The feat of Ivan Efremov

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Ivan Antonovich Efremov is a Soviet science fiction writer. As such, he is known to most of the modern public. However, in fact, Efremov is, first of all, a prominent scientist - paleontologist and geologist. From a young age, Efremov was obsessed with a passion for the extraction of fossil evidence of the past.

He diligently studied geology, became a student of Academician P. P. Sushkin, an authoritative paleontologist and zoologist. "Taphonomy and Geological Chronicle" - "heretical" work of Efremov More than twenty years of research experience of his irrepressible nature Efremov outlined in the scientific monograph "Taphonomy and Geological Chronicle", Proceedings of the Paleontological Institute, volume 24, published in 1950. The work was not published for a long time, considering heretical. But Efremov proved to everyone, and first of all to himself, that his theoretical views were formed on the basis of practical observations of the sedimentation structure. "Taphonomy" is the science of the laws governing the burial of animals in the fossil layers of the Earth. Efremov's revolutionary views Efremov called the new science of the burial of fossil forms in geological strata "Taphonomy" (from the Greek words - tapho - burial, nomos - law). Efremov revealed that the fossil remains of the most ancient animals are preserved in the fossil record for a reason. These burials are subject to certain rather rigid patterns.

From the ancient periods of the earth's existence, numbering hundreds of millions of years, only fish survive, from later periods - fish, amphibians and reptiles, and from periods of relatively young all the listed and still various mammals are preserved. In the youngest period in the existence of the earth, called the Quaternary, the remains of a person and his close relatives are preserved. Contrary to popular belief that this type of burial corresponds to a gradual evolution from fish to humans, Efremov expressed and, most importantly, argued a new point of view. His point of view on evolution was so unexpected that it did not find support even from his close friends - paleontologists. Efremov believed that only fish (carapace, cross-finned, shark, lungfish, paleoniski) survived from the ancient periods, not because in the middle of the Paleozoic - in the Devonian period (about 400 million years) only fish lived, and there was no one on land. The fossilized remains of fish survived only because most of the continental deposits of the Early Paleozoic were destroyed by the subsequent destruction of the continents. In other words, someone could live on land in parallel with fish, and the land was not at all as innocent and pure as it is usually drawn in classical evolutionary schemes - the genealogical trees of the animal world. Efremov's conclusions contradicted Darwin's theory. The first real family tree of vertebrates was built by E. Haeckel, a zealous devotee of Charles Darwin. In other words, Efremov swung not only at Haeckel, but at Darwin himself. But he did it very carefully, in a scientifically based form. So that even no one from the venerable adherents of progressive evolution at first understood what Efremov rebelled against. Efremov anticipated the existence of intelligent creatures in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods. Efremov also doubted that the first amphibians, the Stegocephals, were really the first four-legged inhabitants of the land. He doubted the priority of reptiles in later periods, as well as that among mammals there was no place for someone more perfect … and "exotic" forms with an amazing progressive structure. According to the figurative expression of Efremov, fish, stegocephals, the first reptiles, as well as mammals, well represented in the fossil record, seem to hang in the air, having neither ancestors nor descendants. At the same time, there are no transitional links between these large groups. Efremov pointed to the surprisingly early appearance in the annals of progressive animals, represented by single and far from complete finds. Analyzing these facts, Efremov came to the startling conclusion that progressive evolution has some strange peculiarity. According to most paleontologists, groups represented widely in the form of fossil remains evolve gradually, in small steps, and "exotic" forms with an unexpectedly high level of development evolve in a different way, in a special way - in sharp leaps. “A simplified, although, unfortunately, and widespread, interpretation of the evolution of the above-described" faunas "will be the division of the evolutionary process into two categories, or, rather, two directions. Rare progressive forms supposedly evolve in a special rapid way of aromorphoses, and the rest of the fauna - in the direction of idioadaptation. Both directions stand out quite clearly in the composition of almost all faunas of ancient terrestrial vertebrates and, thus, are, as it were, documented by paleontology. " Efremov I. A. "Taphonomy and the Geological Chronicle", page 136. Efremov proved that from the Book of the Paleontological and Geological Chronicle, sheaves of sheets were torn out, in which it was written about intelligent land forms of life. Criticizing these views of his colleagues, Efremov came to the conclusion that they were to blame here it is not animals, not evolution, but the peculiarities of the preservation of geological strata. It turns out that not only individual pages have been torn out of the voluminous book of the paleontological and geological chronicle, but also whole bundles of sheets. And reading such a book is a useless exercise. To build a pedigree of man and animals on such material is simply not serious. Nevertheless, most taxonomists continue the work started by Haeckel to this day. They combine scattered leaves, and even fragments of leaves into a kind of whole story and are very proud of the fact that they managed to fantasize about who came from whom. Efremov went the other way, he did not invent anything, but considered this issue from the standpoint of geology. It turns out that the uppermost floors of the paleontological staircase, close to us in time, are full of chance finds, which have not yet been turned into dust by time. For example, single and scattered remains of people who lived more recently are known. They are then passed off by the adherents of evolution as our ancestors. If we go down the ladder of time down - deeper, we will see that people disappear. But mammals are represented in paleontology, reptiles are even lower, amphibians are even lower, and fish are under them. Efremov was able to prove that this ghostly staircase of evolution is actually formed by the fact that the remains of humans and animals are being pulled out of the book of life. The lower we go, the less they become. And from ancient times, only aquatic and semi-aquatic species, widespread, whose numbers and lifestyle (aquatic and semi-aquatic) contributed to their burial and the mineralization of their remains, have survived.

The "ghost" ladder of evolution

In other words, the specter of evolution arises, which is perceived by scientists as a fact. “… For the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, the diversity of terrestrial forms increases, which seems quite natural as the gradual conquest of land by terrestrial vertebrates. However, this gradual conquest, allegedly associated with general progress, will be largely only apparent, resulting from the general laws of the preservation of precipitation in time. " Efremov IA, "Tafanomy and the Geological Chronicle", p. 133 In fact, everything is much more interesting. Along with ancient fish, land forms probably existed, about which we do not know anything. Destructive processes: the destruction of mountain ranges and petrified rocks on land, wind and water erosion have erased the traces of their presence. Fossils of exclusively aquatic creatures have survived to this day, which are ancient fish (carapaces, cross-finned, lungworms, paleonisks). Ancient amphibians - stegocephals, or as they are called today labyrinthodonts, were also not the first land creatures. Reptiles and even mammals lived alongside them. Occasionally, some of their remains are found ("exotic" forms according to Efremov), but do not attach importance to them. The skeletons of dinosaurs themselves survived only because they lived in the lowlands of the mainland, among huge swamps and lakes. Such are, for example, the famous cemeteries of dinosaurs in the Gobi and Tien Shan Desert.

Efremov, professor of geology, laureate of the Stalin Prize, is a powerless scientist who failed to overcome the "wall of incomprehension" of the supporters of the evolutionary theory. The organizer of three Mongolian expeditions to search for traces of the existence of dinosaurs was Efremov. In practice, he wanted to prove to everyone that his "taphonomy" works. And he proved it! To Moscow in the period 1946 - 49. dozens of carriages with fossilized dinosaur carcasses were sent by rail! And this happened after an American expedition visited Mongolia and announced that this area of the world was not of interest due to the complete absence of the remains of ancient reptiles. Efremov brilliantly proved the opposite! The theory has been confirmed by practice! Then the angry voices of opponents began to gradually subside and Efremov was given the Stalin Prize, a dacha in the Moscow region and was awarded the title of professor. However, Efremov could see something different. He could not rest easy on his laurels. It can be seen even at the moment of comprehending the provisions of his new science of Taphonomy, he came to paradoxical conclusions that changed the whole style of his thinking. In an interview about how he wrote the Andromeda Nebula, the scientist shares the crisis that gripped him. “It was consciousness at such moments of his powerlessness as a scientist that prompted me to think that a science fiction writer has a number of advantages here.” Efremov's science fiction is a way to overcome the misunderstanding of scientists and convey the obvious to the masses.

Prophecies of a scientist and writer

And Efremov found a way to overcome the crisis. He began to write fantastic stories. The first of them, published in the collection "Five points", were devoted to the issues of science and geology. These stories were written in Frunze, in 1943 during the evacuation, when Efremov became very ill. At that time, Taphonomy had already been written and rejected by "colleagues". In the story "Diamond Pipe" the writer predicted the discovery of diamonds in Siberia and the diamonds were found there … by a geologist who read his "fantastic" story. Efremov predicted the appearance of holography. And the author of the invention first got acquainted with the ideas of holography on the pages of Efremov's work. I got carried away by it and in fact invented holography. In the story "Starships" Efremov described how under the fossilized skeleton of a dinosaur was discovered the skull of an ancient man … who had flown to earth from a distant planet. Efremov seemed to see other worlds, describing them enthusiastically, without stopping. And for him it was not a big effort to give the whole work, as he himself admitted, a coherent storyline. (He met the Roerich family and the son of Nicholas Roerich - Yuri. Imbued with respect for the creators of "Agni Yoga" - "Living Ethics" Perhaps this prompted him to comprehend the global issues of human existence in the Universe). Obviously, under the influence of these thoughts, Efremov's idea of the "Great Ring" was born - an interplanetary connection that unites together hundreds of inhabited worlds. This idea captured many readers … Obviously, this prophecy of Ephraim is to be revealed to people in the future. Quite recently, thanks to the efforts of the Kepler orbiting telescope, it became known that every star in the sky has planets! Is space inhabited? Such a heretical thought could not have occurred to those who until recently believed in the dogma that our planet is the only island of life in a “dead” universe devoid of planets! And that life on earth spontaneously originated.

Reflection by Efremov of the degradation of modern society and man and his classification as an "agent of British intelligence"

It seems that the prophecies of Ephraim will not end there. We still have a lot to learn from what he generously gave us in the pages of his books. Efremov rebelled against Darwinism and barracks socialism. In his latest novel, The Hour of the Bull, he mercilessly reflected the degradation of modern society and man. But this did not pass by the all-seeing eye of the KGB. Andropov himself scribbled an angry memorandum to the Central Committee about the subversive and anti-Soviet novel and the book was withdrawn from the libraries. Outside surveillance was set up for Efremov. His "Tafanomy …" was also banned. His phone and apartment had been tapped for a long time. Efremov was suspected. He knew languages, had extensive correspondence with scientists from all over the world. One can only guess what the Chekists heard from the lips of Efremov himself. According to the KGB, the British poisoned Efremov when he opened the envelope sent from over the hill. And Efremov himself all his life … (according to intelligence agents) worked for British intelligence … Rather, on the contrary, he did everything to throw the ideology of rabid Darwinism overboard from the spaceship of our time. Man is not an adapted creature, living by the law “the fittest survives”. This is the law that today's followers of Darwin profess. Man - according to Efremov - is a free being - born of space! We must also understand that under the conditions of total surveillance and censorship, Efremov could not speak out frankly, although he tried to do so. But in the form of metaphors and allegories, the thoughts of the brilliant seer through the abyss of time will make their way to the descendants! What is the scientific feat of Efremov? In the proof that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was not there! Reasonable land creatures could live in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic - nothing prevents this. But we will repeat again, to consolidate what we have gone through - what is the scientific feat of Efremov. He proved, based on a variety of geological, paleontological documents, that from the most ancient periods of the earth in a fossil state, selectively those living creatures that lived in the water are preserved - these are ancient fish, and even earlier - armored fish-like creatures - agnates that lived at the bottom of the seas. If we go down the timeline from today downwards, we will find that the remains of people disappear from the fossil states, then the great apes that lived in the forest, then the australopithecines that lived in the African savannah, then the turn of the various monkeys living in the trees comes to disappear … The remains of forest dwellers disappear in the first place, as they undergo destructive changes, under the influence of soil acids in the air and aerobic environment. Then placental mammals, especially terrestrial forms, begin to disappear. Those of them that lived in water or near water, if they were buried at the bottom of reservoirs without access to air, are preserved. But their remains will eventually turn into dust, under the influence of destructive processes taking place in the continental sediments of the lithosphere. Only the remains of near-water forms are preserved in lowlands, mountain valleys, in the place of huge lakes and river deltas, as well as buried and mineralized bones of animals living along the coastline of seas and oceans. Thus, hundreds of millions of years from our time, there would be no evidence of the existence of a single terrestrial creature. Only fish living in coastal waters could survive, but they would also disappear over time. Only the inhabitants of the bottom (their fossilized remains) would have reached the paleontologists who live 500 million years after us. What will such future paleontologists say when looking at the fossils of deep sea inhabitants? That in our time no one else lived on earth except them? But that would be a big mistake. It was into such a mistake that the founders of modern Geology fell into Darwin's teacher C. Lyell, who wrote "Foundations of Geology," and Darwin himself, who was also a geologist. They mistook the apparent increase in the diversity of living organisms from ancient times to modern times as evolution. In fact, there was no progressive evolution. Along with the most ancient agnates - scutellum, crawling along the bottom in the early periods of the Paleozoic, highly organized living creatures and, probably, ancient people also lived on land … just nothing remained of their mortal remains, since continental sedimentary rocks containing their remains are millions years turned into dust under the influence of the atmosphere, sunlight, wind and water erosion and other destructive factors. There is nothing greater than time! A. Belov, 2014 Source