Popular Archaeology: The Giza Power Plant, By Christopher Dunn
Popular Archaeology
Book Review
Dunn, Christopher. The Giza Power Plant, Technologies of Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company, 1998
Christopher Dunn 's book The Giza Power Plant lures the reader in with the idea that the pyramids were used for a much bigger purpose. This book has all the great makings to be a spectacular magic show. It goes from boring statistical fallacies to how the pyramid of Giza is actually a technically advanced machine. His elaborate explanations can really leave the reader believing in his theory...well almost. Christopher Dunn 's hypothesis, that the Great Pyramid at Giza functioned as a power plant via the principles of resonance and crystal amplification, I found it to be intriguing but highly unlikely. Dunn throughout his book tends to snowstorm the reader with numerical data that they can’t possibly understand. He approaches the design and function of the pyramid from an engineer’s viewpoint and continues his explanations that way throughout the book which in turn leaves the reader confused and lost. Dunn also tries to back his …show more content…
argument with the use of various individuals with which he consulted with about his ' 'theory ' '. However going back to Christopher Dunn 's theory on how the pyramids were built one must look closely to see the many cracks and flaws it contains. First of all one of Dunn 's major issues mentioned is that the pyramids could not have been built with tools such as chisels or hammers. Dunn’s tries to back his claim up using nonexistent references (pg.58). Such as other engineers or professionals in his field of study, but he never mentions the opposing people who stated that the pyramid was build with basic tools. By not providing the reader with the source or sources that stated why they believe the pyramids were built with basic tools means that Dunn is basically ignoring or failing to acknowledge a source that contradicts his theory. Secondly another issue that can be seen within his argument in regards to the building of the pyramids is Dunn tends to use statements from other writers books such as the Pyramid Odyssey by William Fix to back up what he his claiming. Now keep in mind Mr. Fix is an expert on behavioral science and not on pyramid building. So Dunn is expecting the reader to fully trust this source because it is referenced in his book (pg.62).This is something that seems to happen anytime he attempts to backup an argument he uses other authors or people who have little to no understanding on the building of pyramids. Dunn also seems to refer to Egyptologist a lot yet the only one he makes mention of directly is Dr. Mark Lenher (pg.59). Dunn uses Dr. Lenher by stating to the reader that Dr.Lenher was unable to build the without the use of modern tools and technology. However Dr.Lehner never tried to hide the fact that those things may have been used on the documentary for completions sake. Lenher even asked Roger Hopkins who was the stone mason in charge if he planned to use a forklift, and his reply was he would try not to use one. As one can see as the book proceeds that Dunn is really trying to pull one over on the reader. Another issue that I found to be hilarious was that Dunn begs the question: why would robbers want to steal mummies? However he is using faulty logic here and that makes this statement easy to see through after a few things are taken into consideration. First thing to take into account is that royal mummies that were buried in the pyramids or when great care was taken to bury them they were buried with valuables. So this is a pretty high incentive to dig up a body and no one knows this better then Egyptologist and archaeologist .Who for some odd reason he fails to mention during his argument, but instead of referencing a legitimate source he references Dr.Kurt Mendelssohn who is a physicist (pg.27). So once again we can see the faulty logic that is being used and the sources that are not so reliable. Now if one were to take a deeper look into Dunn 's argument that the pyramids were not used for burial purposes his argument most be given a closer look. Dunn stated there is a lack of evidence for the tomb theory however according to Dr. Ali Hassan of Egyptian Antiquities Organization now known as SCA states otherwise. So the burden of proof does not fall on Egyptologist to prove that mummies were buried in the pyramids. The burden of proof falls on Dunn because his argument is sorely lacking the proof needed to debunk ' 'the tomb theory ' ' as he calls it. So not only is Dunn guilty of the burden of proof but, he is also guilty of cherry picking the material he wants to include in his book and ignoring the evidence that contradicts him (pg27-28). Furthermore one continues to see that Dunn doesn’t have a very high regard for Egyptologist (pg.18). It seems that just about every opportunity he gets he is picking on Egyptologist directly and doesn’t really include any Egyptologist of worth in his book. Whether it be for or against his theory, but one can clearly see Dunn 's clear inability to address the evidence of Egyptology have brought forth throughout the years. So getting toward the second half of the book the wear and tear on Dunn 's argument starts to rear its ugly head. In the beginning of chapter eight is really when the reader gets to see just how high Dunn flew over the cuckoo 's nest. Over the next few chapters Dunn discusses exactly what makes the Giza power plant function. However Dunn never truly explains how the tools used by ancient builders were powered in order to build the ' 'power plant ' '. Dunn basically talks about the use of high and low powered technology tools. He does in a way disprove his very own theory because the whole point of the book was about how ancients built the pyramids to harness energy. So if the ancients possessed technologically advanced tools that means they had an energy source. So why would they need a power plant to get power if they already had it. However Dunn 's full explanation of how the power plant functions it well put together and i found it to be extremely entertaining. All of the inner trappings within the pyramid have a purpose. The beams in the king’s chamber for example are supposed to pickup resonant frequencies. Second is that the floor of the king 's chamber doesn’t just absorb those waved it instead converts them into electricity. Dunn even has a reason as to why there are cracks in the queen’s chamber.
Dunn also mentions the use of hydrogen which he states the power plant cannot function without it. The queen’s chamber is where the hydrogen was supposedly held and in order for the hydrogen to get there he believes the queens chamber had to have been filled with water which in turn would make hydrogen react with the limestone. Now Dunn does fail to go into detail on exactly what chemical properties would cause the hydrogen gas (pg.167).This is where things start to get a little tricky. Instead of Dunn continuing to explain how his theory works he veers off course to talk about the construction of the pyramid again and what holds the blocks together. Dunn does eventually start talking about the presents of salt again (pg.170), but once again provides the reader with an unreliable source. But here one can see Dunn is using appeal to authority by referencing Richard Noone 's book 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate Disaster as having knowledge on the presence of salt in the chamber. In Noone 's book he actually interviewed Dr. William A. Tiller who has PhD in Materials Science and Engineering(pg.170).Who to no surprise was not able to shed any light to why there would be salt in the queens chamber. So here we can as Dunn attempts to reference sources that at least have are not in the pseudoscience field it weakens his argument. So at this point in chapter twelve the reader gets to see that the majority of the ' 'evidence ' ' comes from the malfunctioning of the power plant (pg.178). Now if one looks at his theory logically if the power plant malfunctioned and it stopped working. Why wasn’t it fixed and why can only the ' 'basic ' ' tools be found and not the ' 'highly advanced tools ' '. So even though Dunn attempted to relay his theories in an intelligent and scientific manner, he ends up raising more questions about his thesis than answering them. His argument also lacks simplicity and the theory he proposed also doesn’t use the criteria of adequacy. In no way was his theory testable, and it didn’t have any scientific backing behind it.
Instead his power plant theory was backed by other engineers or pseudoscience writers. It also has no fruitfulness to it and it makes no successful predictions. The scope is very broad but it fails to give any real and logical explanations let alone proof that the pyramids were indeed power plants. So going back to simplicity Dunn 's theory is defiantly not simple and does not follow Occam 's razor. Dunn goes above and beyond to explain everything about the pyramids including the size, shape and weight of the rock used to build it. He also mentions other civilizations building techniques to attempt to explain his own. Overall though this book was interesting and caught my attention, but I quickly saw the many cracks is argument contained. And Dunn 's power plant theory quickly turned to
rubble.
Work Cited
Dunn, Christopher. The Giza Power Plant: Technologies of Ancient Egypt. Santa Fe, NM: Bear &, 1998. Print.
Noone, Richard. 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate disaster. Three Rivers Press, 1982
Nova. "THIS OLD PYRAMID" (ONE HOUR VERSION).Transcripts.Nova, September 2006.Web9 May 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/1915mpyramid.html
"4,400-Year-Old Mummy Unearthed Smiling." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Mar. 1989. Web. 8 May 2013.
Fix, William R. Pyramid Odyssey. New York: Mayflower, 1978. Print.
Book Review
Dunn, Christopher. The Giza Power Plant, Technologies of Ancient Egypt. Inner Traditions/Bear & Company, 1998
Christopher Dunn 's book The Giza Power Plant lures the reader in with the idea that the pyramids were used for a much bigger purpose. This book has all the great makings to be a spectacular magic show. It goes from boring statistical fallacies to how the pyramid of Giza is actually a technically advanced machine. His elaborate explanations can really leave the reader believing in his theory...well almost. Christopher Dunn 's hypothesis, that the Great Pyramid at Giza functioned as a power plant via the principles of resonance and crystal amplification, I found it to be intriguing but highly unlikely. Dunn throughout his book tends to snowstorm the reader with numerical data that they can’t possibly understand. He approaches the design and function of the pyramid from an engineer’s viewpoint and continues his explanations that way throughout the book which in turn leaves the reader confused and lost. Dunn also tries to back his …show more content…
argument with the use of various individuals with which he consulted with about his ' 'theory ' '. However going back to Christopher Dunn 's theory on how the pyramids were built one must look closely to see the many cracks and flaws it contains. First of all one of Dunn 's major issues mentioned is that the pyramids could not have been built with tools such as chisels or hammers. Dunn’s tries to back his claim up using nonexistent references (pg.58). Such as other engineers or professionals in his field of study, but he never mentions the opposing people who stated that the pyramid was build with basic tools. By not providing the reader with the source or sources that stated why they believe the pyramids were built with basic tools means that Dunn is basically ignoring or failing to acknowledge a source that contradicts his theory. Secondly another issue that can be seen within his argument in regards to the building of the pyramids is Dunn tends to use statements from other writers books such as the Pyramid Odyssey by William Fix to back up what he his claiming. Now keep in mind Mr. Fix is an expert on behavioral science and not on pyramid building. So Dunn is expecting the reader to fully trust this source because it is referenced in his book (pg.62).This is something that seems to happen anytime he attempts to backup an argument he uses other authors or people who have little to no understanding on the building of pyramids. Dunn also seems to refer to Egyptologist a lot yet the only one he makes mention of directly is Dr. Mark Lenher (pg.59). Dunn uses Dr. Lenher by stating to the reader that Dr.Lenher was unable to build the without the use of modern tools and technology. However Dr.Lehner never tried to hide the fact that those things may have been used on the documentary for completions sake. Lenher even asked Roger Hopkins who was the stone mason in charge if he planned to use a forklift, and his reply was he would try not to use one. As one can see as the book proceeds that Dunn is really trying to pull one over on the reader. Another issue that I found to be hilarious was that Dunn begs the question: why would robbers want to steal mummies? However he is using faulty logic here and that makes this statement easy to see through after a few things are taken into consideration. First thing to take into account is that royal mummies that were buried in the pyramids or when great care was taken to bury them they were buried with valuables. So this is a pretty high incentive to dig up a body and no one knows this better then Egyptologist and archaeologist .Who for some odd reason he fails to mention during his argument, but instead of referencing a legitimate source he references Dr.Kurt Mendelssohn who is a physicist (pg.27). So once again we can see the faulty logic that is being used and the sources that are not so reliable. Now if one were to take a deeper look into Dunn 's argument that the pyramids were not used for burial purposes his argument most be given a closer look. Dunn stated there is a lack of evidence for the tomb theory however according to Dr. Ali Hassan of Egyptian Antiquities Organization now known as SCA states otherwise. So the burden of proof does not fall on Egyptologist to prove that mummies were buried in the pyramids. The burden of proof falls on Dunn because his argument is sorely lacking the proof needed to debunk ' 'the tomb theory ' ' as he calls it. So not only is Dunn guilty of the burden of proof but, he is also guilty of cherry picking the material he wants to include in his book and ignoring the evidence that contradicts him (pg27-28). Furthermore one continues to see that Dunn doesn’t have a very high regard for Egyptologist (pg.18). It seems that just about every opportunity he gets he is picking on Egyptologist directly and doesn’t really include any Egyptologist of worth in his book. Whether it be for or against his theory, but one can clearly see Dunn 's clear inability to address the evidence of Egyptology have brought forth throughout the years. So getting toward the second half of the book the wear and tear on Dunn 's argument starts to rear its ugly head. In the beginning of chapter eight is really when the reader gets to see just how high Dunn flew over the cuckoo 's nest. Over the next few chapters Dunn discusses exactly what makes the Giza power plant function. However Dunn never truly explains how the tools used by ancient builders were powered in order to build the ' 'power plant ' '. Dunn basically talks about the use of high and low powered technology tools. He does in a way disprove his very own theory because the whole point of the book was about how ancients built the pyramids to harness energy. So if the ancients possessed technologically advanced tools that means they had an energy source. So why would they need a power plant to get power if they already had it. However Dunn 's full explanation of how the power plant functions it well put together and i found it to be extremely entertaining. All of the inner trappings within the pyramid have a purpose. The beams in the king’s chamber for example are supposed to pickup resonant frequencies. Second is that the floor of the king 's chamber doesn’t just absorb those waved it instead converts them into electricity. Dunn even has a reason as to why there are cracks in the queen’s chamber.
Dunn also mentions the use of hydrogen which he states the power plant cannot function without it. The queen’s chamber is where the hydrogen was supposedly held and in order for the hydrogen to get there he believes the queens chamber had to have been filled with water which in turn would make hydrogen react with the limestone. Now Dunn does fail to go into detail on exactly what chemical properties would cause the hydrogen gas (pg.167).This is where things start to get a little tricky. Instead of Dunn continuing to explain how his theory works he veers off course to talk about the construction of the pyramid again and what holds the blocks together. Dunn does eventually start talking about the presents of salt again (pg.170), but once again provides the reader with an unreliable source. But here one can see Dunn is using appeal to authority by referencing Richard Noone 's book 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate Disaster as having knowledge on the presence of salt in the chamber. In Noone 's book he actually interviewed Dr. William A. Tiller who has PhD in Materials Science and Engineering(pg.170).Who to no surprise was not able to shed any light to why there would be salt in the queens chamber. So here we can as Dunn attempts to reference sources that at least have are not in the pseudoscience field it weakens his argument. So at this point in chapter twelve the reader gets to see that the majority of the ' 'evidence ' ' comes from the malfunctioning of the power plant (pg.178). Now if one looks at his theory logically if the power plant malfunctioned and it stopped working. Why wasn’t it fixed and why can only the ' 'basic ' ' tools be found and not the ' 'highly advanced tools ' '. So even though Dunn attempted to relay his theories in an intelligent and scientific manner, he ends up raising more questions about his thesis than answering them. His argument also lacks simplicity and the theory he proposed also doesn’t use the criteria of adequacy. In no way was his theory testable, and it didn’t have any scientific backing behind it.
Instead his power plant theory was backed by other engineers or pseudoscience writers. It also has no fruitfulness to it and it makes no successful predictions. The scope is very broad but it fails to give any real and logical explanations let alone proof that the pyramids were indeed power plants. So going back to simplicity Dunn 's theory is defiantly not simple and does not follow Occam 's razor. Dunn goes above and beyond to explain everything about the pyramids including the size, shape and weight of the rock used to build it. He also mentions other civilizations building techniques to attempt to explain his own. Overall though this book was interesting and caught my attention, but I quickly saw the many cracks is argument contained. And Dunn 's power plant theory quickly turned to
rubble.
Work Cited
Dunn, Christopher. The Giza Power Plant: Technologies of Ancient Egypt. Santa Fe, NM: Bear &, 1998. Print.
Noone, Richard. 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate disaster. Three Rivers Press, 1982
Nova. "THIS OLD PYRAMID" (ONE HOUR VERSION).Transcripts.Nova, September 2006.Web9 May 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/1915mpyramid.html
"4,400-Year-Old Mummy Unearthed Smiling." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Mar. 1989. Web. 8 May 2013.
Fix, William R. Pyramid Odyssey. New York: Mayflower, 1978. Print.