Talk:Venus series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whoever originally wrote this article is a retard, and should actually read the books. I found the following errors, corrected in my rewrite.

The portion depicted, largely confined to the southern hemisphere's temperate zone, is primarily oceanic,

• This is never mentioned. Indeed, the map problem makes discerning the truth or falsehood of this statement almost impossible.

but includes two continents and a number of large islands. Vegetation tends to be gigantic.

• False. It is sometimes gigantic.

The human natives possess a technology advanced in some respects and retarded in others; ocean-going vessels are nuclear-powered

• Not all of them.

but communicate by flags, radio being unknown. Weaponry is at the pre-firearm stage,

• False; they have atomic pistols.

In part, Amtor's spotty science may be owed to its inhabitants' cosmological view, which at least in the southern hemisphere where Napier lands is religiously-derived.

• Complete rubbish. There is no religion on Venus. The closest word for "God" is "Loto-El-Ho-Ganja"; "Most High More Than Woman", who turns out to be someone mysteriously transported from Brooklyn.

Pirates of Venus includes a controversial passage which in the opinion of some expresses sympathy for the Ku Klux Klan. (See [1].)

• I cannot see how the citation given expresses this opinion, which is in any case moronic.

[edit] Response

While your judgement is to say the least questionable, the points your raise deserve to be addressed.

The article as you found it was of course written by several people, myself included, none of whom appear to exhibit any signs of being "retards" or "morons" -- nor of the immaturity you display.

The southern temperate zone, which is where Amtorian maps would exhibit the least distortion, is indeed oceanic on the basis of Burroughs' map and various corrections available on the web. Burroughs' map was published in the original editions of the books, and is also available on the web.

Vegetation. "Tends to be" does not mean all of it is gigantic. You're knocking down a straw man.

Indeed, not all Amtorian vessels are nuclear-powered. But I doubt many people assumed the power system extended all the way down to rowboats!

Correct on the atomic pistols. Though to use your own standards, it would be more correct to say that "some" Amtorians have them. Obviously, not all do.

Religion on Venus. While it is true that no widespread religious system has been depicted, the geographical concept epitomizes religiously-based worldviews. Its primitive basis is plain, as is the fact that the "scientific" justification of it was shaped to support the worldview, rather than the worldview being modified in accord with observed reality.

The notion that Burroughs was in sympathy with the KKK is certainly dubious, but cannot be summarily dismissed. His allusion to the organization is not in dispute, merely the interpretation of it. A more reasonable view would be that it's another instance of his wry humor, but not everyone understands irony. Those who regard Burroughs as racist certainly don't. BPK 08:47, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Counter-riposte

On religion in Vepaja. There is none. Burroughs mentions this more than once, I believe. So I fail to see how this can epitomize anything religious. Additionally, I would hesitate to call anyone who can "multiply by the square root of minus one" and invent an anti-agathic as "primitive". This is a wry dig at science. The Amtorians come up with their erroneus cosmology because of an experimental vacuum, and hold to it in the face of evidence because of a sort of mental inertia (possibly ERB is also making a point about the deleterious consequences of immortality). Many scientists have been guilty of this at some time, and of invoking complex and dubious logics to defend an exploded hypothesis. Hoyle's Steady State theory (although post-dating Pirates of Venus) is a fairly good example, and Hoyle was undoubtedly one of the foremost astronomers of his day.

Since we are all agreed that the Burroughs-KKK link is somewhat foolish, since the opinion is expressed by a single internet reviewer, and since even his editor describes it as "erroneus", surely there is no need to repeat it? If Wikipedia repeated every opinion found on the internet, it would be sillier than it already is.

Regarding the map issue, if you mean the map reprinted here: [1], I draw your attention firstly to the caption and secondly to the map here [2], which (while being non-canon and thus not really evidence) does not support your contention that Amtor is mostly ocean.

As to vegetation, my memory is that it can only properly be called gigantic in one place; Vepaja. Hardly enough to establish a tendency.

(I am the same as the commentator at the top of this page, even though I have a different IP)