Wednesday, August 22, 2012

A short review of "How to Survive 2012"

“How to Survive 2012” is the third book in a trilogy of illogical doom fantasies by Belgian pseudo-scientist Patrick Geryl. Patrick Geryl , a self-proclaimed independent researcher, has won over many in the survivalist movement by playing the part of “master researcher.” He has done numerous interviews in both English and Dutch discussing the up and coming “cataclysm” predicted by both the Maya and Ancient Egyptians. In short, Geryl has perpetuated his fantasy with the help of other pseudo-scientific writers that have absolutely no scientific knowledge in any discipline they write about.Geryl begins his “masterpiece” with his ever so popular “fantasy archaeology” on the first page of the foreword:

Polar Reversals can be calculated precisely on the basis of the sunspot cycle theory or the magnetic field theory, which the Maya and the Old Egyptians were privy to. These secrets are contained in the Labyrinth of Hawara, a huge complex consisting of three thousand rooms.1

The “Labyrinth” that is referred to in Geryl’s book is the supposed complex that Herodotus describes in Book II in his work of Histories. According to Herodotus’ work, the complex was home to knowledge of past eras and ancient cultures well before the ancient Egyptians. Geryl will have you believe that evidence of past cataclysms and the artifacts of the antediluvian society Atlantis were housed in this Labyrinth. What makes this statement from Geryl special is that he claimed to have discovered the Labyrinth in Hawara, Egypt. Forget the fact that this complex that is constantly being referred still has not been officially been discovered by anyone let alone a pseudo-scientific writer from Belgium, the complex would have been flooded for a very long time. Geryl explains later in the book that he had not received permission to dig at the complex. Fortunately, he and his team are still not allowed to dig. The Hawara complex, though not officially identified as the Labyrinth, has even been considered by other Egyptologist as having been a possible place for the Labyrinth, which makes Geryl’s statement even more ridiculous. He takes credit for other people’s discoveries and then bends the facts to fit his theories.
Playing with fantasy is something Geryl does on a regular basis. On the first page of chapter one, Geryl cites that the magnetic field of earth has weakened 60% over the past two thousand years. This is an example of twisting facts and readjusting them to fit your ideas. Even though magnetic field strength has indeed dropped, it would take thousands of years for the field strength to be weak enough for a field reversal to even be possible. This is something that Geryl will not tell you. In addition, these reversals take thousands of years to happen and are not related to the physical poles of the earth. This next block quote should seal the deal on Geryl’s fantasy land work:
I took it as my task to rediscover the lost knowledge of these brilliant scientists. Almost from the beginning of my search I discovered astronomical numbers and mathematical series that correlated with each other. Esoteric symbols complemented this connection. They performed codes impossible to crack for non-insiders, yet I persisted in finishing my task, unraveling code after code.2
Once again, Geryl takes us on a journey inside his imagination where he is the protagonist of his story. Throughout the book Geryl refers to Charles Hapgood, Albert Slosman and other failed pseuo-scientists that have laid the foundation for Geryl’s off-the-wall ideas. Their work “inspired” Geryl. What you will find about Geryl is that little to none of his research comes from legitimate scientific journals, only crackpot failed ideas that were either dismissed from the start or have since been replaced by more credible science.