It’s a Science, Stupid!

I had already started to prepare a nice little entry about the NBA All Star Game, when I happened upon this response to a post in Thoth Web. See, a couple of days ago someone called "thepodule" mentioned John Anthony West over in Thoth Web and I responded with a little anecdote.

thepodule said:

Hi all,

I thought you might like to know that John Anthony West's PhoenixFire podcast is available on iTunes now, as well as his PhoenixFire blog here:http://jawphoenixfire.blogspot.com/

He goes into the complete background of the origins of his work with Robert Schock, and the origins of the water weathering theory of the Sphinx.

All the best

Geraint

So I say:

Side note:

I remember in a class I took with Kent Weeks,
back in the early 90's (before he spent all his time on KV5) someone asked him
about John Anthony West. Without missing a beat, Doc Weeks said "John Anthony
West? What can I say? He's not a real Egyptologist...His methods are sloppy, his
ideas are ludicrous, and his mother dresses him funny."

We all had a great laugh about that.

I wasn't trying to start anything, just, really, trying to get the same kind of laugh which we all shared, at the time. Well, among the usual flutter of vapid responses this little slice of fried gold came up, purporting to be from the man himself, John Anthony West:
Jaw responds

>Without missing a beat, Doc Weeks said "John Anthony West? What can I say? He's not a real Egyptologist..<

Correct; I am not a 'real' Egyptologist. That is why I know something.

The 'real' Egyptologists (with a very few exceptions, Weeks not among them) spend their time arguing over how many asps killed Cleopatra* or, like Doc Weeks, scrabble around on their knees (apposite position) in the dust of yet another meaningless tomb, sifting rubble and eventually publishing a meaningless book or meaningless paper of zero interest or significance to anyone. **

*Serpent in the Sky, p.9, margin note.

** cf., a list of abstracts of any Egyptological conference anywhere in the world.

> His methods are sloppy, his ideas are ludicrous,

Without examples or citations it is impossible to address the charge of sloppiness, but no examples are needed to address 'ludicrous'.

If Doc Weeks is talking about my work on the water-weathering of the Sphinx and the need to drastically redate it, it should be enough to say that at two separate Annual Meetings of the Geological Society of America (1991, 2000) the overwhelming, indeed, near unanimous reaction of hundreds of professional geologists was that our evidence looked very convincing indeed. The word 'sloppy' was never used, nor did anyone shout 'ludicrous'.

I should also like to point out here, or re-point out (as George Bernard Shaw liked to say, 'I always quote myself. It adds spice to the conversation.') the argument about the Sphinx is based upon weathering patterns in rock, plain and simple, and when it comes to opinions about weathering patterns in rocks, an Egyptologist's opinion is no better than a proctologist's.

If 'ludicrous' refers to the 'Symbolist' interpretation of Egypt that I champion, as developed by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, well, that is another matter; one not to be solved by 'hard' science as such but rather supported by a corpus of meticulously accumulated and detailed factual documentation.

Thereafter, what is required is an ability to accurately interpret those facts. This is where 'real' Egyptologists like Doc Weeks find themselves in uncharted and, for them, scary territory. Their reaction to this work is, however, perfectly understandable.

The Tao Te Ching (google it up, Adrastus) summarizes the situation well.

'When the best student is taught the Tao, he practices it assiduously.

When the average student is taught the Tao it seems to him there one moment and gone the next.

When the worst student is taught the Tao, he laughs out loud; if he did not laugh, it would be unworthy of being the Tao.'

Or put another way; it is futile to talk moonbeams to the blind, or music to the deaf, and dangerous to talk sex to eunuchs, they just get angry, sometimes violent.

BTW, I note that the career of the legendary Adrastus was marked chiefly by a succession of failures; certainly a well-chosen pseudonym.

>'…and his mother dresses him funny ' We all had a great laugh about that'

I trust you're still laughing.

John Anthony West

Now, I don't care if it was really him, or not, it just made my day. I shelved the rather predictable All Star game (West took it 153 to 132. Kobe Bryant got MVP for his 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Get back to me next week when I start actually playing for money on these games,) and went right to work crafting a response. This is the rough draft. Please leave any suggestions in the comments section. It is my intention to post it to him before sunset today :

"Tourists…The 11^th Plague of Egypt"

-Uttered by the Expat in Egypt on several occasions

Yes, I'm laughing even more heartily, now, indeed. You see, I've heard Dr. Weeks lecture, Mr. West. I've taken several courses with him at the AUC and I continue to delight for his success with the KV5 excavation. His ideas are sound, his methods are above reproach, and his results speak for themselves. He is a real Egyptologist and a man of science. I have never heard him, or anyone else for that matter, say that they take the Cleopatra-asp-myth seriously, and I think it's unfortunate that you feel that all the hard work that serious Egyptologists are doing is meaningless.

I've got to say that I didn't realize it would be so upsetting to some people that I share a little anecdote from my freshman year at the AUC. The truth of the matter is that every year, among the serious students, we would receive a few who were compelled to ask about "re-dating the age of the Sphinx" or about the "Orion Connection". The faculty response was, at times, mixed, but it was always colorful, comedic, and clever. (You probably don't want to know what Salima Ikram had to say about it.)

I have also had the opportunity to hear you speak, Mr. West. Of course, it wasn't at the AUC, nor was it on one of your renowned "Magical Egypt Tours" which, I'm sure, delight hundreds (thousands?) of people a year. No, I've heard you speak on your "symbolist views" primarily in the various interviews you've given on television and, perhaps, in the occasional podcast. Also, I've come across your work before, and have read enough follow-up material relating to you and your work. I find your ideas, and those of Schwaller de Lubicz before you, to be novel and creative. Personally, I believe that some of them might even deserve greater scrutiny in the serious academic community. What's more, I find them to be made up of the very stuff that the masses find easily digestible and entertaining. They are, quite obviously, exceptionally marketable in that capacity.

In fact, Mr. West, may I suggest that, as a premium for your AWF club, you offer little "antiqued" scarab-shaped decoder rings, with wings that open to reveal a secret message, to your members. I know a man right off Shari'a el Muski, near El Hussein, that can manufacture them for just pennies each.

The sad truth seems to be that, for centuries, Egypt has been a lure for those who would who play at being Kharteyya , and fleece the willing for their own personal gain. Tourist hawkers still line the streets of Downtown Cairo, making a living exploiting the complex culture and ethos of the place. Under the ever-present administration there this practice has become the backbone of the industry. What's even sadder, Mr. West, is that you have made yourself a part of that.

No, you are certainly not a real Egyptologist. I think you're a huckster, today's equivalent of a sideshow barker, mixing together their patent blend of smoke and mirrors with a palatable mix of pop archeology and pseudo-history. You deliver it well, Mr. West, with all the skill and craftiness of a modern day P.T. Barnum. It's no surprise that you won an Emmy Award 6 years before Susan Lucci did. (Feel free to Google up that one.)

In short, Mr. West, you are just a tour guide; and by the look of it you are an exceptionally successful one. You lead bands of jaunty, sedate, truth-seeking Khuwaggas up the Nile and back again. They buy many pretty souvenirs at all the shops along the way, and then they go home again with their interesting and exotic stories with which to amuse family and astonish friends. For many people what you offer is enough.

They don't want the traffic and the noise and the spicy political situation there. Hell no! They don't want to deal with the rampant superfluous humanity in Cairo and all the daily travails that brings. What they want is to go to Egypt and have magical experiences from abroad. They want to purchase the mystique of Egypt and bottle it up, bring it back home with them as their very own. On the whole, what they want is fast-food-Egyptology and you, sir, are its Colonel Sanders. So, yes, the reaction that real Egyptologists might have toward your work is, indeed, perfectly understandable.

Anyway, thank you for your response. Regardless of your beliefs your thoughtful comments will certainly be taken under consideration. I have enjoyed our short correspondence. Not only have you given me another amusing anecdote to tell but it has elucidated me about you. Up until now, I was under the impression that you were an unapproachable and mystic man, with a wise mind and clever wit, but you're really rather quite sensitive, aren't you.

All My Best

Adrastas

Well, let me know. I'm open to ideas for the final draft.

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UPDATE

Well, they closed the thread to further comments (most probably at his request). I sent the above missive in response to a private msg he sent me at Thoth Web (in which the tour guide called me a “windbag”). It makes me wonder how much work he’s actually doing (outside of the leisure industry) if he has enough spare time on his hands to cruise blogs and new age forums. Well, it just goes to show you, my freaky darlings, the nuttier the bird the louder it's heard .

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UPDATE-8:30 pm

I recieved this information about the Lost Thread on ThothWeb from FyreSpirit:

"Mal removed it, since that horse's ass JAW broke all of our major posting rules. I was actually about to copy and paste your excellent reply into it since I can't override the admin's ability to boot you from the thread. Kudos for what you said to him, I hope your blog is widely read.

Fyre"

I would like to thank FyreSpirit and Kel for their supportive comments, and Mal for having the sense to put an end to that thread befor it got any worse. It's great to know that there are still some good people out there who are willing to stand up against the rising tide of ignorance and deception in our world.