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Velikovsky

Statement

Cover of Pocket Books edition of Worlds in Collision Immanuel Velikovsky (1895-1979) was a Russian-American psychiatrist who in the 1950's wrote Worlds In Collision, in which he made sensational astronomical and historical claims. He claimed that in ancient times the planet Venus was ejected from Jupiter in the form of a comet. Venus disrupted Mars's orbit. Both planets buzzed Earth, Venus around 1500 B.C.E. and Mars around 700 B.C.E., causing natural disasters that were recorded in archeological remains, Biblical stories, and other ancient legends and myths. Eventually, Venus and Mars settled into their current orbits. After the publication of Worlds in Collision, some scientists criticized Velikovsky for not going through scientific channels of review and testing and attempted to suppress his work. The publicity attracted readers and believers and Velikovsky's reputation grew.

His contentions have since been examined and disproved. Venus was observed in its current position around 1500 B.C.E., well before its alleged pass by Earth. Jupiter and Venus have vastly different compositions, as do comets and Venus. There is no evidence that Jupiter could eject either planets or comets. The vast spaces between and relatively small sizes of planets make close passages unlikely. Geologists have not found evidence of active volcanos and flooding that would be expected if Velikovsky's claims were true. And so on. It was the attempted suppression, not the validity of his views, that made Velikovsky's reputation.

Sources

Immanuel Velikovsky's Worlds in Collision - Skeptic's Dictionary
Donald Goldsmith, ed. Scientists Confront Velikovsky. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977)
Immanuel Velikovsky, Worlds in Collision, (Garden City: Doubleday, 1950)