Archimedes' Randomly Timed Book Recommendations, No. 1

I just got this notice about a colloquium coming up tomorrow about this soon-to-be published book, called "The Lost Millennium" and it sounds very interesting. It is too bad I can't attend because of that blasted Criminology lecture, but...read on:

"It is universally believed to be the 21st century, but according to a group of scientists led by Anatoli Fomenko, a distinguished mathematician and fellow of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we are wrong by about a thousand years. Like Isaac Newton in the 1720s, Fomenko claims that the traditional dates are incorrect, and ancient and medieval history must be rewritten. Is he right? Can he prove that for more than four centuries historians have followed a false track? What are his arguments and how do experts respond?

The “Lost Millennium,” a book to be published by Knopf Canada in January 2006, describes how key ancient events, like the Peloponnesian War and the founding of Rome, have been dated and presents the criticism that has been raised against the accepted historical view of humankind. This objective and accessible account analyses the pros and cons and explains why the debate is ongoing.

It’s author, Florin Diacu, is a professor of mathematics and the former director of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences at the University of Victoria."

I wonder, does it really matter whether the Peloponnesian War began in 431 B.C. or 569 A.D.? Either way, it began a hell of a long time ago, so why does it matter if we are a thousand years off in everything? A thousand years in the face of eternity is just a blink of an eye to the Universe. Are we suddenly going to not go to school and walk on our hands and go to town on Iraq just because it is the year 3005? Oh wait...Anyhoo, it is interesting nonetheless.