How to make a lot of money, the pseudoscientist's guide[/u]
1) Find a disaster event in history, such as the fall of Rome, the end of Old Kingdom Egypt, or the end of the Maian Empire.
2) Think up a really cool idea of how it happened, more exciting than drought or famine. Asteroid impact or a near miss by a black hole are winners.
3) Collecting only circumstantial evidence, compile a case.
4) Publish your results, going to the story-hungry media first rather than a research publication.
5) No matter how much the theory is rubbished by real scientists, write a book about it.
Voila, lots of cash.
I'm cynical, I know; but there have been MANY claims that catastrophic cosmological events were responsible for turning points in human history. Some are credible. Some even have quite a bit of evidence. Most don't. And many make a hell of a lot of money for not much work, and even less evidence.
