Zecharia Sitchen - Acedemia Neglect?

Whatever your opinion of Zecharia Sitchen is, you have to take note of his impact. He has written 13 books, all of which have sold well and some have been bestsellers. Sitchen’s writing has influenced the beliefs of many in the areas of religion, cosmology, mythology, history, archeology and linguistics. His thesis has spawned many other authors who have also found publishing success (to the point of the creation of an entire sub-genre).

It seems that this man and his work can not and should not be ignored, regardless of whether or not you agree with the conclusions he draws from his research.

When doing a (small) bit of independent research, I couldn’t find any respected scholar in any of the fields that he draws on or comments on that agrees with his conclusions. As a matter of fact, there are entire pages dedicated to debunking his work, especially his translations of ancient texts.

So, why is he held in such high esteem? How does he maintain his popularity and why hasn’t the debunking of his work knocked down the ‘house of cards’ that are his intellectual successors?

Is he considered such a fringe or crack-pot writer that academia would consider it a waste of time to comment on his theories? Or is there something else involved? The 12th Planet has been reprinted 45 times and in numerous languages and has been the subject of radio and television shows and yet you need to do some serious looking to find any coherent and comprehensive attempts to rebut his arguments.

Is this a conspiracy of neglect?

Note: Although I’m not an adherent to Sitchen’s beliefs, I have no where near the scholastic background necessary to offer an informed opinion on his work.

Eric

Although Sitchin's ideas and theories may not all be completely accurate, Sitchin's books have helped shape many of my beliefs regarding religion and the universe.

There's another side to this story that deals with denial (see denial disorder definition in my signature). Many scholars, scientists, and others may not like the reality of what Sitchin's theories and ideas may conclude. And therefore they may make things up, bend the truth a bit, or profess "alternate" meanings to explain away Sitchin's ideas.

And whether you wanna call it science or science fiction, Sitchin is a great author.