“In Search of Truth in Science”by Beverly Andrews Business Associates and friends had met and lingered over the cocktail hour. Conversation had flowed freely. The deliciously-prepared, well-served dinner that followed offered more “engineering” disucsssions for there were three times as many people to talk to than usual. All a prelude to the featured event of the evening, at last it was time. President Carl Mariani had welcomed members and guests, and Ben DeRoy had introduced the controversial and eagerly awaited guest speaker. The banquet hall became quiet. All eyes were riveted on the tall gray-haired, distinguished-looking gentleman standing before the microphone. From the moment he spoke until his summary, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky held the attention of those attending the January meeting of the ISA Philadelphia Section. Dr. Velikovsky started by saying he liked to speak before enginers because it was enginers who had given him support and courage in teh theories he had propounded. And, these two qualities he needed, for “Philadelphia was a record” of his experiences of ostracism to justification as a result of his theories of catastrophic events in ancient times. In 1950 he wrote a book entitled Worlds in Collision wherein he presented a different picture of the history of the solar system and earth which contrasted in practically every detail from that depicted as truth by astronomers, physicists, and geologists. In this book, Dr. Velikovsky interprets the events told in the Bible of the Exodus as actually occurring, not due to a Supernatural Force but to a near collision with an erratically-orbiting Venus. |
