John Michell (writer)

Article summary

John Frederick Carden Michell (9 February 1933 – 24 April 2009) was an English author and esotericist who was a prominent figure in the development of the Earth mysteries movement. Over the course of his life he published over forty books on an array of different subjects, being a proponent of the Traditionalist school of esoteric thought. Born in London to a wealthy family, Michell was educated at Cheam School and Eton College before serving as a Russian translator in the Royal Navy for two years. After failing a degree in Russian and German at Trinity College, Cambridge, he qualified as a chartered surveyor then returned to London and worked for his father's property business, there developing his interest in Ufology. Embracing the counter-cultural ideas of the Earth mysteries movement during the 1960s, in The Flying Saucer Vision he built on Alfred Watkins' ideas of ley lines by arguing that they represented linear marks created in prehistory to guide extraterrestrial spacecraft. He followed this with his most influential work, The View Over Atlantis, in 1969. His ideas were at odds with those of academic archaeologists, for whom he expressed contempt. Michell believed in the existence of an ancient spiritual tradition that connected humanity to divinity, but which had been lost as a result of modernity.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1933-02-09 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of death: 2009 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of establishment: 1990 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of foundation: 1990 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of foundation: 1973 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. publication date: 1967 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. publication date: 1969 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. publication date: 1973 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
9. publication date: 2001 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
10. publication date: 1995 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
11. publication date: 2002 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
12. publication date: 1969 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1933-02-09". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of death is "2009". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of establishment is "1990". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of foundation is "1990". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of foundation is "1973". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the publication date is "1967". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the publication date is "1969". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the publication date is "1973". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. The record states that the publication date is "2001". What evidence would count against this claim?
11. The record states that the publication date is "1995". What evidence would count against this claim?
12. The record states that the publication date is "2002". What evidence would count against this claim?
13. The record states that the publication date is "1969". What evidence would count against this claim?
14. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
15. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377672363