From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

RIP, Erich von D|nniken (1935-2026), Swiss writer who became an
international bestselling author by opportunistically writing about
fringe and pseudoscience topics. He popularized the idea that early
human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials who helped build
monumental works and became revered as gods; a concept that was
picked up numerous times by science fiction writers.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."

- Carl Sagan
--
Steve Coltrin spcoltri@omcl.org
"A group known as the League of Human Dignity helped arrange for Deuel
to be driven to a local livestock scale, where he could be weighed."
- Associated Press
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 1/12/26 07:43, Steve Coltrin wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."

- Carl Sagan

So Sagan was saying Von Danken was a Fundamentalist or Evangelical of
xxxx religion?
--
----------------

Dave Scruggs
Senior Software Engineer - Lockheed Martin, et. al (mostly Retired)
Captain - Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Board of Directors - Boulder Creek Fire Protection District (What was I thinking?)
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 2026-01-12, Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."
- Carl Sagan

Having actually read several of von D|nniken's books, I think this characterization is spot-on.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

In article <slrn10maiae.24af.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

On 2026-01-12, Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to
extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."
- Carl Sagan

Having actually read several of von D|nniken's books, I think this >characterization is spot-on.

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found a
grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> writes:

On 2026-01-12, Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to
extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."
- Carl Sagan

Having actually read several of von D|nniken's books, I think this >characterization is spot-on.

I suspect that EvD was more interested in the income from the
books than the contents thereof.
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 12 Jan 2026 19:50:05 GMT, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found a
grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?

You can't deny he saw things in a different perspective.
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Christian Weisgerber wrote:

RIP, Erich von D|nniken (1935-2026), Swiss writer who became an
international bestselling author by opportunistically writing about
fringe and pseudoscience topics. He popularized the idea that early
human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials who helped build
monumental works and became revered as gods; a concept that was
picked up numerous times by science fiction writers.

I believe that SF writers got there first. But in those stories the
aliens were more clever, passing on information rather than building
useless objects.

Still, given how stupid we are, perhaps aliens would also be dumb enough
to think:

"We need to help these poor people! Gimme three pyramids, stat!"

William Hyde
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:57:29 GMT, Scott Lurndal wrote:

I suspect that EvD was more interested in the income from the
books than the contents thereof.

I've read several of them, but I don't think they were a bestseller
(right?).
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

"s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> wrote or quoted:

On 12 Jan 2026 19:50:05 GMT, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found a
grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?

You can't deny he saw things in a different perspective.

He added something useful to the whole discussion and helped
clear things up a bit. Kind of like a lawyer in court, he took
one side of the argument, but there were others covering it
from different angles, so the question ended up getting looked
at from several directions.

Belief in the paranormal and in extraterrestrials was indeed
more widespread and publicly respectable in some expert and
elite circles in the 1960s-1970s than it tends to be among
comparable experts today. The Parapsychological Association, for
example, became affiliated with the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in 1969, parts of the U.S. intelligence
community pursued classified programs exploring parapsychology.

When I was a kid, I thought all that stuff about "non-normal" things
was fascinating. I used to grab books from the local library with
"true stories" about people who saw ghosts, moved stuff with their
minds, or had telepathic experiences - and of course, D|nniken, too.

Now I figure even the so-called normal world is already unbelievably
wild.

The writer in "Stalker" talks about how soul-crushing normal life
can get. People are starving for a way out:

|Writer: Don't hope for flying saucers - that would be far too
|interesting.
|
|Young woman: Not the Bermuda Triangle either? Surely you're
|not going to deny that . . .
|
|Writer: Oh yes, I deny it. Not in the Bermudas, nor anywhere
|else. There is a triangle A-B-C that is congruent with the
|triangle A1-B1-C1. Do you feel how much dreary boredom there
|is in that statement? In the Middle Ages, that was still a
|cause for excitement. Every house had its household spirit.
|Every church had God. People were young then. But today every
|fourth person is an old man. Boring, my dear. That's what
|boredom is.
|
Stalker, USSR, 1980. Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky


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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 2026-01-12, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found a
grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?

I seem to remember that interviewers put the question straight to
him and he seemed evasive.

In _Erscheinungen_ (1974, "Apparitions") he wrote with equal
conviction about... ghosts. Surely those third-hand anecdotes about
spectral figures haunting English castles must have some truth!

Personally, I suspect that von D|nniken neither believed nor disbelieved
much of what he wrote. The books sold and he just didn't care. A
bullshitter, in Harry Frankfurt's terms.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:

Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

On 2026-01-12, Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canrCOt understand, he attributes it to >>> extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he understands almost nothing,
he sees evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence all over the planet."
- Carl Sagan

Having actually read several of von D|nniken's books, I think this >>characterization is spot-on.

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found a
grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?

It's hard to tell. I suspect not, but stranger things have happened.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:

|Young woman: Not the Bermuda Triangle either? Surely you're
|not going to deny that . . .

This is foolish. It's not the Bermuda Triangle where people are
disappearing. It's the Golden Triangle. Just look what happened
to Wang Xing, and that is the tip of the iceberg.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote or quoted:

Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:

|Young woman: Not the Bermuda Triangle either? Surely you're
|not going to deny that . . .

This is foolish. It's not the Bermuda Triangle where people are >disappearing. It's the Golden Triangle.

I know. I saw it on "Miami Vice".


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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:57:05 -0500, William Hyde
<wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

Christian Weisgerber wrote:

RIP, Erich von DEniken (1935-2026), Swiss writer who became an
international bestselling author by opportunistically writing about
fringe and pseudoscience topics. He popularized the idea that early
human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials who helped build
monumental works and became revered as gods; a concept that was
picked up numerous times by science fiction writers.

I believe that SF writers got there first. But in those stories the
aliens were more clever, passing on information rather than building
useless objects.

Still, given how stupid we are, perhaps aliens would also be dumb enough
to think:

"We need to help these poor people! Gimme three pyramids, stat!"

I recall Arthur C Clarke saying[*] that they came very close to going
with a pyramid-shaped monolith before choosing the slab, and how it
might have had a deleterious effect on 2001's performance, due to the association with von Daniken.

*: probably "The Lost Worlds of 2001"
--
Jerry Brown

A cat may look at a king
(but probably won't bother)
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 12.01.26, ted@loft.tnolan.com <Unknown@Sender> wrote:

In article <slrn10maiae.24af.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

On 2026-01-12, Steve Coltrin <spcoltri@omcl.org> wrote:

"Every time he sees something he canN++N++N++t understand, he
attributes it to extraterrestrial intelligence, and since he
understands almost nothing, he sees evidence of extraterrestrial
intelligence all over the planet." - Carl Sagan

Having actually read several of von DN++N++niken's books, I think
this characterization is spot-on.

Haven't read him, but I had always assumed he was a guy who had found
a grift and was milking it. So he actually believed this stuff?

Haven't read him either.

Only came across all this stuff (besides flatmate in the 90s saying
Daeniken spouted nonsense) after a Terraria update spoiler image with
crazy hair guy, text saying "I'm not saying it's aliens, but... It's
Aliens!" (The Terraria update featured marsian invasions.)

When I then noticed crazy hair guy in some "documentary" I got
interested and watched that. (It's fascinating how I like watching that stupid show, and keep telling the people in it that they need to buy a
brain. Yet, I keep watching it. Guess it has nice pictures. :) )

I am pretty certain that crazy hair dude at least doesn't really believe
any of it.
--

Mickmane

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:57:05 -0500, William Hyde wrote:

Christian Weisgerber wrote:

RIP, Erich von D|nniken (1935-2026), Swiss writer who became an
international bestselling author by opportunistically writing about
fringe and pseudoscience topics. He popularized the idea that early
human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials who helped build
monumental works and became revered as gods; a concept that was picked
up numerous times by science fiction writers.

I believe that SF writers got there first. But in those stories the
aliens were more clever, passing on information rather than building
useless objects.

Still, given how stupid we are, perhaps aliens would also be dumb enough
to think:

"We need to help these poor people! Gimme three pyramids, stat!"

William Hyde

Raise your hand if you're old enough to remember an eerily
similar controversy a generation earlier: "Worlds in Collision"
by Immanuel Velikovsky. Compare and contrast.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:57:05 -0500, William Hyde wrote:

I believe that SF writers got there first. But in those stories the
aliens were more clever, passing on information rather than building
useless objects.

Still, given how stupid we are, perhaps aliens would also be dumb enough
to think:

"We need to help these poor people! Gimme three pyramids, stat!"

Maybe it was just us people being stupid. Too stupid to pass on
information to?
--
s|b
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:01:00 +0100, Mickmane wrote:

Haven't read him either.

Only came across all this stuff (besides flatmate in the 90s saying Daeniken spouted nonsense) after a Terraria update spoiler image with
crazy hair guy, text saying "I'm not saying it's aliens, but... It's Aliens!" (The Terraria update featured marsian invasions.)

<https://tenor.com/view/aliens-ancient-aliens-giorgio-gif-21799424>

When I then noticed crazy hair guy in some "documentary" I got
interested and watched that. (It's fascinating how I like watching that stupid show, and keep telling the people in it that they need to buy a brain. Yet, I keep watching it. Guess it has nice pictures. :) )

I am pretty certain that crazy hair dude at least doesn't really believe any of it.

You're talking about Giorgio A. Tsoukalos.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_A._Tsoukalos>
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 1/13/2026 4:15 AM, Jerry Brown wrote:

On Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:57:05 -0500, William Hyde
<wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:

Christian Weisgerber wrote:

RIP, Erich von D|nniken (1935-2026), Swiss writer who became an
international bestselling author by opportunistically writing about
fringe and pseudoscience topics. He popularized the idea that early
human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials who helped build
monumental works and became revered as gods; a concept that was
picked up numerous times by science fiction writers.

I believe that SF writers got there first. But in those stories the
aliens were more clever, passing on information rather than building
useless objects.

Still, given how stupid we are, perhaps aliens would also be dumb enough
to think:

"We need to help these poor people! Gimme three pyramids, stat!"

I recall Arthur C Clarke saying[*] that they came very close to going
with a pyramid-shaped monolith before choosing the slab, and how it
might have had a deleterious effect on 2001's performance, due to the association with von Daniken.

*: probably "The Lost Worlds of 2001"

2001 is based (loosely) on Clarkes short story 'The Sentinal',
which does indeed have a pyramid-shaped monolith.

pt
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