THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN PRACTICE
 

The articles on strange technological findings provide good examples of how to apply the scientific method. Firstly: a single object or picture rarely is a proof of anything. It is much too easy for circumstances to create the possibility of false interpretations. The Abydos helicopter is a fine example, see here (the first comment is in the original). The argument for it is: it looks almost identical to a modern day helicopter. The arguments against it are: it is only one item, where the opportunity of finding more is huge (there are millions of hieroglyphs). Two: there is no related material. Three: it looks precizely like a modern helicopter. For a similar analysis, see here.

The latter argument may look strange, but it is quite logical. The chances of technology looking identical at disconnected places or times are very slim indeed; even present day Russian technology is to a knowledgeable eye clearly distinguishable from present day American. Secondly: information on ancient technology, if existent, is highly unlikely to come directly from the source. What we will find is likely to be copies of copies of copies of images and stories and images of stories, like the map of Piri Reis.

The arguments against the Piri Reis map (a Persian admiral and geographer; the map is conventionally dated to be from the 16th century, but known in modern times from the beginning of the 20th century) as a proof as depicting strange technology in the form of showing advanced scientific information are: it is inaccurate, it contains contradictory information, and it is of dubious origin. The arguments in favour of the Piri Reis map are: it does contain rather advanced scientific information in a correct representation of geographical latitudes, a problem solved only in the 18th century. And it portrays geological information of land structures on the southern part of the globe, South America and Antarctica, which is too accurate for any knowledge predating the existence of the map. The fact that the Piri Reis map is a much more reliable source than the Abydos helicopter is because in fact it is not an isolated piece of information, but a collection of many related pieces of information: for it to be correct, it has to show correctly not just a piece of land or coastline (like: a single hieroglyph), but show correctly thousands of kilometers of coastline, in a consistent way (like: an entire hieroglyph story). More on the Piri Reis map here.

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