Hermione Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MJ Thomas 2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>> > By blackening my name and my work in this fashion,
> > Anthony, you have effectively destroyed what
> > little credibility I ever had on this Forum, and
> > I'm afraid it's a situation I really can't
> > handle.
> > I hope you are well and truly satisfied with what
> > you have achieved.
>
> Oh, for goodness' sake, MJT: there's no need for
> this degree of melodrama.

You're quite right, Hermione.
I withdraw my rather silly emotive comments in their entirety.
I can’t help being a sensitive, irascible soul…

> I suspect that, as you
> yourself indicated in previous posts, some of the
> confusion might have been caused by
> misunderstandings: in which case it might perhaps
> be worthwhile trying to pinpoint exactly where the
> misunderstandings arose.

Anthony contends that I have said in the past and continue to say that mathematics drove the designing of Khufu’s pyramid; he then argues that this idea cannot be so (but gives no reason why) and concludes that because my hypothesis is based on a false assumption (as he sees it) it is worthless.
What I may or may not have said or meant over the last four years or so with regard to various aspects of my hypothesis* is actually irrelevant; what is relevant now is what I am saying and meaning about them currently – after all, my hypothesis is not yet complete and is, therefore, still open to changes.

The following is from an earlier exchange of posts to this thread [see [www.hallofmaat.com] ]

I wrote, “Anthony, please provide links to any posts by Tim or me in which we assert that "maths were the goal, not the tool".
Thank you.”

Anthony replied, “Gladly:
Quote: [text by MJ]
“Each and every pyramid was planned by an architect/designer using some forms of arithmetic and geometry.
Therefore, it is perfectly possible for somebody somewhere to discover (given sufficient raw data and a knowledge of what is known about Egyptian mathematics and what can be extrapolated from it) what the intended plan was likely to have been.”

Anthony followed this with, “You are clearly saying that the mathematics drove the plan, thus the plan would be discoverable by analyzing the mathematics. There is virtually no other logical conclusion that can be drawn from your statement. I expect, however, that you will now present red herrings and strawman arguments that are designed to convince people otherwise.”

As you can see from his closing sentence, Anthony is in no way prepared to even consider that he may have misunderstood what I meant.
I find this lack of preparedness on his part rather telling.
Anyway, reading my statement again, and in the light of subsequent posts on the subject, I can now see the probable root of the misunderstanding that has driven this sub-thread.
I made a mistake in only writing “… what the intended plan was likely to have been.” because it does tend to imply that I was arguing “mathematics drove the plan”.

As this sub-thread progressed I made several attempts to explain to Anthony what I actually meant – i.e. that mathematics determined the dimensions of the Pyramid.
Unfortunately, Anthony (and perhaps others) interpreted this as “mathematics determined the design of the Pyramid”.
When it comes to the planning of the Pyramid I draw a clear distinction between its design and its dimensions.
As I see it, the overall design of the Pyramid’s passages and chambers and their features was down to the prevailing religious beliefs on the king’s Afterlife, etc., mixed with the king’s personal wants (until standardisation crept in), but the dimensions of each feature were down to the architect and his mathematics.
So, and putting it very broadly, religion and the ruling king determined the number, general shape, and overall layout of the Pyramid’s passages and chambers*, but mathematics determined their dimensions and precise locations.

Lastly, can I remind everybody that my ‘unconventional’ views on a fourth chamber, the post-funeral sealing of the Pyramid, the purposes of the Well Shaft and Grand Gallery, etc., are not an integral part of my hypothesis – they are speculations I plan to tag on the end.

A much calmed down MJ

*the changes to it over the years are slight