SA's Erich von Däniken?

[bluegray]

I hope the light refreshments and snacks are worth R60

[Mefiante]

I hope the light refreshments and snacks are worth R60

With the stuff Herschel dishes up and expects you to swallow, I quite doubt it.  On the other hand, I wonder whether the inherent comedy could perhaps be worth the price of admission… 

Interesting, though, is the reference to the work of Dan Brown.  Maybe there’s some merit in requiring that, à la some US creationist school boards and evolution textbooks, Dan Brown’s books be issued with a prominent disclaimer on the cover that reads, “This is a work of fiction.  That means it is a made up story for entertainment only.  It is not historical fact.  It is not a reference work.  It is not an exposé of any ancient far-reaching conspiracy involving a cast of shadowy figures.  In short, it is imagination draped over a historical backdrop.”

But it probably wouldn’t do any good anyway, considering how Wayne is still basically accusing both NASA and ESA of deceiving the public with their photos of the Cydonia “face” on Mars.

'Luthon64

[ArgumentumAdHominem]

Maybe there's some merit in requiring that, à la some US creationist school boards and evolution textbooks, Dan Brown's books be issued with a prominent disclaimer on the cover that reads, "This is a work of fiction.  That means it is a made up story for entertainment only.  It is not historical fact.  It is not a reference work.  It is not an exposé of any ancient far-reaching conspiracy involving a cast of shadowy figures.  In short, it is imagination draped over a historical backdrop."

Although a bit off-topic, I think that such a disclaimer is futile when the infamous "FACT" page is found in this book immediately before the prologue which reads:

FACT

All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.

But he seems to refine this on his website where he claims:

If you read the "FACT" page, you will see it clearly states that the documents, rituals, organization, artwork, and architecture in the novel all exist. The "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader.

I wonder how many people who read the book and "interpreted" his FACT page incorrectly actually went to his website to find-out what he really meant by writing that.

[Mefiante]

Wayne “I believe conventional archaeologists are dimwits” Herschel is planning his next book, eagerly awaited by a wide spectrum of New Age and other woo-woo adherents.  In it, he plans to reveal the source of his “knowledge” concerning human origins.

Ever since entering the public arena, Wayne Herschel has incessantly been challenged by scholars on the source of his material – especially since he proposes a very controversial and entirely alternative interpretation of a vast spectrum of earliest history.

And that is just as it should be.  After all, remarkable claims require remarkable amounts of remarkable evidence.  Herschel’s first book, The Hidden Records, offered a tedious litany of overly contrived and even invented coincidences instead of actual or direct evidence.  Its only value, apart from introducing Herschel’s odd notions about humanity’s origins to the world, was as an instructive study in how to avoid applying Occam’s Razor at all costs.

Since releasing his book not a single scholar has stood up to take the stand in front of the media, either to comment or evaluate the material.

This seems to intimate that relevant scholars are afraid to confront the material possibly because it destroys extant theories.  However, the truth is probably much closer to scholars not wanting to embarrass Herschel publicly and/or because his hypotheses are so farfetched as to defy a measured response.

Wayne has now decided it is now time to release the spiritual material his book was leading up to, he will take the stand himself by revealing his source and make most of the new material available in advance of his next book.

Would it be cynical of me to say that there’s little reason to be hopeful of a compelling defence?

Even though the disclosure of his source of material will no doubt spark an even greater controversy…

[Herschel] claims the source to everything he has found is not of this world.

That should clear it all up, then, assuming that one has already accepted Herschel’s basic thesis that we are the descendants of Pleiadean space travellers who came to Earth almost 20,000 years ago.

[The information] came with two conditions. One was the responsibility of presenting the material by securing it with copyright to prevent negative interference that will try and block it.

Funny how that plays directly and conveniently into the author/publisher’s hands.  Still, one might wonder why such copyright should be required if the information is of such allegedly cardinal importance to all of humanity.  Copyright doesn’t guarantee accuracy.  Nor does it guarantee that copy errors won’t occur or that the information will be widely dispersed.

The second condition was that since the complete presentation has enough evidence to enlighten humanity thus starting a ‘new’ belief system, it must be available for all to see freely on the internet and it must carry the name ‘Oneism’.

Giving it a new name and/or making it freely available doesn’t add to its plausibility.

All in all, Hershel’s new book is unlikely to make my birthday wish list once it is released.

'Luthon64

[bluegray]

Sounds like he read too much LR Hubbard. If Hubbard can start a religion with aliens to make money, why can't Wayne?

[m0r1arty]

Hello SA Skeptics.

I realise this topic is a couple of years old and so do apologise for it being brought back up again however the information I have is pertinent to the Wayne Herschel hoax and should be shared to make sure the truth gets through.

Wayne, in May of this year, brought up on his Facebook account that proof of intelligent alien interstellar communication had been found by a friend of his called Judy Fältskog via a radio telescope. The fact that the signal was in the UV band brought many people to attention of this being a hoax.

There is an ongoing thread about this Wayne Herschel hoax over at ATS (AboveTopSecret).

The short and simple fact of the matter is that Wayne is using knowingly falsified information in order to sell his book The Hidden Records and is trying to profiteer from those naive enough to fall for it. I cannot for the life of me accept these lies as anything but a shove against genuine research and science and so must let you know here. The full story goes almost into hyperdrive with the ridiculous, yet provable, operatics of it all. Read it if you want to have an enjoyable 10 hours. There will be a summary available freely shortly.

He is having 2 confirmed conferences very shortly. 1 in Cape Town and 1 in Johannesburg, details of which can be found here (or here in case it changes on his site).

If it is possible I'd like people to feedback on either the locations, Wayne himself or the event if they attend.

I am open to the fact that I consider him to be a low down dirty liar to be wrong and am willing to reconsider (I am a sceptic after all!). However I would like to know as much about this, and the potential for a balloon with a nasty advert on it, as possible.

Thanks for your time and I will be checking back to reply to any updates.

Take care my fellow sceptics!

-m0r

[Mefiante]

Hello m0r1arty, and welcome to the forum.

If I may ask, how did you find out about Herschel?  And where are you from?

Herschel’s nonsense is so completely ridiculous that it is a wonder anyone buys into it.  A well-meaning relative gave us his book a few years ago and that’s how we got to know of him.  I’ve also debated one of his fans once and can tell you that these people are not reachable by reason.  It’s best just to laugh at their stupid ideas whenever an opportunity arises.  Arguing with them is a frustrating waste of effort.

'Luthon64

[m0r1arty]

Hello Mefiante and thank you for the welcome.

I came across the shyster Herschel by way of a post on a conspiracy website known as ATS (AboveTopSecret).

A fellow member posted a thread in earnest about a statement Wayne had made on his Facebook account regarding a 'good' friend of his who had allegedly picked up an intelligent extraterrestrial message in the UV band on a radio telescope.

The claim, of course, was torn to shreds by reasonable minds and would have fallen into the ether of other hoaxes had it not been for the appearance of the twit himself.

Through his gauding account of what occurred further motivation arose and a plethora of further information about both him and his accomplice Judy Fältskog.

The evidence presented, including legal documents and prior court cases against Judy Fältskog, seems to conclude that they are, or were, aspiring to start a religion.

This is only the surface of it all. It has escalated into Wayne posting on his web sites that there are conspiratorial overtones to his being found out and that he is going to take on these 'disinfo' agents.

I, being one of these so called (and cited) agents, have upped my game to include knowledge of this fraud shenanigans to others who have noted his dealings in the past.

If you wish you can rad about the Wayne Herschel fraud here.

It is a very long thread though and would recommend looking at this singular post to get a brief overview of the first 30 pages.

The fact that he's giving a talk in 10 days, where he is charging people for the privilege, in South Africa grinds my gears and I hope that someone can hold him to account for his corruption and blatant abuse of those who are of a particular, and perhaps vulnerable, mindset.

Again, thank you for the welcome Mefiante and I hope my statements are in accord with your own outlook on the matter.

-m0r

[GCG]

i'm a sucker for a good alien story, but i really have an issue with people going around being militant about spreading the 'word'.
if you are making money out of you story-telling, then all forms of alarms ring for me.
if you really have information to tell, then do it for free?
i do have a good chuckle though, seeing that the alien end of things are being punted as vigorously as the christian end of things.

[Mefiante]

Looks like Herschel’s paranoia is now beginning to develop into a full-blown persecution complex.  I’m left wondering whether the person who penned the TO ALL THOSE WHO INVESTED HEART AND SOUL IN THE BOOK piece was drunk, stoned or brain-damaged — or some novel combination of the three.

'Luthon64