with
this collection, he has given us one more.

More   evidence  of  the  ancient  Visitors:   "The  Mayas   were
intelligent;  they  had  a highly developed  culture.  They  left
behind   not  only  a  fabulous  calendar  but  also   incredible
calculations.  They knew the     Venusian year of 584 days. . . "
(p.55)

This statement is true-almost. He conveniently forgets to tell us
that this 584 day period is not the true Venusian year,  which is
225 days. Instead it is the apparent Venusian cycle as seen by an
earth-based  observer,  which is precisely what we should  expect
the ancient Mayas to record by simply counting days,  without any
extraterrestrial insight. On the other hand, if they had recorded
the true Venusian year of 225 days,  which implies a knowledge of
the  Copernican (sun-centered) system of  astronomy,  that  would
have been a bit more remarkable.

In  these  few  short pages I have scarcely begun a list  of  the
inaccuracies  and  half-truths  to be found in  Chariots  of  the
Gods?.  But  a  thousand-page refutation of a  hundred-page  book
would  hardly  make good reading.  Sensationalist  theories  have
always attracted more readers than refutations of the same.

Enough of Von Daniken's claims have,  however,  been examined  to
reveal  his  method of operations:  to dazzle the reader  with  a
skillful  blend  of half-truths (as well as quarter  and  eighth-
truths,  too).  Looking into his past,  (Ref: New York Times Book
Review),  we  should not be too surprised to find that his rather
broad criterion of truthfulness has,  at times,  brought him into
conflict  with the law.  A court in his native Switzerland  found
Von  Daniken  guilty  of  embezzlement,   forgery,   and   fraud,
sentencing  him  to  three  and a half  years  in  prison.  While
operating a Swiss hotel.  it seems he fraudulently obtained money
by  misrepresenting  his  financial assets,  this  experience  in
deception later proving invaluable in his literary career. It was
during this stay as a guest of the Swiss government that he wrote
his second book, Gods from Outer Space, now also a best seller.

Once  a liar,  however,  does not infallibly prove him  always  a
liar.  However much this charlatanism may hurt one's credibility,
it  never  destroys  it  completely.  (The  followers  of  famous
psychics  are never shaken when their leader is caught  cheating:
they  only cheat on bad days!) Von Daniken's theories of  Ancient
UFO  contactees are indeed no more implausible than their latter-
day counterparts.  In fact,  we have in support of these theories
one bona fide, highly reliable eyewitness who saw these creatures
disembark  who  can now describe it:  none other than  Erich  Von
Daniken  himself!  In  an exclusive interview with  the  National
Enquirer, Von Daniken tells of his experiences in Point Aleph, "a
sort of fourth dimension'" where time doesn't exist.  He revealed
how he can now leave his body at will,  transcending all concepts
of space and time.  "I know that astronauts visited the earth  in
ancient  times",  he  confides,  because  "I was there  when  the
astronauts  arrived.  And I know they'll be back."  Unfortunately
for us,  he can't say exactly when,  since "time doesn't exist in
Point Aleph."

"I even know what will happen after death".  We're all  ears.  "l
will  become  part  of this huge  never-to-be-destroyed  ball  of
energy  that  keeps and remembers every last tiny thing that  has
ever  happened  on  this planet.  Everybody will  join  me  there
eventually and at least they'll know then that I was right". Save
a place for me right in the middle of that big old  ball,  Erich,
because I'm going to be one of the hardest to convince.

     REFERENCES:

Chariots of the Gods? is currently published by Bantam Books, New
York. Page numbers refer to Bantam edition.

Erich  Von Daniken's Genesis, New York Sunday Times Book  Review.
March 31 , 1974

National Enquirer, March 17, 1974