There is a logical fallacy called the argumentum ad hominem. I guess this would be the argumentum ad amicum hominis.
>>Actually I have read a couple of his books, a long time ago. They were imaginative and interesting, but not convincing. A comet did not turn into the planet Venus, as Velikovsky thought (I don’t remember if that is in one of the books I read, or someone told me about it). That he was a friend of Albert Einstein’s doesn’t mean his theories are right.
Certainly, but his colleagial association with Einstein certainly makes him out as less a crackpot and more a heretic. Velikovsky’s work has been greatly updated by researchers whom he has influenced. Many books about this are available at Mikamar Publishing: http://www.mikamar.biz/thunderbolts-product.htm I recommend Dwardu Cardona’s Star series. Expensive, but a revolution in the application of comparative ancient mythology to human history. This material is not Eric Van Danniken fluff or Zachariah Sitchin brain spirals, it is serious, life long scholarly research that makes Joseph Campbell look like a grade schooler.
>>There is a logical fallacy called the argumentum ad hominem. I guess this would be the argumentum ad amicum hominis.
Heh, the best my Latin can come up with is “cogito ergo homo ludens sum”. Also, the neo-Velikovsky initiative has generated a spin off that is also fascinating... www.thunderbolts.info.