Doubting Didymus

So what was it? Did the shaft come out anywhere?

Marduk

"So what was it? Did the shaft come out anywhere?"


yes, 6 inches of empty space, then another wall.

Doubting Didymus

A solid wall or another door?

galiel

I'm surprised at the negative reaction to this special.

The hook of the great pyramid and promise of treasure or mystery caused many to tune in who would never otherwise watch a science special by Nat'l Geographic.

The two hours of "suspense" were filled with wonderful examples of deductive science at work, in a way the average "Joe" never sees. Brilliant forensics, such as the analysis of surgical technology and social organization from the evidence of continued wear and tear on the bones of the amputee. The painstacking, delicate nature of an archeological dig, anthropological reconstruction, engineering analysis. It showed, as such programs rarely do, not just the "claims" of science, but where they come from, the how and why of it, so it is harder to dismiss as on par with the fantasies of psychics and fundamentalists.

It also showed that science is fun. The incredible passion and enthusiasm of the Egyptian head of antiquities, and his strong rationalist message, explicitly stated as he opened the Overseer's sarcophagus, to show all those UFO'nics and hidden-civilization nuts and mystics that real people, people just like us, his ancestors, in his words, built the pyramids.

For that matter, just showing native Egyptian scientists performing modern science, something you don't often see on TV, rigorously and patiently reclaiming their past from Victorian colonialists and their dynamite.

I found the revelations strongly suggesting that the workers who built the pyramids were not a slave class at all to be a significant development in the region's history, and worth expressing to a wide audience.

And it showed the reality of science, that it is not one dramatic breakthrough after another, but most often the slow, painstaking work of breaking through one wall, only to find another.

I think it was a triumph of popular science education, using the trapping of "reality TV" and the sensationalism of FOX to sneak the scientific education into laypeople's living rooms all over the country.

All in all, I thought it was a great, subversive example of a rational message being packaged as popular culture.

[ September 17, 2002: Message edited by: galiel ]</p>

Kosh

It's because the British babe didn't show any cleavage...

galiel

You missed that part?!? You must have gone to get a sandwich or something....

Marduk

"A solid wall or another door?"

To me it looked like a solid wall.

galiel makes a good point, recently there have been many good shows on ancient Egypt on Discover;

Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids
The Gods of Egypt
Egypt The Golden Age
catch them when you can.

Answerer

So how guys? What is inside that 'secret' chamber?

MrDarwin

I agree entirely, although I did find some of it rather hokey.

One thing I found interesting: implicit in the presentation (although I don't think they ever came right out and said it) was that there is no evidence that enslaved Jews built the pyramids! Since this is a matter of pride on the part of the Egyptians, with probably more than a little anti-Jewish sentiment mixed in, I wonder what the biblical literalists think of it? (I'll have to check my dates, but I believe the pyramids were built long before the enslavement described in Exodus anyway--although YECs certainly do fudge the dates because much of ancient Egyptian history occurred before the Noachian deluge as well!)

Demosthenes

Yes the Jewish enslavement described in the Exodus occured about 3,200 years ago, assuming the accounts are accurate. The pyramids were built 4,500 years ago, so perhaps the Jewish people as a whole didn't even exist back then.

[ September 18, 2002: Message edited by: Demosthenes ]</p>